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
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
Physicists at University of Queensland, Australia have simulated time travel using particles of light. The researchers achieved this by simulating the behavior of a single piece of light–a particle of energy–traveling on a closed timelike curve (CTC)–a closed path in space-time. The work may help to understand the longstanding problem of how time-travel could be possible in … Read more
In 2012, California businessman Russ George illegally dumped 120 tons of iron sulfide over a 25,000 kilometer (15,000 mile) square area off the British Columbia coast in order to create a massive algae bloom to feed Pacific fish and increase catches. Now, salmon runs are setting a new records to the tune of an added … Read more
Scientists at Northwestern University have found evidence that four times the amount of water commonly thought to exist on Earth actually exists. The study, based on years of seismographical data, shows the existence of massive amounts of water located 255-400 miles (410-660 kilometers) under the surface of the Earth–equivalent to three times Earth’s oceans–and has … Read more