In the past the sea was considered a truly miraculous place especially as many phenomena seemed to have no logical explanation. Sea creatures have also troubled the sailors as they were like nothing else they had ever seen. Now science proved that most of our fears are not justified, but also that miracles can have an explanation without losing their
Are chicks natural-born mathematicians?
Don’t imagine a yellow, puffy golden chick doing complicated equations (as awesome as that would be) as it would be far from the truth. However, the scientific fact is very interesting in itself as the little birds are able to do some adding and subtracting, in an animal version, of course. The experiment used on birds was similar to one
Crabs can feel pain and remember the experience, study shows
Probably the first thing to come to your mind when you hear about crabs is “tasty”. However, a study comes to show that these sea creatures are far more complex than previously thought; it seems that the little guys can feel pain and more than that, keep a memory of it. This means that the way crabs are treated before
SpongeBob helps scientists understand how toddlers think
Everyone having children or who has ever babysat at least for a couple of hours knows what an impossible task it is to determine a child to do something. According to a new study this doesn’t happen because the little fellows have decided to take over the world by bringing adults to the edge of insanity, but simply because their
Surgical solution for out-of-control-blushing
Let’s play a little imagination game: you are a renown professor of psychiatry at an important university and you are offered the presidency of the national society of neurology. However, you’re not quite enthusiastic about all these as the simple sight of one of your students or patients would be enough to make you blush like a schoolgirl. This is
Basic emotions in music to be universally recognised
Nietzsche once said that “Without music, life would be an error” and he was definitely right as there are not many of us who can stay for an entire day without listening to their favorite tracks especially as just a few tunes are enough to change our mood in a second. However, the story doesn’t end here. It seems that
Scientists to recreate the perfume worn by pharaoh Hatshepsut
An exquisite fragrance has always been considered to be a status symbol especially because of the difficulties encountered in order to create a good one. However, this is far from being a characteristic of our times; in ancient Egypt, this was taken to an entirely higher level: wearing a certain perfume was the sign of having a godly origin. And
Is traffic exposure causing heart atacks?
The simple thought of being caught in a horn-honking traffic jam for a couple of hours is definitely a scary one, which would definitely increase the rate of your heartbeat. But, unfortunately, traffic can have much more serious effects on one’s heart, especially now, when a simple drive around the town has become an endurance test. But are our hearts
It’s a fact – humans can smell fear too!
Since early childhood we’ve been told that if we are afraid of a dog which has turned violent, our furry buddy will “smell” our fear and we will eventually end up bitten. Not the most comfortable feeling ever…but as long as only animals can do it… Many species are known to release a chemical signal in order to warn other
Is the Dead Sea going to die?
Whenever we hear something about the Dead Sea, we immediately think about the deepest point on Earth and, of course, about salt…a whole lot of salt. However, all these may soon become part of the history as the sea is shrinking at an alarming level and according to researchers from the University of Technology in Darmstadt, Germany, this is far
Has our sense of morality evolved from disgust?
Our sense of morality has always been considered that something that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom, making us superior through its complexity. But, like always, scientist come to tell us that we may not be in fact really that special and that our perception of what is moral and what is immoral may be strongly related
Why doodling should be encouraged during boring meetings
Next time they’ll catch you doodling during a boring meeting or class you will have a very good excuse for that: it doesn’t distract you but it actually stimulate you and keep you focused on whatever it is that is being said. I’m sure it mustn’t be the most pleasant sensation ever for the the speaker, but as long as
How dreams affect people’s judgment and behavior
Back to the old, old times people believed dreams were messages sent from gods, so most of the times their actions were dramatically influenced b their mystical content. Wars were started, journeys begun , marriages arranged according to what the dreams suggested. And even though thousands of years have passed since then, our belief that dreams can influence our lives
Green visitor to pass through the solar system
Unfortunately for some, the green visitor is not an alien coming to greet us but something else, even though it also comes from far, far away. On the 24th of February the comet Lulin will pass within 61 million kilometers of Earth, thus being able to be seen with the naked eye from some locations. This is the first time
Keeping a diary – the key to happiness?
Keeping a diary is not just something girls do when they break up with their boyfriends or don’t get along with their mother-in-laws. Diaries are not only for people who have absolutely no social life and consider the little notebook in front of them their best friend (even though some of us should really get out of the house more).
Sexy photos make men perceive women as objects – literally
I am sure there are plenty of women there feeling frustrated because of the fact that many times they received no attention from their male companions…at least not concerning what they were saying. So it’s quite easy to become judgmental when it comes to such delicate issues. But whose fault could it be ? Is it the men who simply
Science proves material gifts may be the best
“Money can’t buy happiness”. I don’t think there is a language that doesn’t have at least one version of this saying. But how about an expensive gift? Would that be tempting enough? Idealists will say that there is no value in the amount of money paid for a certain present. However, surprisingly or not, researchers at Austin’s McCombs School of
Does media make the young start drinking?
That advertising can make people buy more alcohol is mostly understandable as this is the main role of a commercial. However, what if simply seeing your favorite hero drinking a glass of fine whiskey could determine you to use your pocket money for the same purpose? And what if the very young are so influenced by seeing alcohol consumption on
Don’t smoke, it’s bad for your pet!
If you are a smoker you’ve definitely heard more arguments than you can count against keeping such a habit. However, you continued to smoke, no matter what scary studies did scientists come up with. But apparently, this is not a decision to affect only you: your canary, dog, cat or why not turtle, might be at risk because of you
Malaria to be defeated by starving parasite to death
It claims the life of a child every 30 seconds and about 40% of the entire world population is at risk because of it. About 500 million people become very ill with malaria every year and about 2 million of them don’t make it. The situation seems really grim especially as in some parts of the world medicines seem to