via Scientific American on 11/11/09
A new dinosaur species discovered in South Africa - called Aardonyx or "Earth Claw" - gives scientists a glimpse into the evolution of the Sauropod species.
via Scientific American on 11/12/09
The young girl wanted to unburden herself about her problem. She told her doctor that she worried excessively and that she felt overwhelmed by these thoughts. One memory that she described to Douglas Mennin, director of the Yale Anxiety and Mood Services at Yale University, was particularly telling. Her grandmother had shared intense feelings about the recent passing of a good friend. As the young girl listened, her mind wandered to thoughts of her grandmother dying. The worry soon spiraled into concerns about the girl’s own death. She became so disturbed, she cut short her visit to her grandmother and ran home.
Psychologists believe that worry, defined as a person’s negative thoughts about a future event, evolved as a constructive problem-solving behavior. But excessive fretting--as happened with the girl--does more harm than good. Chronic worriers operate under the misperception that their overthinking and attempts at controlling every situation allow them to problem-solve and plan for the future. Instead their thought pattern hinders cognitive processing and also causes overstimulation of emotion- and fear-processing areas in the brain. The hypervigilance that is the result can lead to cardiovascular problems, ultimately rendering the body unable to cope properly with stress.
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Psychologists believe that worry, defined as a person’s negative thoughts about a future event, evolved as a constructive problem-solving behavior. But excessive fretting--as happened with the girl--does more harm than good. Chronic worriers operate under the misperception that their overthinking and attempts at controlling every situation allow them to problem-solve and plan for the future. Instead their thought pattern hinders cognitive processing and also causes overstimulation of emotion- and fear-processing areas in the brain. The hypervigilance that is the result can lead to cardiovascular problems, ultimately rendering the body unable to cope properly with stress.
[More]
via Scientific American on 11/12/09
As we cope with the economic recession, we've all had to make concessions. It's been "good-bye" to European vacations, organic milk and magazine subscriptions. But there are those things we can't give up without risking serious illness or death, one of which is prescription medication. [More]
via Scientific American on 11/12/09
We all love getting something new. But then we have to move around our current clutter to find a place for it. Well, looks like things work the same way in the brain. Because according to a study published in the journal Cell , newborn neurons in the brain’s memory center make room for new memories by moving out the old ones.[More]
via Scientific American on 11/13/09
During an early screening of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster flick 2012, which opens today, laughter erupted in the audience near the end of the film thanks to corny dialogue and maudlin scenes (among the biggest guffaw getters: a father tries to reconnect with his estranged son on the telephone, only to have the son's house destroyed just before he could say anything). Nobody wants to take anything seriously in a movie like this, in which digital mayhem is the draw. But if it were an audience of physicists, the laughter probably would have started in the first five minutes. You can't take any of the science seriously, although I give the filmmakers credit for creativity.
If you haven't heard, December 21, 2012, is supposed to be the day that the Mayan calendar ends (it doesn't really) and therefore somehow marks the end of civilization as we know it--notwithstanding the fact that the Mayan civilization ended centuries ago. (NASA has a good Q&A site that debunks the 2012 apocalypse nonsense .)
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If you haven't heard, December 21, 2012, is supposed to be the day that the Mayan calendar ends (it doesn't really) and therefore somehow marks the end of civilization as we know it--notwithstanding the fact that the Mayan civilization ended centuries ago. (NASA has a good Q&A site that debunks the 2012 apocalypse nonsense .)
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via Scientific American on 11/15/09
A team of researchers has fabricated a micron-scale device that deforms significantly under the force of light, a technology that could form the basis for tiny light-actuated switches or filters in future optical devices. [More]
via Scientific American on 11/17/09
Smaller than a virus and used in more than 200 consumer products, silver nanoparticles can kill and mutate fish embryos, new research shows.
Tiny particles of silver – potent anti-microbial agents that can kill bacteria on contact – are becoming increasingly popular in consumer goods, including washing machines, refrigerators, clothing and toys. [More]
Tiny particles of silver – potent anti-microbial agents that can kill bacteria on contact – are becoming increasingly popular in consumer goods, including washing machines, refrigerators, clothing and toys. [More]
via Scientific American on 11/17/09
One year after pulling off one of the most audacious cyber crimes in history --a 12-hour spree during which more than 2,100 cash-dispensing machines in at least 280 cities on three continents were drained of a total of more than $9 million--a group of hackers is facing dozens of years in prison and millions of dollars in fines. [More]
via Scientific American on 11/18/09
You've probably heard the expression “a heart attack on a plate.” Maybe it’s fettuccini alfredo. Or maybe it’s a bacon cheeseburger, covered in batter and deep fried to artery-clogging perfection. Either way, it's clear that our modern diet is not always the most cardio-friendly. But that doesn’t mean that heart disease is a recent invention. Because a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that some Egyptian mummies show signs of atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries.[More]
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