Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Sea slug can use photosynthesis for nutrition by taking gene from algae The emerald sea slug steals a gene from the algae it eats, allowing it to get nourishment from photosynthesis. Discovery Chimps adopt new calls when moved to new groups Chimps who move into a new group change their calls to match those of […]
Bubbles of radioactive nickle may have made holes in Cassiopeia A Expanding bubbles of radioactive nickle may be responsible for holes seen in the supernova Cassiopeia A, which exploded 340 years ago 11,000 light-years from Earth. Researchers say their bubble theory could also account for large rings seen in the outer regions of Cassiopeia A […]
Scorpion fly first to feed on human corpses Researchers working with human cadavers were surprised to see scorpion flies arrive first to feed on the remains instead of blowflies, which are commonly thought to be first responders, according to a study. The finding could have an impact on forensic investigations. The Washington Post Surprise!: fish […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Renowned researchers pen letter to outline benefits, pitfalls of AI Renowned scientists and technology leaders including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence. The group signed a letter that touts the many benefits of AI, and outlines the many risks. “Because of the great potential of AI […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Rhesus monkeys can be taught to recognize their images in mirrors Mirror recognition can be taught to rhesus monkeys, according to researchers who say the findings could help them better understand how self-awareness develops in the brain. “Our findings suggest that the monkey brain has the basic ‘hardware’ [for mirror self-recognition], but they need appropriate […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Researchers develop memory system with 900+ neurons, 165K synapses Researchers at IBM’s Almaden Research Center and South Korea’s Pohang University of Science and Technology have developed a phase-change memory chip with more than 900 neurons and 165,000 synapses that can emulate how the human brain functions, promising to advance image-recognition technology and other areas of […]
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Last week we knew the ten most read articles during 2014. Using the number of hits a post receives is an objective way of pinpointing some of the outstanding publications of the year. But it could be argued that some excellent, quality posts would not appear in this short list, and this is precisely true […]
Human primordial germ cells created in a lab Scientists have found a way to create human primordial germ cells, or PGCs, in a lab. The research stresses they are significantly different than those of mice, calling into question the efficacy of mouse experiments as related to human cell development. Scientists reprogrammed human embryonic stem cells […]
At this time of the year it seems appropiate to look back and check whatever has been achieved. 2014 has been a good year for MI, with contributors located in 3 continents and 36 different academic institutions (ranging, alphabetically, from Cornell University in United States to Waseda University in Japan), publishing 153 articles. Thank you […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
What ‘hok’ and ‘krak’ mean to monkeys The structure of monkey calls is surprisingly sophisticated: The same species of monkeys—located in separate geographic regions—use their alarm calls differently to warn of approaching predators. Futurity.org Life would drastically change if all bacteria disappeared Living for a time without bacteria is possible, but probably not very pleasant […]