I think I speak for all the teenagers in the world when I say, “Let’s do it!” From NY Times: Research shows that teenagers’ body clocks are set to a schedule that is different from that of younger children or adults. This prevents adolescents from dropping off until around 11 p.m., when they produce the [...]

One theory that’s gaining a lot of steam suggests it has to do with honing our survival instinct by stimulating potential threat scenarios in our subconsciousness. From Psychology Today: The dreaming brain [...] scans emotional memories. When it detects a memory trace with a strong negative emotion, it constructs a nightmare around that theme. The [...]

And by the way, we should too… The words “war on terror” will no longer be used by the British government to describe attacks on the public, the country’s chief prosecutor said Dec. 27. Sir Ken Macdonald said terrorist fanatics were not soldiers fighting a war but simply members of an aimless “death cult.” The [...]

A company called Nanosolar says they’ve cracked the code by creating a way to manufacture solar cells 100x faster and 100x thinner. From solve climate: While other companies have been focusing their efforts on increasing the efficiency of solar panels, Nanosolar took a different approach. It focused on manufacturing. Essentially, they’ve figured out how to [...]

A researcher emailed us and asked if you all might be interested in taking this test. Naturally, I’ve already made myself a guinea pig and it’s an interesting, if a bit long, look at certain perceptions we have based solely on comparisons between candidates. Check it out if you have 15 minutes today.

Well, not exactly, but it might help. This according to a very interesting article in the Wash Post today that details how divorce is hurting the environment… The analysis found that cohabiting couples and families around the globe use resources more efficiently than households that have split up. The researchers calculated that in 2005, divorced [...]

From the NY Times: Two teams of scientists reported yesterday that they had turned human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without having to make or destroy an embryo — a feat that could quell the ethical debate troubling the field. All they had to do, the scientists said, was add [...]

It appears as if this is the case. From NY Times: Two teams of scientists are reporting today that they turned human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without having to make or destroy an embryo — a feat that could quell the ethical debate troubling the field. All they had [...]

The war drums just started getting a little quieter. From US News: In a report sure to further complicate the U.S.-led drive for additional sanctions against Iran, the atomic watchdog agency of the United Nations has given Iran relatively good marks for its recent cooperation in clearing up suspicions over past nuclear work. [...] The [...]

NY Times has an interesting story about how the Dem, Repub and Indy brain respond to different candidates and their message. The biggest news surrounds Hillary… Voters who rated Mrs. Clinton unfavorably on their questionnaire appeared not entirely comfortable with their assessment. When viewing images of her, these voters exhibited significant activity in the anterior [...]

I pride myself in the labels “Centrist” and “Moderate.”  But on some issues (one, in particular) I’m increasingly compelled to set those labels aside. That issue, the one that consistently makes my blood boil, is embryonic stem-cell research or ESCR.  I’m for it.  All the way.  1,000 percent.  And I just can’t bring myself to [...]

Apparently a highly usable, remarkably light solid that’s made up of approximately 99.8% air. From TimesOnline: Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C. Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from [...]

Apparently a highly usable, remarkably light solid that’s made up of approximately 99.8% air. From TimesOnline: Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C. Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from [...]

The latest issue of Scientific American has a pretty informative article on the current state of climate science: why we know the earth is warming, and why we know human activity is partly to blame. The authors are William Collins of UC-Berkeley; Robert Colman, an Australian; James Haywood of the UK’s Met Office; Martin Manning [...]

I know, I know, it’s sexist to suggest that all politicians are men, but all of our Presidents have been men and most world leaders throughout history, so for the purposes of this post let’s just go with it. Here’s why powerful men do stupid things, courtesy of Psychology Today… On the morning of January [...]

Gotta love the ole USA: American adults in general do not understand what molecules are (other than that they are really small). Fewer than a third can identify DNA as a key to heredity. Only about 10 percent know what radiation is. One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an [...]

Ahem… (pssst, you can click on the picture for a bigger version)

Interesting news… CHICAGO (AFP) – In a breakthrough that could potentially lead to a cure for HIV infection, scientists have discovered a way to remove the virus from infected cells, a study released Thursday said. The scientists engineered an enzyme which attacks the DNA of the HIV virus and cuts it out of the infected [...]

Is this the answer we’ve been looking for? An uncontroversial way to grow cells that can turn into anything piece of tissue we want? From the NY Times: In a surprising advance that could sidestep the ethical debates surrounding stem cell biology, researchers have come much closer to a major goal of regenerative medicine, the [...]

The AP reported that the government was challenging a farmer for testing all of his cows for Mad Cow disease. I thought that was pretty stupid. Turns out I was wrong…sort of. See, they did challenge the farmer, but not for the reason that was first reported… In the lawsuit, the government did not make [...]