Category: Science

Are you able to multiply 996x994 in less than 5 seconds in your head, without using the calculator? Before you shake you head, you might want to look into Vedic math.

A new branch of mental math has recently been revealed - Vedic Mathematics. Many of you may have not heard of it, but it has the potential to revolutionize mental arithmetic and how we view mental math.

A new species of dinosaur found in Mexico is giving scientists some clues about what life was like when reptiles ruled the earth.

A new species of dinosaur unearthed in Mexico is giving scientists fresh insights into the ancient history of western North America, according to an international research team led by scientists from the Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah.

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Artist's rendering of what Velafrons coahuilensis, the new duck-billed dinosaur from
Mexico, would have looked like.

A brain imaging study conducted by researchers from Stony Brook University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University seem to suggest that cultural influences determine how we use our brains.

People from East Asian cultures use their brains differently than people from American culture when solving the same mental task based on simple visual perception. This finding is based on the results of a brain imaging study by researchers from Stony Brook University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University. The finding shows for the first time that the culture one is raised in and the extent to which one identifies with that culture influences brain activity patterns. The study appeared in the January issue of Psychological Science in a research report titled “Cultural Influences on Neural Substrates of Attentional Control.”

A collaborative study by biologists in Israel, the U.S, France and Germany has found that evolution is not a random process, but rather occurs through the natural selection of successful traits. The findings confirm the mechanism of natural selection behind Darwin’s theory of evolution.

According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, individuals in a species pass successful traits onto their offspring through a process called “deterministic inheritance.” Over multiple generations, advantageous developmental trends – such as the lengthening of the giraffe’s neck – occur.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Haifa, a ninety minute nape will speed up the process of long term memory consolidation.

A ninety minute daytime nap helps speed up the process of long term memory consolidation, a recent study conducted by Prof. Avi Karni and Dr. Maria Korman of the Center for Brain and Behavior Research at the University of Haifa found. The research was published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience. "We still don't know the exact mechanism of the memory process that occurs during sleep, but the results of this research suggest the possibility that it is possible to speed up memory consolidation, and in the future, we may be able to do it artificially," said Prof. Karni.

The stunning amount of forest devastation at Tunguska a century ago in Siberia may have been caused by an asteroid only a fraction as large as previously published estimates, Sandia National Laboratories supercomputer simulations suggest.

The stunning amount of forest devastation at Tunguska a century ago in Siberia may have been caused by an asteroid only a fraction as large as previously published estimates, Sandia National Laboratories supercomputer simulations suggest.

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INCINERATION POSSIBLE - Fine points of
the "fireball" that might be expected from an
asteroid exploding in Earth's atmosphere are
indicated in a supercomputer simulation
devised by a team led by Sandia researcher
Mark Boslough.

A team of neurobiologists led by UIC researcher Dave Featherstone has discovered that homosexuality in fruit flies is controlled by a novel regulator of synapse strength. By harnessing this discovery, the researchers are able to use either genetics or drugs to turn fly homosexual behavior on and off within hours.

While the biological basis for homosexuality remains a mystery, a team of neurobiologists reports they may have closed in on an answer -- by a nose.

Faint, fleeting blue flashes of radiation emitted by particles that travel faster than the speed of light through the atmosphere may help scientists solve one of the oldest mysteries in astrophysics.

For nearly a century, scientists have wondered about the origin of cosmic rays—subatomic particles of matter that stream in from outer space. “Where exactly, we don’t know,” said Scott Wakely, Assistant Professor in Physics at the University of Chicago. “They’re raining down on the atmosphere of the Earth, tens of thousands of particles per second per square meter.”

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Scott Wakely, Assistant Professor in Physics at
the University of Chicago, and colleagues at
Argonne National Laboratory built a prototype
instrument for studying cosmic rays with
unprecedented precision from a ground-
based instrument.

Resembling festive lights on a holiday wreath, this Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy M74 is an iconic reminder of the impending season.

Resembling festive lights on a holiday wreath, this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy M74 is an iconic reminder of the impending season. Bright knots of glowing gas light up the spiral arms, indicating a rich environment of star formation.

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A new analysis of genetic variation among more than two dozen native populations bolsters the theory that the ancestors of modern native peoples across the Americas came via a northwest land bridge some 12,000 years ago.

Did a relatively small number of people from Siberia who trekked across a Bering Strait land bridge some 12,000 years ago give rise to the native peoples of North and South America?

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The U-M study analyzed genetic data from 29 Native American
populations. It suggests a Siberian origin is much more likely
than a South Asian or Polynesian origin.

Or did the ancestors of today’s native peoples come from other parts of Asia or Polynesia, arriving multiple times at several places on the two continents, by sea as well as by land, in successive migrations that began as early as 30,000 years ago?