Ancient Text Gives Clue to Mysterious Radiation Spike
Eighth-century jump in carbon-14 levels in trees could be explained by “red crucifix” supernova.
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Rare ‘Green Rust’ Offers Glimpse of Ancient Seas
A rare and highly reactive iron mineral called green rust appears to have played an important role in ancient oceans, suggest new findings, which may have implications for the formation of Earth’s early atmosphere. The research team identified green rust in an Indonesian lake where conditions mimic those of the ancient oceans, and found the…
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Going Green: India Bets on Eco-Friendly Tech
Green technology is proving lucrative in India, clean energy investments here were worth $10.3 billion, a growth of 52% on 2011, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This means that India had the highest rate of growth in green technologies of any other major world economy, with wind and solar areas being where most money…
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UN to Survey Gender Sensitivity of Science Policies
The Commission on Science and Technology, in collaboration with the UN Conference on Trade and Development, plans to publish a series of case studies highlighting best practice in gender equality policies in science, technology and innovation (STI) of governments around the world. The goal is to promote more effective STI policies, by taking a greater…
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Mind Reading From Brain Recordings?
Researchers have long been interested in discovering the ways that human brains represent thoughts through a complex interplay of electrical signals. Recent improvements in brain recording and statistical methods have given researchers unprecedented insight into the physical processes under-lying thoughts. For example, researchers have begun to show that it is possible to use brain recordings…
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Scientists Recreate Matter Flooding Universe Moments After Big Bang
Scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory have carried out an experiment that has recreated a form of matter that pervaded the entire universe a fraction of a second after the Big Bang – the cosmic explosion that marked the origin of the universe. The experiment produced fundamental insights into laws pertaining to all visible matter….
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How the Brain Views Race
Research on the link between implicit race preference and brain activity could be used to prevent unintended consequences of race bias
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Evolution and Our Inner Conflict
E.O. Wilson reflects on evolution and the human condition over at the New York Times blog The Stone: Are human beings intrinsically good but corruptible by the forces of evil, or the reverse, innately sinful yet redeemable by the forces of good? Are we built to pledge our lives to a group, even to the…
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Would Finding ET Shatter Religious Beliefs?
The discovery of life beyond Earth would shake up our view of humanity’s place in the universe, but it probably wouldn’t seriously threaten organized religion, experts say. The Bible, Koran and other sacred texts of the world’s major religions stress God’s special concern for humanity and for Earth. So the discovery of aliens — microbes…
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Scientists Are Scared of Math Too
It’s not just artistic types that find math a turn-off and try to avoid having to deal with it – scientists do the same. A new study by University of Bristol biologists shows that if a piece of research is packed full of mathematical equations, other scientists tend to ignore it. Scientific articles laden with…