Alu elements infiltrated the ancestral primate genome about 65 million years ago. Once gained an Alu element is rarely lost so comparison of Alu between species can be used to map primate evolution and diversity. New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Mobile DNA has found a single Alu, which appears to be…
Concrete Plans Curb Creativity: Planning ahead might make us overlook new solutions
How do we judge whether a person knows what he or she is talking about? How do we gauge someone’s credibility? At least in part, we rely on a set of cues – titles, university degrees, papers published, lectures given – that have long been bound up in the concept of “expertise”. If a person…
A new University of British Columbia study finds that analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, even in devout believers. The study, published in the journal Science, finds that thinking analytically increases disbelief among believers and skeptics alike, shedding important new light on the psychology of religious belief. “Our goal was to explore the fundamental question…
Invisible dark matter particles may regularly pass through our bodies, and dozens to thousands of these particles may be colliding with atoms inside us every year, according to a new calculation. Dark matter is one of the greatest scientific mysteries of our time — an invisible substance thought to make up five-sixths of all matter…
Climate researchers pay too little attention to social sciences, the executive director of the Bolivian Mountain Institute told delegates at the International Conference of Mountain Countries on Climate Change in Nepal. “More interaction between the natural and social sciences is necessary,” said Dirk Hoffmann, adding that the lack of effective dialogue between science and social…
Thousands of years ago, farming spread across Europe and replaced the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of early inhabitants. Now a study of ancient DNA says that trend was driven by farmers moving from place to place. Scientists have long debated how farming expanded across Europe. Did farmers migrate? Did the idea of farming spread from culture to…
Researchers have spotted a group of 53 cells within pigeons’ brains that respond to the direction and strength of the Earth’s magnetic field. The question of how birds navigate using – among other signals – magnetic fields is the subject of much debate. These new “GPS neurons” seem to show how magnetic information is represented…
The Obama administration announced a broad plan to foster development of the nation’s “bioeconomy,” including the use of renewable resources and biological manufacturing methods. The National Bioeconomy Blueprint, as the plan is called, discusses a variety of measures and strategies to spur research and development of medical treatments, crops, biofuels and biological manufacturing processes that…
It sounds like a great idea: experimentally mutate a rare but deadly virus so that scientists can do a better job of recognizing dangerous emerging strains. But it also sounds like a terrible idea — the studies could create a virus that is easier to transmit and produce findings that are useful to bioterrorists. Last…