60-Second Science | Evolution Cuttlefish Use Ancient Ink Formula The melanin in modern-day cuttlefish ink is nearly chemically identical to the pigment found in ancient cephalopods' fossilized ink sacs. Sophie Bushwick reports May 25, 2012 | 1 More 60-Second Science Subscribe via RSS iTunes Tens of millions of years ago, cephalopods were hiding from their enemies in clouds of ink. And it turns out that cuttlefish today produce ink that’s almost identical. Researchers found fossils of two giant cephalopods that swam the seas more than 160 million years ago. Each one contained a preserved ink sac. Analysis of the sacs revealed that some melanin pigment—the stuff that makes the ink dark—had survived. Plus, the chemical makeup of the melanin was virtually the same as the ... Continue reading →
60-Second Science | Mind & Brain Eating Fat Makes Mice Brain Want More Mice fed a high fat diet make new cells in the hypothalamus, which may increase the desire to eat more. Karen Hopkin reports. May 24, 2012 More 60-Second Science Subscribe via RSS iTunes If you could add cells anywhere in your body, you might pick your brain. More brain cells should make you smarter, right? Well, a new study shows that they might just make you fatter. Because animals that make new nerve cells in a brain region that controls hunger tend to pack on the pounds. The results appear in the journal Nature Neuroscience. [Daniel A. Lee et al, Tanycytes of the hypothalamic median eminence form a diet-responsive neurogenic niche] In ... Continue reading →
60-Second Tech | Technology Texts May Beat Phone Calls For Survey Honest Answers A study of 600 iPhone users found that people are more likely to provide honest and accurate information via text messages than voice interviews. Larry Greenemeier reports. May 24, 2012 Someone doing a survey calls and asks: "How many times a week would you say you exercise?" What do you tell them? And would it be different if the survey was being done via text rather than telephone? Maybe. Because people are more likely to provide honest and accurate information via text messages than voice interviews. So finds a study reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. [Michael F. Schober et al, Disclosure and Quality of ... Continue reading →
President Barack Obama is seen through the viewfinder of a video camera. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) Shorn of our media’s preoccupation with personality conflict, tabloid gossip and cliché, the fundamental shape of American politics looks pretty simple these days. Campaigns cost money. The people with the money to pay for them are extremely wealthy. And in exchange for their money, they want more money. They get it by ensuring that the politicians who are elected write laws to their advantage (and, lately, that the politicans also appoint judges who will keep it all secret). About the Author Eric Alterman is a Distinguished Professor of English, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and Professor of... Also by the Author Eric on what drives him crazy and ... Continue reading →
60-Second Science | Mind & Brain Babies' Attention Choices Fall in Goldilocks Zone Babies quickly lost interest in a video when the material they were confronted with was either boringly simple or stultifyingly complex. Cynthia Graber reports May 23, 2012 | 4 More 60-Second Science Subscribe via RSS iTunes It’s a confusing world for babies. To make sense of it, they look for intellectual stimulation. But they’re only interested if what they look at is not too hard to comprehend—or boringly easy. Researchers call it the Goldilocks effect, in a study in the journal Public Library of Science One. [Celeste Kidd, Steven T. Piantadosi and Richard N. Aslin, "The Goldilocks Effect: Human Infants Allocate Attention to Visual Sequences That Are Neither Too Simple Nor Too ... Continue reading →
During his closing remarks at the Heartland Institute's Seventh "International Conference on Climate Change," Heartland President Joseph Bast revealed that the group has no plans to hold another conference and is struggling to pay its staff following the defections of corporate sponsors in the wake of the disastrous Unabomber billboard campaign and Deniergate document dump. "I'm not a good fundraiser," Bast admitted to the crowd today in Chicago as the gathering wound down. Bast appealed directly to the crowd for donations, saying that "if you've got a rich uncle" [ask him to donate to Heartland]. "At this point we have no plans to do another ICCC," Bast said, referring to the somewhat-annual gatherings which DeSmogBlog dubbed Denial-a-Palooza years ago. Watch Bast's closing remarks here (fast ... Continue reading →
In this video, Woody Allen reads “Not A Creature Was Stirring,” his Shouts & Murmurs piece from this week’s issue. Continue reading →
60-Second Science | More Science High-Ranking Baboons Heal Faster The higher their social status, the less likely male baboons are to fall ill and the faster they recover from both illness and injury. Sophie Bushwick reports. May 22, 2012 More 60-Second Science Subscribe via RSS iTunes As any high school quarterback knows, a lofty social status comes with plenty of perks. Now a study of baboons finds that such status benefits may include better health. The study is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Elizabeth A. Archie, Jeanne Altmann and Susan C. Alberts, Social status predicts wound healing in wild baboons] Researchers reviewed 27 years’ worth of records of illness and injury in male baboons to answer one question: Where’s the healthier ... Continue reading →
