Just Plain WEIRD #2
Scientists have identified a set of neurons in the brain that, when activated, allow mice to live longer and healthier lives. Depositphotos – By Michael Irving 2024 Jan 09 – Slowing down the dreaded aging process is something that everybody’s interested in, and now …
Social media and cellphones connected President Trump to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images – By Joan Donovan, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media Studies, Boston University Published: 2024 Jan 05 – The shocking events of 2021 Jan 06, …
A new study has provided the first direct evidence to explain the function of sleep. Depositphotos – By Paul McClure 2024 Jan 08 – Researchers have combined physics and biology in a study that provides the first direct evidence explaining why we sleep. Viewing …
Figure’s 01 humanoid robot demonstrates its new watch-and-learn capabilities by autonomously using a coffee machine. Perhaps not the most spectacular demo, but this could open the floodgates to a massive acceleration of general-purpose robotics. Figure – By Loz Blain 2024 Jan 07 – Figure’s …
Plants with the altered microbiome proved to be more resistant to harmful bacteria. Depositphotos – By Ben Coxworth 2024 Jan 05 – The “microbiome” is the unique population of microorganisms found in and on every plant and animal. Scientists have now genetically altered that …
The Unitree B2 quadruped robot is claimed to tip the scales at about 60 kg (132 lb). Unitree Robotics – By Ben Coxworth 2023 Dec 27 – While Boston Dynamics may have pioneered the field of quadruped “robot dogs,” Chinese company Unitree has definitely …
Martin Howard, left, and Stephen Hopkins came to opposing conclusions about their colonial British identities. Howard: John Singleton Copley via Wikimedia Commons; Hopkins: New York Public Library, CC BY-SA By Abby Chandler, Associate Professor of History, UMass Lowell Published: 2024 Jan 04 – …
Scientists are only just beginning to unravel the mind-body connection that appears to impact physiological changes such as healing. Depositphotos – By Bronwyn Thompson 2024 Jan 03 – For the first time, scientists have been able to establish that our perception of the passing …
An artist’s impression of a Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, which might neatly sum up the whole debate. University of Bath – By Michael Irving 2024 Jan 02 – The debate rages on about whether fossils of small tyrannosaurs were a distinct species …
Extreme downpours filled downtown Montpelier, Vt., with water in July 2023. John Tully for The Washington Post via Getty Images – By Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton Published: 2023 Dec 19 – The year 2023 was marked …