What are the options when a scientist faces a problem with no obvious solution? That is the dilemma astronomers have faced over the last few decades as they took a census of cosmic matter and motion. Mapping the beautiful pinwheel arcs of spiral galaxies, they found the constituent stars moving far too fast to be…
It was long believed that mammals began to diversify and flourish only after dinosaurs died out in the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago. But a new study in the journal Nature suggests that some mammals diversified well before that. Using 3-D imaging and CT scanning, he…
Humans have always made inferences about causes and effects, sometimes based on scanty information. Many machines do now, too, and Judea Pearl is frequently cited as a cause.The computer scientist was named the latest recipient of the high-prestige Turing Award, which is awarded annually by the Association of Computing Machinery. It comes with a $250,000…
Cognitive scientists hope to bottle up a baby’s brain — and the imagination and air of possibility that comes with it — and use the result to make computers smarter. Scientists have known a healthy newborn brain contains a lifetime’s supply of some 100 billion neurons; as a baby matures, these brain cells grow a…
Medical research in the U.K. is being jeopardized by activists who have persuaded transport companies to stop importing mice, rats and rabbits for scientific experiments, a former British science minister says. The boycott affects only a tiny proportion of laboratory animals, but scientists say these particular animals are the most important ones for their research….
Scientists in China have found what may be a new species of human. Fossils show a group of people with similarities to and differences from modern humans.
Studies suggest that cumulative culture is unique to people, and that collaborative learning may be the key to human advancement. But precisely where to draw the lines for culture remains unclear
Americans are less likely to believe in man-made climate change as economic conditions get tougher, new research shows. Lyle Scruggs, associate professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, says the public’s belief in climate change dropped significantly as the economy dipped and unemployment climbed in the late 2000s. And the suddenness and timing…
Targeting “messenger RNAs” may correct mutations in human mitochondrial DNA, experts at UCLA say. Currently, there is no way to successfully repair or compensate for these mutations in the human mitochondrial genome, implicated in neuromuscular diseases, metabolic defects and aging. The findings could lead to a form of gene therapy.
A prototype “space fence” designed to track Earth’s burgeoning orbital debris population passed a key test recently, locking onto objects in a demonstration run. The radar system, which is being developed by aerospace firm Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force, has successfully detected orbiting space junk, company officials announced. The Air Force is…