Mars Radiation Fine for Humans, Curiosity Finds
Initial readings of cosmic ray radiation on Mars suggest it’s about the same as on the International Space Station. Now we just need a spaceship.
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Are Animals Moral Creatures?
Does Mr. Whiskers really love you or is he just angling for treats? Until recently, scientists would have said your cat was snuggling up to you only as a means to get tasty treats. But many animals have a moral compass, and feel emotions such as love, grief, outrage and empathy, a new book argues….
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New Brain Gene Gives Us Edge Over Apes
An international team of researchers led by Scottish scientists has discovered a brain gene that helps explains how humans pushed past apes. The gene is highly active in two areas of the brain, controlling decision-making and language abilities, with the study suggesting it could have a role in the advanced brain functions that make us human.
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Neanderthals May Have Sailed to Crete
Neanderthals, or even older Homo erectus (“Upright Man”) might have sailed around the Mediterranean, stopping at islands such as Crete and Cyprus, new evidence suggests. The evidence suggests that these hominid species had considerable seafaring and cognitive skills. “They had to have had boats of some sort; unlikely they swam,” said Alan Simmons, lead author…
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Humans Used Spears for Hunting 200,000 Years Earlier Than Believed
Human ancestors were making spears to hunt 500,000 years ago – 200,000 years earlier than previously thought, a study has revealed. The collaborative study, published in the journal Science, found the stone-tipped weapons at the South African archaeological site of Kathu Pan 1. Attaching stone points to spears (known as “hafting”) was an important advance…
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With Economy Trumping Emissions, Obama Plans Climate Education Push
From Andrew Revkin’s Dot Earth blog at the New York Times: President Obama’s first long discussion of human-driven global warming in recent memory came near the end of a recent news conference. The president actually said quite a bit. Among other things, he offered a sobering reality check in the face of a big, and…
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Goals for Science in the Post-2015 Development Agenda
The UN Secretary-General’s high-level panel on life after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — the Post-2015 Development Agenda — held its second meeting in London at the beginning of November. It’s a reminder that the time has come for all of us to plan our futures in line with the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),…
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BP to Plead Guilty to Felonies in Deepwater Horizon Spill
BP PLC has agreed to plead guilty to felony charges and pay $4.5 billion in penalties, including $1.26 billion in criminal fines, stemming from the Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 workers in 2010 and unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The energy company will plead guilty to 11 felony counts of…
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Our Unconscious Minds Can Perform Complex Operations
Who would have ever thought we could solve math equations in our sleep? Well, maybe our level of unconsciousness might have to be a bit more elevated but researchers from the Psychology Department at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have found that we can actually read words and phrases or even solve multi-step mathematical problems…
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Atheist Group Sues Over Religious Electioneering
A Madison, Wis.-based group of atheists and agnostics argues in a federal lawsuit that the Internal Revenue Service is violating the U.S. Constitution by allowing tax-exempt churches and religious organizations to get involved in political campaigns. The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Madison. It cites full-page ads run…