Category archives: Science

Building machines which mimic the capacities of biological brains –and of the human brain in particular– is one of the main challenges of modern science. With the fast development of computer speed and power in the second half of the past century, this goal seemed, in the early days of artificial intelligence, simply a matter […]

Giant lava plain on moon likely due to tectonic stretching, not impact The massive plain of solidified lava on the moon, known as Oceanus Procellarum, wasn’t caused by an asteroid impact as previously thought, according to a study published in Nature. Instead, researchers say, the volcanic basalt was formed by tectonic stretching, according to data […]

Think about just thinking. Not doing anything else but thinking. It´s not rocket science, right? In fact, the ability to engage in conscious thoughts is a distinctive feature of human kind. We’ve been doing it for quite some time then. But still, to be with oneself is a hell of a task. Let your mind […]

Everyone has heard the sound of the crack of a whip, at least in movies or TV serials like “El Zorro: The man with the whip” (1954). A shock wave is created by the supersonic motion of the tip of the whip in the air . Whipping is a typical fluid instability of an accelerating […]

Amazon warriors’ names found on ancient Greek pottery Strange inscriptions on ancient Greek pottery appear to name Amazon warrior women, according to a study in Hesperia. Linguists deciphered the inscriptions on 12 vases dating from between 550 B.C. to 450 B.C. into phonetic sounds and sent them, without explanation, to McMaster University’s John Colarusso, an […]

Is it possible to have an asymmetric magnetic field when all boundary conditions are known to be symmetric? The question seems awkward but the counter-intuitive reality is always there to make Science far more interesting, as revealed recently by Hao Cao and collaborators . Today’s story is a good combination of intriguing observations and amazing […]

Science news with bad titles usually attract a lot of attention. A recent example is “The sound of an atom has been captured” ]. Laypeople must know that atoms do not emit sound. Quantum acoustics study the propagation and the interaction of phonons, the analogues in sound to photons in light. An atom cannot emit […]

Antarctic ice growing at record-setting pace Antarctic sea ice is on track to reach a record high this month while Arctic ice has decreased to its sixth-lowest level, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Antarctic ice usually reaches its maximum level each September, about the same time as the Arctic reaches its […]

Long extinct squirrel-like creatures hold clues to earlier mammal evolution Mammals may have evolved much earlier than previously thought, according to researchers who’ve been studying the fossils of squirrel-like creatures that date back about 160 million years to the Triassic Period. The creatures have mammalian features and are from previously unknown species of haramiyid, which […]

You have probably heard this sentence: “the brain is the most complex organ in the universe”. Let´s dive inside such assertion to get a deeper feeling. The human brain contains around 86.000 million of neurons distributed across a bunch of brain areas ( roughly 190 ). That´s one thing, not everything. Even more complex is […]