Many, perhaps most, nearby sun-like stars may form rocky planets
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (38) |
1
Astronomers have discovered that terrestrial planets might form around many, if not most, of the nearby sun-like stars in the disk of our galaxy. These new results suggest that worlds with potential for life ...
Scientist postulates 4 aspects of 'humaniqueness' differentiating human and animal cognition
Biology /
Feb 17, 2008 |
3.9 / 5 (36) |
6
Shedding new light on the great cognitive rift between humans and animals, a Harvard University scientist has synthesized four key differences in human and animal cognition into a hypothesis on what exactly differentiates ...
MIT physicist to describe strange world of quarks, gluons
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (22) |
0
One of the great theoretical challenges facing physicists is understanding how the tiniest elementary particles give rise to most of the mass in the visible universe.
Roads not taken disappear more quickly than we realize
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (21) |
0
Researchers have identified a key reason why people make mistakes when they try to predict what they will like. When predicting how much we will enjoy a future experience, people tend to compare it to its alternatives—that ...
No easy answers in evolution of human language
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (17) |
1
The evolution of human speech was far more complex than is implied by some recent attempts to link it to a specific gene, says Robert Berwick, professor of computational linguistics at MIT.
New technology makes 3-D imaging quicker, easier
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (14) |
0
Technology invented by scientists from The Johns Hopkins University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev can make three-dimensional imaging quicker, easier, less expensive and more accurate, the researchers said.
There is 'design' in nature, Brown biologist argues at AAAS
Biology /
Feb 17, 2008 |
3.6 / 5 (17) |
6
Brown University biologist Kenneth Miller has to hand one victory to the “intelligent design” crowd. They know how to frame an issue.
Expert: AI computers by 2020
Technology / Computer Sciences
Feb 17, 2008 |
3.9 / 5 (14) |
4
A U.S. computer expert predicts computers will have the same intellectual capacity as humans by 2020.
Bioethicist: mental illness is subject to biological and sociocultural factors
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
1
Biology is crucial to understanding psychosis, “but there is more to psychosis than mere biology,” says Jason Robert, an Arizona State University bioethicist and philosopher of science.
Will North Atlantic threshold response to ocean changes be enough?
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (11) |
1
Predictions that the 21st century is safe from major circulation changes in the North Atlantic Ocean may not be as comforting as they seem, according to a Penn State researcher.
Novel mathematical model predicts new wave of drug-resistant HIV infections in San Francisco
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (9) |
1
A mathematical model shows that a new wave of drug-resistant HIV is rising among among men in San Francisco who have sex with men and that this trend will continue over the next few years, according to a new study from the ...
Health effects of pesticide mixtures: Unexpected insights from the salmon brain
Biology /
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
2
In his research, scientist Nat Scholz examines how pesticides that run off the land and mix in rivers and streams combine to have a greater than expected toxic effect on the salmon nervous system. These pesticides are widely ...
Physicists say there's an urgent need for nuclear detectives
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
1
A terrorist nuclear explosion devastates Manhattan, but no group takes credit. The pressure on the U.S. president to retaliate is intense. Acting on sketchy information, the president orders an attack, but it turns out to ...
Small sea creatures may be the 'canaries in the coal mine' of climate change
Biology /
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
0
As oceans warm and become more acidic, ocean creatures are undergoing severe stress and entire food webs are at risk, according to scientists at a press briefing this morning at the annual meeting of the American Association ...
Two-way cell talk provides clues about neuromuscular disease
Feb 17, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
1
It’s a scientific given that neurons tell other cells what to do, but new evidence suggests that, like with any good relationship, these target cells also have much to contribute, scientists say.
