MI weekly selection #16
Our metastable universe
Under the simplest assumptions, the measured mass of the Higgs could mean the universe is eventually unstable and destined to fall apart.
Scientific American
Could flow batteries back up electric grids?
To power flow batteries, two […]
Triassic lungs: Unidirectional flow in alligators’ breathing
The lungs of birds move air in only one direction during both inspiration and expiration through a set of tubular gas-exchanging bronchi called parabronchi. On the other hand, in the lungs of mammals and other vertebrates, air moves tidally into […]
The 3D structure of the genome
The genome is the text of life. Its ink is the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a heteropolimer of four nucleotides (guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine). It encodes the instructions to make work all known living organisms (and viruses). It was isolated […]
Searching for the lost causes
The notion of ‘cause’ has a bipolar personality within the sciences. On the one hand, it is difficult to resist to the old Aristotelian dictum that real scientific knowledge (episteme) is knowledge of the causes; after all, one […]
Bears and riddles
You’re sitting in a room with an all-southern view. Suddenly, a bear walks by the window. What color is the bear?
Young Sherlock Holmes. Barry Levinson (1985)
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is one of the most unmistakable […]
Gone with the waves: the ups and downs of oceans and corals
News on global warming and sea-level rise flood our daily life. Even a modest decimeter increase of the current sea level will affect millions of people . Despite this gloomy scenario, we lack precise models to predict sea level changes […]
MI weekly selection #15
Bat-eating spiders are more common than you think
Bat-eating spiders are more common in the world than once believed. These spiders are found on all continents except Antarctica. Almost 90% of the web-building spider and tarantula species live in warmer […]
Artificial distinction and real discrimination: Manipulating physical appearance
Scientific experiments using animals frequently involve the marking of animals that artificially changes their phenotype. For instance, penguins with flipper bands have been used to study climate change. However, as Saraux et al. show, this banding reduces penguins’ survival rate. […]
Chimpanzees know which tool will be effective
Many animals —including mammals, birds and fishes— acquire from others knowledge and skills which may develop into behavioural traditions. Outside of humans, it is in the primates —specially chimpanzees— where socially transmitted behaviour patterns, such as tool use and social […]
Experiments in fairness
This is the ultimatum game: You are provisionally allocated USD10 with the following instructions. You have to decide a way to divide this money with another person. If she or he agrees, the division is carried out. If not, you […]