“Super-Turing” AI gets development funding
University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist Hava Siegelmann has received funding to develop the first ever “Super-Turing” computer. Based on…
Beer-goggles effect explained
Alcohol reduces our ability to assess facial symmetry in others, according to University of Roehampton researchers who say the effect…
Slow food, better mood
“The more fast food you consume, the greater the risk of depression,” say Spanish researchers who have linked the consumption…
Earth to Moon on a cup of fuel
A new low-cost ionic motor could drastically reduce the cost of space exploration, with its developers saying it could propel…
Software detects lies by analyzing eye movements
A computer program that analyzes eye movements is better at identifying deceitful people than expert human interrogators, say the University…
Antidepressant use primes brain for placebo effect
Putting a twist in a run-of-the-mill medication-versus-placebo trial has revealed that prior treatment with antidepressants appears to prime the brain…
Hoarding may have led to human bipedalism
Detailed observations of chimpanzees indicate that upright walking may have emerged millions of years ago as an adaptation to be…
False memories implanted in mammalian brain
By exerting control over specific neurons in the brain, Scripps Research Institute scientists have successfully generated synthetic memory traces in…
Laser camera peers around corners
Using ordinary walls, doors or floors as reflective surfaces, MIT researchers have created a camera that produces recognizable 3-D images…
Researchers mull tobacco’s restorative effects on self control
A new study that indicates smoking has a restorative effect on an individual’s self-control resources has researchers pondering other self-control…
Exposure to plastic chemical leads to shorter reproductive life
Mice exposed to high doses of a common plasticizing chemical in utero exhibit significant reproductive alterations and precancerous lesions as…
Exercise induced female orgasm is real, say scientists
Indiana University (IU) researchers say they have confirmed that exercise alone – without any sexual act or fantasy – can…
Chinese fossils may be new human species
Dating from only around 13,000 years ago, fossils from two caves in south-west China have revealed a previously unknown Stone…
Trans fats and aggression: the Twinkie defense gets scientific
University of California, San Diego researchers have provided the first evidence linking the consumption of trans fats with a range…
Analysis shows circumcision link to prostate cancer
Observational data from a new study published in the journal Cancer reveal that men who had been circumcised before their…
First animal with a skeleton discovered
Up until the Cambrian Period, it was understood that animals were soft bodied and had no hard parts, but paleontologists…
Bee thrill-seekers reveal evolutionary importance of novelty
One-in-20 honey bees are thrill seekers, say University of Illinois entomologists who have identified distinct patterns of gene activity in…
QWERTY effect creates sexy words
An intriguing new study in the journalPsychonomic Bulletin & Review shows there is a link between the meaning and interpretation…
Nuke decontamination pill “highly effective”
Rapid, mass decontamination following a nuclear reactor accident or terrorist “dirty bomb” attack may be in the offing with Berkeley…
Tiny jellyfish has proto-eye linked to stingers
The first steps in the evolution of an eye may be evident in the hydra’s stinging tentacles, say scientists who…
Wine subtleties mostly irrelevant to consumer palates
Biology appears to play a major role in wine experts’ acute sense of taste, suggests a study from Penn State…
Supersonic UAV with sub-$100k price tag mooted
Powered by a novel, super-efficient jet engine, an unmanned aircraft that will fly at Mach 1.4 is nearing commercialization, say…
Art therapy not so therapeutic for schizophrenics
For people with schizophrenia, UK national treatment guidelines recommend group art therapy to improve mental health and social functioning, but…
Arctic warming causing increased snowfalls?
New evidence put forward by Georgia Institute of Technology atmospheric scientists links increasingly heavy snowfalls in the Northern Hemisphere to…
Rosemary’s curious psychoactive effects explored
Recognized since ancient times for its medicinal properties, scientists at Northumbria University (UK) are now uncovering how rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)…
Dopamine therapy turbocharges artistic drive
Pathological gambling and hypersexuality are two of the better documented side-effects of Parkinson’s disease medications, but researchers say that dopamine…
Wireless breakthrough in self-propelled implantable medical devices
Stanford scientist Ada Poon this week demonstrated a tiny, wirelessly powered, self-propelled medical device to attendees at the International Solid-State…
GPS location systems under increasing attack
A monitoring group in the UK has detected dozens of GPS jamming incidents as well as the first case of…