Category archives: Humanities & Social Sciences

Gene-editing method could remove HIV from infected cells Scientists have found a way of eliminating HIV from infected cells. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing system, researchers removed a fragment of the virus. “These properties may provide a viable path toward a permanent cure for AIDS, and provide a means to vaccinate against other pathogenic viruses,” they […]

Common traits in tame animals may be due to neural crest changes Genetic changes that may affect a group of embryonic stem cells known as the neural crest may produce a specific set of features in animals bred for tameness. Common features and behaviors in domesticated animals include patches of white fur, floppy ears, youthful […]

Slonim et al . (2014) discuss the problems of blood allocation in different countries and suggest a mechanism that can improve it. The present article is a summary of their main ideas. In the wealthy countries blood is mostly supplied via voluntary donations. The way blood is collected varies from country to country. Some have […]

The role of turbulence in the formation of stars A pair of recent studies sheds new light on turbulence, a factor in the formation of stars when galaxies collide. In one study, researchers simulated the collision of two Antennae Galaxies and found that the collision produced “compressive turbulence,” which could get fusion started by pushing […]

[You can read the first part of the manifesto here, and the second here] (5) In this last entry we will consider three main objections that have been levied against positivism in various of its brands: the epistemological objection that science –and human knowledge in general– cannot be reduced to a combination of a neutral […]

Universal formula for cosmic voids A simple equation can describe the large-scale bubbles that appear in the dark matter distributed throughout the Universe, and it applies to voids of a wide range of sizes and ages. Physics Bone-house wasps use ant carcasses to build nests for their young Deuteragenia ossarium, or the bone-house wasp, is […]

…at least not on their own. So, it´s already been over half a century since the humble proposition of Watson & Crick on the structure of DNA, (one of) the molecule(s) of life: a seminal discovery for the development of molecular biology that was to become arguably the most relevant discipline in last century´s life […]

[You can read the first part here] (3) Positivism is the (philosophico-political) thesis that real knowledge reduces to the domain of established positive facts, and that all the other claims someone may make must not be taken as knowledge, but, at best, as more or less reasonable opinion . Positivism in this sense is a […]

Looks like a mouse but is genetically related to elephants A tiny, long-nosed creature found in western Africa looks like a mouse, but is genetically closer to an elephant, according research published in the Journal of Mammalogy. Biologists who discovered the new species of elephant shrew call it Macroscelides micus. It lives in an ancient […]

Hidden portrait lies behind Picasso’s “Blue Room” Scientists using infrared technology have revealed a portrait of a bearded man resting his head on his hand underneath Pablo Picasso’s 1901 painting “The Blue Room.” Picasso often reused canvasses because he couldn’t afford new ones, according to art experts. Two years ago, another portrait was found underneath […]