From a serene view of planet Earth, through the heart of the Milky Way and out to far-flung galaxies, take an armchair tour of the Universe with these dazzling images
When you think of a brain, you might imagine a flashing chain of neurons beaming messages to one another. But a new paper suggests that’s not the whole story, and they found this out by PUTTING HUMAN BRAIN CELLS IN MICE AND MAKING THEM SMARTER. The non-neural brain cells they used are known as “glia”–like…
Performing deliberate acts of kindness makes pre-teen children more popular with their peers, say scientists. A team led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, “assigned” children three acts of kindness each week for four weeks. After the four weeks, children were happier and more liked by classmates. The researchers say than encouraging such…
Governments are set to weaken pledges on boosting access to water and energy after a new draft negotiating text was issued at the Rio+20 meeting. The text was issued by the Brazilian host government after it assumed leadership of the talks from the UN. It affirms that nations must not slide back on prior pledges…
Scientists have built a quantum computer in a diamond, the first of its kind to include protection against “decoherence” — noise that prevents the computer from functioning properly. The demonstration shows the viability of solid-state quantum computers, which – unlike earlier gas- and liquid-state systems – may represent the future of quantum computing because they…
Studies have found that roughly 40 percent of students planning engineering and science majors end up switching to other subjects or failing to get any degree. That is twice the combined attrition rate of all other majors.
A new study has found that participating in an 8-week meditation training program can have measurable effects on how the brain functions even when someone is not actively meditating. Researchers also found differences in those effects based on the specific type of meditation practiced. “The two different types of meditation training our study participants completed…