| Thumbs-up for mind-controlled robotic arm Posted: 16 Dec 2014 06:20 PM PST A paralyzed woman who controlled a robotic arm using just her thoughts has taken another step towards restoring her natural movements by controlling the arm with a range of complex hand movements.  |
| When you lose weight, where does the fat go? Posted: 16 Dec 2014 06:20 PM PST Despite a worldwide obsession with diets and fitness regimes, many health professionals cannot correctly answer the question of where body fat goes when people lose weight, a new study shows. The most common misconception among doctors, dieticians and personal trainers is that the missing mass has been converted into energy or heat. The correct answer is that most of the mass is breathed out as carbon dioxide and goes into thin air.  |
| Are video gaming systems a safe Christmas present? Posted: 16 Dec 2014 06:20 PM PST Nintendo video gaming systems are common Christmas presents, but how safe are they? Early reports included seizures (dubbed "Nintendo epilepsy") and two cases of Nintendo related incontinence in children who were so engrossed in Super Mario Bros that they ignored their urge to go to the toilet.  |
| Kids' cartoon characters twice as likely to die as counterparts in films for adults: Content on a par with 'rampant horrors' of popular films Posted: 16 Dec 2014 06:20 PM PST Principal cartoon characters are more than twice as likely to be killed off as their counterparts in films for adults released in the same year, reveals new research. On-screen death and violence can be particularly traumatic for young children, and the impact can be intense and long lasting.  |
| Biologist reveals how whales may 'sing' for their supper Posted: 16 Dec 2014 02:57 PM PST Humpback whales have a trick or two, when it comes to finding a quick snack at the bottom of the ocean. Even in the dark. Biologists have been studying these unique feeding behaviors. Her research emphasizes the importance of specific auditory cues that these mammoth creatures emit, as they search the deep ocean for their prey.  |
| Big-data analysis reveals gene sharing in mice Posted: 16 Dec 2014 02:57 PM PST Scientists have detected at least three potential hybridization events that likely shaped the evolutionary paths of 'old world' mice, two in recent times and one in the ancient past. The researchers think these instances of introgressive hybridization -- a way for genetic material and, potentially, traits to be passed from one species to another through interspecific mating -- are only the first of many needles waiting to be found in a very large genetic haystack. While introgressive hybridization is thought to be common among plants, the finding suggests that hybridization in mammals may not be the evolutionary dead end biologists once commonly thought.  |
| NASA Goddard instrument makes first detection of organic matter on Mars Posted: 16 Dec 2014 11:41 AM PST Scientists have made the first definitive detection of organic molecules at Mars. The surface of Mars is currently inhospitable to life as we know it, but there is evidence that the Red Planet once had a climate that could have supported life billions of years ago.  |
| First steps for Hector the robot stick insect Posted: 16 Dec 2014 08:29 AM PST A research team has succeeded in teaching the only robot of its kind in the world how to walk.The robot is called Hector, and its construction is modeled on a stick insect. Inspired by the insect, Hector has passive elastic joints and an ultralight exoskeleton. What makes it unique is that it is also equipped with a great number of sensors and it functions according to a biologically inspired decentralized reactive control concept: the Walknet.  |
| A lot or a little? Wolves discriminate quantities better than dogs Posted: 16 Dec 2014 07:05 AM PST Being able to mentally consider quantities makes sense for any social species. Scientists studied how well dogs can discriminate between different quantities and discovered that wolves perform better than dogs at such tasks. Possibly dogs lost this skill, or a predisposition for it, during domestication.  |
| Is the Higgs Boson a piece of the matter-antimatter puzzle? Posted: 16 Dec 2014 07:04 AM PST Several experiments, including the BaBar experiment have helped explain some – but not all – of the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe. Now theorists have laid out a possible method for determining if the Higgs Boson is involved. Why there's more matter than antimatter is one of the biggest questions confounding particle physicists and cosmologists, and it cuts to the heart of our own existence.  |
| Want to distract someone? An emotional face might work Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:16 AM PST The sudden appearance of a face within our visual field can affect the motor action accompanying a gesture even if the face is totally unrelated to what we are doing and even if we try to ignore it. With one condition, though: the face must display strong emotion.  |
