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Picture of the Week—Jupiter’s New Spot
Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley was the first person to spot the new spot on Jupiter, on July 19th. Professional astronomers quickly confirmed the sighting and started aiming their powerful telescopes at the gas giant. Scientists now say that a small comet probably created the scar, wh...
July 24, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Bodybuilders Through the Ages
Over the past 150 years, bodybuilders have gone from circus sideshows to celebrities, imparting fitness lessons along the way
July 20, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Curses! For Medicinal Use Only
Isn't it great when science justifies your vices? Never mind all the research on the purported health benefits of red wine or chocolate. My new favorite sin-rationalization study shows that swearing is good for you. It seems to decrease pain.This is one of those slap-your-forehead, why-didn't-I-thi...
July 13, 2009 |
By Laura Helmuth
The New Flu? They're On It.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science hosted a panel discussion on H1N1 flu last week. For such a frightening subject, the discussion was strangely encouraging. Yes, the flu (if not this one, then some other strain) could kill us all. It has already infected an estimated one milli...
July 06, 2009 |
By Laura Helmuth
Zicam Reveals Holes in Drug Regulation
In the United States, there are “drugs” and there are “dietary supplements.” Each are chemicals intended to improve your health, but they are held to very different standards of regulation: Before drugs can be sold, a company must prove to the Food and Drug Administration that their product is safe...
June 23, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Dancing Parrot and More
That's Snowball dancing to the Backstreet Boys' "Everybody." The sulfur-crested cockatoo has our web staff hooked, and they're not even angry about the earworm I unintentionally planted in their brains. Snowball is featured on our Wild Things page in the July issue, which just went online last week...
June 22, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Fingerprints and Friction
Why do humans, other primates and koalas have fingerprints? All are, or have ancestors who were, tree dwellers, and it has been generally accepted that fingerprints help individuals grab onto things like tree limbs by increasing the friction between the skin and the object.Maybe not.Biomechanist Ro...
June 15, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Humans Don’t Have the Last, or Only, Laugh
Anyone who has visited a zoo can attest to the human-like qualities of our close relatives. Whether you’re watching chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans or gorillas, it’s the facial expressions and social interactions that most make them appear similar to humans. Now researchers have evidence of anothe...
June 10, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
Drugs' Odd Side Effects
You know those prescription drug ads on TV, right? At some point, they’ll list the drug’s side effects (often trying unsuccessfully to fit the list into the commercial “naturally” as if people really talk to each other that way). I’m sure I’m not alone in tuning that part out; we all learned our le...
June 01, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Brain Cells for Socializing
Does an obscure nerve cell help explain what gorillas, elephants, whales—and people—have in common?
June 2009 |
By Ingfei Chen
A Lesson on Brain Adaptability
Another TEDTalk, this time from 2004. "Michael Merzenich studies neuroplasticity—the brain's powerful ability to change itself and adapt—and ways we might make use of that plasticity to heal injured brains and enhance the skills in healthy ones." He blogs at On the Brain. In this video, he explains...
May 19, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Evolution of the Flu Virus
This will be my last flu-related post for now, unless everything unexpectedly gets out of hand. But now that we’re not panicking any longer, perhaps it might be time to look into how the H1N1 virus came about. The best description comes from Carl Zimmer (author of the blog The Loom and our 2005 sto...
May 06, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Get Some Perspective on Swine Flu
Panic seems to be spreading faster than the H1N1 (swine) flu. Egypt proposed killing all of the pigs in the country. China is quarantining Mexican nationals without any sign that they might be sick. The Vice President warned against traveling in confined spaces, like the subway. Frightened fliers k...
May 05, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Playing Pandemic, the Board Game
Sunday afternoon, some friends and I sat down to play Pandemic, the board game. It seemed appropriate, since we had just been discussing the swine flu outbreak. Pandemic is a cooperative board game in which 2 to 4 people work together to cure four diseases before it’s too late. There is no winner—e...
April 29, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Royals Prove Inbreeding Is a Bad Idea
Those jokes about inbred royals might have some basis in fact, according to a new study in the journal PLOS One .The Hapsburg dynasty ruled Spain from 1516 to 1700, reigning over the height of the Spanish empire. The dynasty ended when the last king, Charles II, who suffered physical and mental dis...
April 16, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Picture of the Week—Alabama Science Class, 1939
I was nosing through the Library of Congress’s collection of photographs earlier this week when I came upon this one labeled “Student in science class. Gee's Bend, Alabama.” It was taken in May 1939 by Marion Post Wolcott, who documented poverty during the Great Depression for the Farm Security Adm...
April 03, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Video Games Improve Your Vision
Yes, you read that headline right. Video games, specifically first-person shooter games, train your brain and help you see better.Twenty-two lucky students and staff at the University of Rochester participated in this new study, the results of which were published online this week by Nature Neurosc...
March 31, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Advice for Dealing With Recession-Related Losses
You know that feeling you had when you received that last statement from your 401(k)? Maybe it was like you ate something bad at lunch or you felt a bit lightheaded. Losses like the ones we’re now all experiencing actually hurt, according to a new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy ...
March 17, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Evolution in Black and White
The alternative color forms of some animals are providing new insights into how animals adapt and evolve
February 10, 2009 |
By Sean B. Carroll
Picture of the Week—Optical Illusion
The image above is not an animation. It’s just a static picture. But the movement, at least to your visual system, is real, conclude a group of researchers in Japan in their recent study in the Journal of Vision. (The journal seems to have a yen for optical illusions; just take a look at their onl...
February 06, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
