Researchers at University of California have demonstrated the ability to create memories, erase them and create them again. The researchers used light-sensitive proteins and optical fibers to enact long-term potentiation between neurons, creating new associations. “We could do it over and over, once we knew how to do it,” University of California lead researcher Roberto Malinow told The Speaker. … Read more
Tel-Aviv University researchers have found that agreeing with people on controversial issues causes them to reconsider their opinions, becoming more accepting of differing points of view. The study, “Paradoxical thinking as a new avenue of intervention to promote peace,” was completed by Boaz Hameiria, Roni Poratc, Daniel Bar-Tald, Atara Bielerb, and Eran Halperinb, and was … Read more
A recent study by Pennsylvania State and the University of Texas has looked at the varying levels of generosity exhibited by people around the world, and has found that, although some countries are much more generous than others, the issue is more complex than some might think. The report, “Accepting Inequality Deters Responsibility: How Power … Read more
A new joint collaboration between Tel Aviv University, Columbia University’s Medical Center, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has demonstrated that life events can effect the genetic heritage of an organism’s immediate descendants. The Columbia team was able to show that transgenerational memory is passed on through an organism’s short RNAs for at least three generations. “It … Read more
The area needed to meet the world’s current electricity needs–16,000 TWh/y–would be smaller than a 254 km x 254 km square section of the unused Sahara desert, theoretically. The demand of the EU states only could be met by a 110 x 110 km parcel. A single nation like Germany? 45 x 45 km, which is equal to … Read more
It is now possible to watch world-wide lighting strikes play live on your computer screen in real-time, and for free. Blitzortung is a free, live, lighting strike map developed by Heinrich-Heine-University of Dusseldorf professor Egon Wanke and LUCOM lead developer Tobias Volgnandt, who created the service “just to provide free and live lightning maps” for the world. … Read more
Researchers testing the amount of plastic garbage polluting the earth’s oceans have discovered a mystery. Instead of finding evidence of the millions of tons of durable plastic garbage expected to litter the ocean surface, they found only tens of thousands. In the 1970s, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that 45,000 tons of plastic garbage … Read more
Two marine researchers have published a report on two prominent near-bottom fish species of the northern seas, looking at how the two species fared in the warming waters of the past decade. The researchers looked at Bering Sea walleye pollock and Atlantic cod, and proposed that the differences in how the two species fared may … Read more
Amsterdam-based advertising agency Lemz created a CG 10-year old to enter chatrooms and collect 1,000 identities of participants in a form of child sex tourism called webcam child sex tourism. The advertising team spent 10 weeks of 10-hour days hunting for predators. This week, the children’s charity Terre des Hommes, which was partly responsible for … Read more
Neuroscientists and engineers at North Carolina’s Duke University have pioneered a method with which the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on the brain can be measured. The Duke team has made it possible to measure the response of a single neuron to an electromagnetic charge–something that has not before been possible. The work offers the … Read more
Physicists at Delft University, Netherlands have teleported information. The teleportation took place over a distance of three meters (10 feet), and used a procedure called quantum entanglement. The team achieved this teleportation with 100 percent reliability and without altering the pieces of matter. Teleportation of this nature has never been accomplished before outside of fiction. … Read more
A new study conducted by William Paterson University has ranked the healthiest fruit and vegetable superfoods. The 41-item list was compiled based on nutrient density, and is considered to be an important step toward defining and quantifying green foods based on their nutritional value in order to help consumers in choosing the healthiest foods. The study, … Read more