Sensations which seem to come from limbs that had been amputated are called «phantoms». Most limb amputees report awareness of a phantom limb, i.e., the perceived presence of the missing arm or leg. Phantom sensations may also occur after the removal of body parts other than the limbs, e.g. after amputation of the breast, extraction […]
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Young galaxy clusters discovered More than 200 young galaxy clusters have been documented by astronomers using data gathered by the Planck and Herschel space telescopes. The researchers have released photos of the clusters, which will be studied further in the hope answers can be found to many cosmic questions like how galaxies grow and the […]
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Dark matter detected as it coasts through galaxy collisions Dark matter appears to drift straight through galactic collisions, barely interacting with anything, including other dark matter, according to scientists who detected the mysterious stuff by the way it bends nearby light paths. Researchers used visible light spied by the Hubble Space Telescope and X-rays by […]
As we saw in the previous entry of this series, philosophers of mind usually distinguish between what (after David Chalmers) they called the ‘easy’ and the ‘hard’ problem of consciousness. The ‘easy’ problem refers to how to explain the functioning of the brain: how does it manage to do things that seem to require some […]
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Deep aurora in Mars seen by Maven spacecraft NASA’s Maven spacecraft spotted a strange aurora that lasted for five days and stretched deep into Mars’ northern atmosphere. Auroras on Mars have been observed previously, but scientists were intrigued by the depth of this one. In addition, Maven detected an unexpected high-altitude dust cloud. BBC Young […]
Raluca et al . (2014) provide a survey of the economic studies regarding the performance of Fair Trade certifications. They focus on the coffee industry, by large the most important product under the Fair Trade label. In this article I summarize their main findings and conclusions. The aim of Fair Trade certification is to improve […]
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Star ring at edge of Milky Way may actually be part of galaxy A ring of stars surrounding the Milky Way may, in reality, be part of it, increasing the galaxy’s size by 50%. Discovery Ideas about hibernation challenged by warm dormant bats Two species of bats have been found hibernating in caves considered too […]
One of the most strongly debated philosophical problems is that of the nature of consciousness. This is no surprise, since it is probably the most difficult question, at least apparently, for naturalistic or materialistic views of the world. After all, the necessity of having a spiritual cause of the existence and order of the cosmos […]
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Multiple views of a supernova seen by astronomers Astronomers have been able to witness the same supernova multiple times at different spots because of the gravitational lense effect of a galaxy cluster. The New York Times Snowflakes aren’t symmetrical, according to cutting-edge camera Snowflakes are even more complex than previously thought, according to high-speed 3D […]
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Why racism is not backed by science As we gather more information about the genomes of more people a conclusion seems more and more evident: there is not such thing as race. The Guardian Bright spots seen on Ceres Bright spots seen on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres in photos taken by the approaching […]