My name is Victoria and I am a shopaholic. I mean it! The feeling I will soon describe will be familiar to millions: a surge of excitement as they find that must-have item in the shop, followed by a sickening sense of let-down shortly afterwards. It may be some relief to discover that scientists not only know why it happens
Tutorial: Find the DNA in a Banana
If we could zoom in on a single, tiny cell, we could see an even teenier “container” inside called a nucleus. It holds a stringy substance: the DNA. DNA contains a code for how to build a life-form and put together the features that make that organism unique. If we remove DNA from millions of cells, however, we will be
Do modern women prefer less manly men?
Aparently, the anser is YES. First of all, take a look at how the style of male icons has shifted. More rugged Sean Connery was replaced by celebrities as David Beckam, known to spend more time at the beauty salon than the average european female or the infamous Bieber. It
Iceberg breaks after New Zeeland earthquake
On Tuesday, February 22nd, a 6.3 magnitude quake shook New Zeeland, causing severe damage to major cities on the south island, especially Christchurch.Every year, thousands of earthquakes occur in New Zealand that are too small to be felt. However, in the 15 years between 1992 and 2007, New Zealand experienced over 30 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more. But one
Recent seismic activity in Chile
According to USGS, on Friday, February 11, 2011 at 20:05:31 UTC a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the offshore Bio-Bio region, very close to where last year’s magnitude-8.8 quake spawned a tsunami and devastated coastal communities. In the following hours, a dozen aftershocks ranging from magnitude-3.9 to magnitude-6.3 shook the seismically active area. Skyscrapers swayed in the capital of Santiago, and
I take thee…Cocaine
Of all drugs, cocaine creates the greatest psychological dependence, because it stimulates key pleasure centers within the brain and causes extremely heightened euphoria. Drugs like this mess with the brain’s circuitry and hijack the reward system. Cocaine cravings are said to be so strong that just the memory of the feelings associated with use of the drug trigger the desire
Skellig Michael – the monastery in the middle of the sea
“An incredible, impossible, mad place. I tell you the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have lived and worked in; it is part of our dream world.”– George Bernard Shaw Skellig Michael (from Sceilig Mhichíl in the Irish language, meaning Michael’s rock), also known as Great Skellig, is a steep rocky island in the Atlantic
A Waterfall Catches Fire?
The famous El Capitan’s Horsetail Falls, in the National Park with the same name offered some very lucky visitors a strange scenery. El Capitan is the largest granite monolith in the world and the waterfall that forms on it offers one of the most spectacular views of the park. An even more astonishing view of the waterfall is created by
I can see it in your eyes…
Just when the DaVinci Code craze seemed to be long over, some members of Italy’s national committee for cultural heritage state that they have discovered a code in Mona Lisa’s eyes. Magnifying high-resolution images of the world’s most famous painting would reveal hidden letters and numbers added by Leonardo Da Vinci, said Silvano Vinceti, president of the Committee. Harder to
