In the It-From-Bit series I have reported extensively on Verlinde's 'entropic gravity' concept. I have also provided you with an illustrative 'mikado universe' picture of entropic gravity. This got topped off with my own intuitive notion that in an entropic universe, not only gravity, but also accelerated cosmic expansion emerges. As a result, in one fell swoop, entropy eliminates the need for a fundamental force of gravity as well as the need for dark energy. 

The Anatomy Of A Discovery

Petermann Glacier Ice Tongue Calving 2010


Science20.com is a science site.


Now, I could blabber and bluster about how I once advised Margaret Thatcher¹.  Which I did.  In a private letter which was answered by the Iron Lady herself in her own handwriting.  I had further communication with her via my local M.P. - the politician, not the policeman!  All of which has nothing whatsoever to do with my reputation in the science community.  Nor should it.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology say they have unraveled the mystery of why human embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death) when cultured in isolation, a discovery that promises new hope to sufferers of debilitating degenerative diseases.

"All Americans look alike" is a common joke in Asia and a similar sentiment is expressed in virtually every other country populated by a race different than its tourists.   And to some degree it is true.  Most people find it much harder to recognize faces of people from different races than their own.

During a 15-month research project funded by the  Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Teesside University academic Dr. Kazuyo Nakabayashi will carry out experiments in Japan and the UK and collate behavioral and eye movement data.

The study will involve asking students from different races to look at Oriental and Caucasian faces in photographs and online and will examine the ‘recognition keys’ they use – their eye movement, for example.

Thimios Mitsiadis, Professor for Oral Biology at the University of Zurich, says he has shown that  during tooth formation (odontogenesis) if the Jagged2 gene is inactivated, and thus the Notch signaling pathway is interrupted, tooth crowns will be malformed and enamel will be lacking.

Signaling pathways cells react to signals from their environment and one of the most important signaling pathways is the Notch signaling pathway. It is evolutionary conserved to a very high degree and it is involved in the development of all organs and tissues in animal and human embryos.

One way to understand how life similar to that on Earth could exist on other planets is to travel to one of the coldest places on Earth and find the planet's coolest creatures.

Professor Liane Benning from the University of Leeds and Dr. Dominique Tobler from the University of Glasgow are traveling to Ny-Ålesund on the island of Svalbard to investigate how the snow and ice there was first colonized by extremophiles, which frequently refers to prokaryotes but are any organisms that thrive in harsh conditions.

When you woke up this morning were you an expert water measurer? No? Well, you will be after reading this article. But that might not be a good thing: experts are sometimes worse off than regular Janes and Joes. To see why, first we need to wire your brain for expertise–read on.

Remember the octopus that stole a diver's camera and filmed itself swimming away? Ha ha ha, very nice--but it's only a few minutes of footage of only one octopus. Can you top that, Humboldt squid? Why yes, I think you can!

As a freelancer, I ran into a pay issue with Human Resources, that worked like a bad Star Trek episode.  Distilling down the two weeks of back-and-forth, we get this mess:

Me: My pay is short-- is it hours, pay rate, or deductions?
HR: You worked X hours.  Denied.
Me: Okay, is it the rate?
HR: We payed the right rate.  Denied.
Me: Is it... deductions?
HR: Yes, we did deductions.  Resolved.
Me: How can I find out what you deducted?
HR: Your paystub.  Resolved.
Me: How do I get a paystub?
HR: VPN link #4 -> MyCompany -> Newsletter -> Quicklinks -> Paychecks.
Me: That's... intuitive.
HR: Answer invalid.  Try again.

Attractive women face discrimination when it comes to landing certain kinds of jobs, especially those with job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor where appearance is considered unimportant, says a new study.   The discrimination was done by both men and women.

But attractive men were not discriminated against, even by women.  It is called the "beauty is beastly" effect, where attractiveness is a hindrance.