Category archives: Humanities & Social Sciences

Favorable weather gave rise to Genghis Khan Tree-ring scientists have linked favorable weather patterns with the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire, according a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, putting a new spin on the history of the Mongols. The steppes had an unusual 15-year period of rain […]

Lone gene determines wing mimicry in butterflies One gene can determine the wing patterns of female swallowtail butterflies, making them resemble a different, and toxic, butterfly species, according to a study published in Nature. The finding adds to the debate over mimicry and how it helps put off would-be predators. A team of evolutionary biologists […]

The beringia standstill hypothesis A review of genetic evidence suggests that the Native American founding population lived in Beringia for thousands of years before migrating south into North America. And sediments taken from the Bering Sea show that at the time, the region also had woody plants for building fires, and grassland steppes where woolly […]

I will end this survey of the main contributions to the economics of scientific knowledge (ESK) by discussing the works which attempt to offer a more or less systematic conception of the process of scientific discovery; in this entry, I will talk about ‘institutionalist’ theories, i.e., those that abstain from using mathematical models. The first […]

Beluga whales infected with cat parasites Parasites known to infect cats have been discovered in Arctic beluga whales. Toxoplasma gondii can cause people to go blind. Scientists have issued a health advisory for those in the Western Arctic region who eat beluga meat. BBC News Higgs boson bubbles sent shock waves throughout nascent universe Bubbles […]

The relative wage of high-skilled to low-skilled workers began to increase in US manufacturing industries in the late 1980s, and this phenomenon was also observed in Mexico. At the same time, the US–Mexican trade as a percentage of US GDP increased dramatically during the same period. Does this mean that trade is behind the observed […]

Mesozoic-era ichthyosaur had live births on land The fossil remains of a 248 million-year-old ichthyosaur have revealed that the Mesozoic-era reptile died while giving birth with two offspring still inside it. Scientists were surprised to note that the birth was occurring on land, which goes against a long-held belief that the sea creatures delivered their […]

Highly conductive graphene nanoribbons Graphene nanoribbons can conduct electricity much better than was expected. The new graphene nanoribbons differ from other forms by having no rough edges allowing electrons to move ten times more swiftly than theory says they should. The results could have implications in the development of high-end electronics. Nature News Advanced bionic […]

Traditionally, economics is not only about the optimisation of some magnitudes, be they utility, profits, wealth, or social welfare. Beyond the assumption that economic agents are rational beings who always try to make the best possible choice, there is the indisputable fact that the objects of economic research are social phenomena, that have to do […]

Paleontologists find evidence sauropods lived into Cretaceous period A sauropod belonging to the dinosaur group Titanosauria appears to have lived during the Early Cretaceous period providing evidence that sauropods lived beyond the Jurassic period. The remains of a juvenile Yongjinglong datangi were uncovered in northwestern China. International Science News Luhman 16B, where it rains liquid […]