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If you ever visited a neighboring country and found that the people there had little or no connection to your own country’s culture, language or even physical appearance, it’s only natural that you wonder how this can be; after all, if the countries share a border, they have to resemble many traits?? Not really. It […]
Photo by Firentzesca Recently, attempts to make “cloaking technology” possible have reached a great level, with major break throws. Among mentionable achievements, more notable are the work of Oleg Gadomsky, a Russian professor that managed to redirect light around objects and that of the people from the University of Maryland, who reported the successful cloaking […]
The Yale School of Medicine researchers conducted a study in 13 countries which lead to the conclusion that there may be a connection between school bullying and children who resort to suicide. The lead author, Young-Shin Kim, part of the Yale research team, and her colleague, Bennett Leventhal, claim that the exact causality between the […]
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but according to a study led by Andrei Sommer, Dan Zhu, and Hans-Joerg Fecht, diamonds are life’s best friend too. According to them, billions of years ago the surface of these precious gems made it possible for life to rise, by providing just the right chemical conditions. It is […]
Renewable energy has found a considerable support in wind farms, as more and more people seem to be adopting this green and cheap solution as a better alternative towards traditional energy. For example, Samsø, an island near Denmark, gets all its energy from renewable sources; the huge number of wind farms in which are being […]
Everybody pondered at least once in their lives the possibility of being immortal, and this idea sparkled in the immagination of many people throughout history. Now, Stuart Kim, a PhD at Stanford and professor of developmental biology and genetics conducted a study that led to results that shocked pretty much everybody involved, contradicting the […]
It’s hard to say that during last year’s G8 summit the “world leaders” made promises and predictions that were just words for the voters without feeling ridiculous; I’m not one to fall for fine words that sounds identical to what you want to hear, but I was expecting at least few of those I heard […]
A few days ago, I wrote about the damage that a well intended, but wrongly conducted mangrove restoration could cause; the article itself was focusing on the Philippines. It is time to underline (again) the importance that they have on ecosystems which rely on them way more than you would probably guess.Just a few days […]
The environmental challenges we have to overcome (fast) cover virtually every field in human activity. Focuses such as finding green fuels, renewable and sustainable sources of energy and other related findings attract more people, more ideas, and visible steps are made towards the right direction. Probably the only concern is how fast and how effective […]
Lester Brown is “one of the world’s most influential thinkers”, according to the Washington Post, and the Calcutta refers to him as “the guru of the environmental movement”. He has been trying to analyze problems and also trying to find solutions to these problems. Books such as Seeds of Change (1970) and Who will Feed […]
Think about China today; the country with the most people in the world, who’s surface is in the top 5 of the world, and who’s industry is really developing, relying almost entirely on pollutant non-green fuels, which caused an increased and even dangerous degree of pollution. Still, despite the fact that it’s area is […]
Who isn’t paying attention when Al Gore is talking? The impact he has on people from America and all around the world is just huge, hard to comprehend. He’s probably no saint, but he doesn’t have to be. Due to what he promotes, he managed to promote and help “green” ways of living, giving a […]
Actually, it’s not about the brightest star of all, but the brightest star in our galaxy. It seems there’s a new contender for the title of Milky Way brightest star; it’s near its dusty center, and infrared observations performed by NASA have revealed how bright it is by piercing the dust that surrounds it. The […]
Archaeopteryx has been the subject of many controversies, but it is now widely considered as the world’s oldest bird; however, reptiles were flying for 50 million years when it appeared, even before the world was roamed by dinosaurs. Now, paleontologists have unveiled an extraordinary prehistoric ‘flying’ reptile which lived 235 million years ago.It’s called kuehneosaurs […]
If you have a bug you want to identify and know everything about, there’s one place which will solve all your problems; the experts at the Natural History Museum in London are proud to say that they can identify species from around the globe, from birds and mammals to insects and snakes. Still, if you […]
Whether you want to admit it or now, the world (and most of all America) has a problem with obesity. The fact that people are eating less healthy and working out less is something that can’t be denied even by the most optimistic of us. However, even taking into consideration all those aspects, the numbers […]
Credits A few miles inland from the Sea of Cortez, cracked earth contrasts with the clear, cloudless sky to create a beautiful yet cruel and unforgiving landscape. Here, resources are scarce and people are even fewer. Still, one man fights agains all these adversities; amid mosquitos, cactus, and an almost unbearable heat Carl Hodges manages […]
The city of Seattle is one of the most active cities in the US and in the world in what concerns protecting the environment. They encourage hybrids, green fuels, fight against bottled water and now, there is an issue the people of Seattle have been given the chance to vote for. In another […]
If you were to be optimistic, where do you think mankind would get most of its energy a century from now? Most would say from renewable sources. In fact, this project has been going on for a few years now. But just as any project needs, this one has an experiment which so far has […]
Michio Kaku, a highly regarded physicist and one of the world’s leading authorities on string theory (essentially an attempt to discover a “theory of everything” combining all of the known physical forces) has virtually redefined what is impossible and what is not. He has studied and tried to predict the future of science and physics […]
We all know (or really should know) the benefic impact a healthy lifestyle has on your body and mind. But according to a study led by U.S. researchers, exercising and having a balanced diet can not just keep you fit, but it can also lead to some swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level.In […]
The salt and pepper of any religion, mythology or folklore is represented by legendary figures, known to us, mortals, as heroes; and with all the fascinating legends and myths, it’s really hard to choose just five of them, which is why there will probably be an epic sequel to this. Heracles Heracles or Hercules (meaning […]
When I read what Ray Kurzweil said about the future, I was just awed! I mean, coming from somebody else, it would seem ludacris (even from him, I find it really hard to believe), but c’mon, the man is one of the best futurists we have, so he HAS to know what he’s talking about. […]
For the first time, scientists have found fossilized burrows of tetrapods (four legged vertebrates) in Antarctica dating from the Early Triassic epoch, about 245 million years ago. They’ve been conducted research there since early 2006, and it’s the first time they’ve actually found something of this calibre. The fossils are created in a relatively simple […]
The Caribbean Monk seal (or West Indian seal) has been announced extinct on Friday. This comes as a shock (at least for me – and many others), as this is the first seal species announced extinct due to human activities; now, it will only be seen in drawings.After five years of futile efforts in which […]
Geography Easter Island (Rapa Nui in the native Easter Island language) is situated in the southeastern Pacific Ocean – it’s an overseas territory of Chile. It’s the most isolated inhabited area, and it’s famous for the monumental statues, called moai (pronounced MOE-eye) which have fascinated and baffled people for many, many years; and still, no […]
The Phoenix Lander was definitely a marking moment for scientists and researchers, who now have the opportunity of actually seeing what they could have just speculated about before. For example, just take a look at this picture the probe sent back on Friday. Phoenix scientist Ray Arvidson said there may be ice directly […]
Seven was considered a magic number by the ancient Greeks. So when it came to naming the most impressive constructions mankind had achieved at the time, it was a must that they settle on just seven. The historian Herodotus and the architect Callimachus of Cyrene made these lists, but their writing remained only as references. […]
For almost a century, scientists have been trying to figure out what’s good and what’s bad about Einstein’s vision of the universe. Blending the traditional view of physics with the bizarre almost impossible to understand world of quantum physics is no easy task – for anybody. It’s due to our current understanding of these phenomena […]
Think about the hottest thing that comes to your mind; probably, 90% of people would answer the Sun. But what if you found out that some scientists in Oxfordshire have heated matter to 10 million Celsius, hotter than the surface of the Sun, marking a major landmark in research, you’d probably change your mind. […]
Photo by net_efekt In what is a laudable action, Germany has banned a family of pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. This comes after honeybees have had numerous things to suffer from – from climate change to pesticides and diseases which caused millions or even billions of deaths. The German […]
The ball aproaches the field and… touchdown! NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander survived the fiery dive into Mars’ atmosphere Sunday to make a three-point landing in the planet’s arctic regions. This is absolutely a fantastic achievement which included an impressive amount of work and so many people that struggled for this common magnificent objective. “It looks […]
A study conducted by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health showed that cat ownership probably has a very good effect on young children of ages up to 5 years. The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. […]
If we were to state the obvious, there are 2 sides: creationists and evolutionists. Creationists are mostly religious people, and they believe humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were created in their original form by a deity. Of course, evolutionists accept the scientific theory of biological evolution by natural selection or genetic […]
It’s still unclear how sleep deprivation affects us, as there are still so many things scientists have failed to understand about sleep itself. But now, neuroscientists at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore have shown for the first time what happens to the visual perceptions of healthy but sleep-deprived people who struggle […]
Just like when you lie certain things happen in your brain, the same thing happens when you think something about somebody. But what happens in our brain when we judge people or at least when we make an idea about someone? Those (and many other) questions have been tackled by MIT neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe. Her […]
I really hope everybody knows who Einstein is, and many people know why he is famous and how he left is mark in the scientific world. Still, aside from his brilliant results in physics (mostly), he is also very well known for his aphorisms, metaphors and overall interesting way of expressing himself. I’ve always […]
Photo by ±‡ U a € ï ¥ a H ‡± Life has ups and downs, reminding more or less of an emotional rollercoaster; but some memories stay in your memory way longer than the others. Emotional memories of traumatic life events (physical or mental), especially cases of accidents or serious illnesses are stored […]
I’ve always been fascinated by intelligence as a human trait. Smarter and more intelligent people seem to have this sort of aura that surrounds them, but how much of this ability is native and how much can be developed? Ever since the experiments conducted on fruit flies showed that the flies that were taught […]
Photo by bocavermelha Sometimes, animals are better than humans. Quite a lot of times actually, but that’s not the point here. We’re going to take a look at some record holding animals that are (or do things that are) just unbelievable! The biggest – the blue whale. Photo by Dan Shapiro. Credit: NOAA via pingnews […]
Well this sure sounds like a good plan to me… Scientists found out that Ketamine (also called Special K if you hang out with the right people), which is used as a horse tranquilizer but also as a club drug could ease depression. Who would have guessed ? Ketamine, which can also cause […]
Photo by konaboy Contrary to popular belief, “going green” is not something you can do just when you finish work or when you’re in the mood. It’s something that must became a part of your life at all time (when possible). Many people aren’t even close to realizing how much green potential your job has. […]
Well this is a bit of a stretch; the thing is an 87-million-year-old praying mantis was found encased in amber in Japan. Scientists believe it may prove to be very useful in establishing a connection between mantises from the Cretaceous period and modern-day insects.Researchers have been searching for this “missing link” for many […]
Our life may be better or worse, our health may be better or worse, but one thing has definitely improved over the past decades: technology; and that’s a really big thing. So what better way to prove the progress of technology than 2 pictures of Earth? The first was taken from the weather […]
I’m going to continue with this month’s mountain theme, as it seemed to be really loved (even more will follow after this). In the previous post I wrote, with the 5 highest mountains in the world I felt bad because I didn’t have the chance to mention two mountains which fascinated alpinists from all around […]
Recently, a team of researchers (with the help of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and a host of international telescope partners) have managed to get the clearest observation yet of the “core” of a black hole. A black hole is a region of space in which the gravitational field […]
How can this be? Medicine has progressed… we have drugs for everything, surgery, etc. So how come people live less and less in a country that claims to be the most civilized in the world ? In fact, it decreased with more than six years for women between 1960 and 2000. Now, a new, long-term […]
Photo by Stefan Everybody (or almost everybody) believes that no matter what, USA remains “polluter no. 1”. Don’t take my word for it, just ask BBC’s environment analyst Roger Harrabin – he says the same thing. The industry is by far the most developed, so that would seem logical, despite the fact the China and […]
Photo by jago In a study conducted by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University that claimed a different perspective, it was published that it takes between 3,000 gallons and 6,000 gallons of water to power a 60-watt incandescent bulb for about 12 hours per day in a year. As it turns out, size […]
University of Maryland researchers have managed to shed some light in an important matter which puzzled medical scientists and not only for ages: how iron carried in human blood is absorbed and transported into the body. Among the benefits of this discovery I’ll just name a better understanding of iron deficiency, the world’s number one […]
