Celebrated neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga explains the new science behind an ancient philosophical question.
A new study has found that over the last several decades, nature has increasingly taken a back seat in award-winning children’s picture books — and suggests this sobering trend is consistent with a growing isolation from the natural world. A group of researchers reviewed the winners and honor books receiving the prestigious Caldecott Medal from…
It’s long been suspected that administering large amounts of antibiotics to livestock promotes antibiotic resistance. Now a new study describes how a particularly nasty strain of MRSA—the CC398 strain found primarily in pigs but also in cattle and poultry—likely did that. Sequencing the genomes of 88 closely-related strains of S. aureus, the researchers found the…
Religiosity is on the decline in the U.S. and atheism is on the rise, according to a new worldwide poll. The poll, called “The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism,” found that the number of Americans who say they are “religious” dropped from 73% in 2005 (the last time the poll was conducted) to 60%….
Emily Baldwin, deputy editor of Astronomy Now magazine, said the asteroid, which is known as 2005 YU55, posed no threat. She told the Sunday Times: “It is a great opportunity to make close-up, detailed observations. Studies of asteroids are important not only to learn about the potential threat an impact may have on Earth but also…
NASA concluded its Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) moon mission by crashing two probes into the lunar surface — on purpose. The goal of the mission is to map the moon’s gravitational field. To do this, NASA launched two washing-machine-size probes to orbit the moon in September 2011. After both craft achieved orbit, they…
Dolphins sponge up culture
Dolphins that use sea sponges as hunting tools form cliques with others that do the same — the first evidence of animal grouping based on mutual interest.