The common understanding of the uncertainty relation says that it is impossible to measure both the position and the momentum of a subatomic particle, in the same instant to unlimited accuracy. The more accurate is the measurement of the momentum […]
The modern research university was designed to produce new knowledge and to pass that knowledge on to students. North American universities over the last 100 years have been exceptionally good at that task. But this is not all that universities […]
The imaginary friend is “an invisible character or personified object that takes part in children’s conversations or plays with them for a long period of time, at least several months”. The relationships are not identical; with personified objects the relationship […]
Exoplanet’s atmosphere may contain water clouds The exoplanet TOI-1231 b, about 90 light-years away, may contain water clouds in its atmosphere. Researchers say the exoplanet’s relatively cool temperature hints at the water cloud possibility. CNN Humans may have arrived in […]
Common glass, used in windows or bottles, for example, is made by heating a mixture of calcium oxide (lime), sodium carbonate (soda), and silicon (IV) oxide (sand), resulting in a calcium silicate. This silicate is not a crystal but a […]
You are surely familiar with the concept that light behaves like electromagnetic radiation, and that it responds to the equation In this way, the higher the wavelength of the light, the lower its frequency, and vice versa. This means that […]
“So the goblins came. They pushed their way in and pulled baby out, leaving another all made of ice” Maurice Sendak, Outside over there. Fairy tales are stories, often with an evolution of centuries, that form a mutable and difficult […]
During the time Aristotle spent far from Athens after the death of Plato, he lived for a few years on the island of Lesbos and in some Asia Minor cities that surrounded it, an area where a kind of ‘franchise’ […]
Let me make a short interruption in our series about the prehistory of philosophy of science, to discuss a completely different point. I am writing this now, just because in the last days I think I have been able to […]
Gene therapy was a 90s hit. The most promising medical advance of the decade was almost forgotten after some really serious side effects occurred in one clinical trial, but after nearly 3 decades a small trial in Germany has shown […]
While U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken draws attention to climate change in the Arctic at meetings with other national officials recently in Iceland, an even greater threat looms on the other side of the planet. New research shows it […]
As more and more people around the world are getting vaccinated, one can almost hear the collective sigh of relief. But the next pandemic threat is likely already making its way through the population right now. My research as an […]
Depending on who we consult, we will hear quite a few opinions regarding what it is that motivates assassins. Let us sample some murder mystery writers. Agatha Christie mentions the passions of love, the lust for money, or the pursuit […]
Astronomy • Biology • Microbiology • Physics
Authors: Predrag Slijepcevic, Senior Lecturer in Biology, Brunel University London and Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe, Honorary Professor, University of Buckingham Are we alone in the universe? The famous Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) programme has been trying to answer this question […]
Teeth play a central role in the ecology of most vertebrates – for catching prey, processing food and even attracting a mate. It’s no surprise that scientists such as ourselves have long been interested in how teeth first evolved. For […]
