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Bubbles In Ice Could Be A Future Medium For Secret Codes

Scholars have developed a method to encode binary and Morse code messages in ice. A 'message in...

Nearly Complete Harbin Skull From 146,000 Years Ago Belongs To The Denisovan Lineage

The discovery of the Denisovans 15 years ago set off a chain of evolutionary research into how...

Humans Have Always Adapted To Changing Climates - It's Why We Conquered The World

In the Cradles of Civilization, there are entire cities covered in sand that were once thriving...

Social Media Addiction Behavior, Not Time, Is A Harbinger Of Young Mental Health

Screen time is a concern for parents and mental health advocates but looking at screen time may...

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Mars Hephaestus Fossae Ortho-Image Shows Channels Of Unknown Origin

Mars Hephaestus Fossae Ortho-Image Shows Channels Of Unknown Origin

Jun 05 2009 | comment(s)

ESA’s Mars Express orbiter has obtained images of Hephaestus Fossae, , which lies at about 21° North and 126° East on Mars. Named after the Greek god of fire, Hephaestus Fossae extends for more than 600 km on the western flank of Elysium Mons in the Utopia Planitia region. 

The images have a ground resolution of about 16 m/pixel. They show that the region has channel systems of unknown origin.  The images cover 170 x 80 sq km, an area almost as large as Montenegro. The surface is mostly smooth, and is covered by several small impact craters 800-2800 m in diameter. Smaller craters are scattered across the entire region.
New Technique Extracts Water From Air Humidity Using Renewable Energy

New Technique Extracts Water From Air Humidity Using Renewable Energy

Jun 05 2009 | comment(s)

Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart working in conjunction with their colleagues from the company Logos Innovationen have found a way of converting this air humidity autonomously and decentrally into drinkable water. 

Even in deserts the air contains water and the research scientists have found a way of obtaining drinking water from air humidity using a system is based completely on renewable energy, making it autonomous.

Even in places with no lakes, rivers or groundwater, considerable quantities of water are stored in the air. In the Negev desert in Israel, for example, annual average relative air humidity is 64 percent – in every cubic meter of air there are 11.5 milliliters of water.
JAST - This Robot Will Anticipate (And Maybe Even Question) Your Actions

JAST - This Robot Will Anticipate (And Maybe Even Question) Your Actions

Jun 05 2009 | comment(s)

The thinking, talking robots of Isaac Asimov science fiction are nothing like what we actually have - programmed machines that do the simplest things.   European researchers in robotics, psychology and cognitive sciences say they have developed a robot that can predict the intentions of its human partner; this ability to anticipate (or even question) actions could make human-robot interactions more natural.

You cannot make human-robot interaction more natural unless you understand what 'natural' actually means. But few studies have investigated the cognitive mechanisms that are the basis of joint activity (i.e. where two people are working together to achieve a common goal).
Ghrelin Hunger Hormone Activated By Fatty Foods, Not Your Empty Stomach

Ghrelin Hunger Hormone Activated By Fatty Foods, Not Your Empty Stomach

Jun 05 2009 | comment(s)

New research suggests that the hunger hormone ghrelin is activated by fats from the foods we eat in order to optimize nutrient metabolism and promote the storage of body fat.  The findings, the study's author says, turn the current model about ghrelin on its head and point to a novel stomach enzyme (GOAT) responsible for the ghrelin activation process that could be targeted in future treatments for metabolic diseases. 

The laboratory study, led by Matthias Tschöp, MD, UC associate professor of psychiatry and internal medicine, is published online ahead of print Friday, June 5, 2009, in the journal Nature Medicine. 
MAOA - If You Have This Gene, You're More Likely To Join A Gang?

MAOA - If You Have This Gene, You're More Likely To Join A Gang?

Jun 05 2009 | comment(s)

Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), called the 'warrior' gene by some, are more likely to join gangs and be among their most violent members, according to a study from a Florida State University criminologist that associates MAOA to gangs and guns.

Findings apply only to males, which makes an unsubstantiated allele argument necessary.  Girls with the same variant of the MAOA gene don't show any propensity toward gang membership or weapon use.   MAOA  has also been implicated in ADHD, bipolar disorder, cancer and smoking.  Basically, if you don't have any other explanation for something, MAOA is the way to go.
In The 'Laughter Evolutionary Tree', We're Closest To Chimps, Says Researcher

In The 'Laughter Evolutionary Tree', We're Closest To Chimps, Says Researcher

Jun 04 2009 | comment(s)

Human laughter can be traced back 10-16 million years to the last common ancestor of humans and great apes, according to new research published today.   Dr Marina Davila Ross, a primatologist of the psychology department at the University of Portsmouth, reconstructed the origins of human laughter by mapping the laughter sounds of great apes and humans on an evolutionary tree.

In Davila Ross’s reconstructed evolutionary tree, humans were closest to bonobos and chimpanzees, more distant from gorillas and most distant from orangutans.  

Biologists always love when researchers in psychology departments reconfigure the evolutionary tree for them.