They learn to read at age 2, play Bach at 4, breeze through calculus at 6, and speak foreign languages fluently by 8. Their classmates shudder with envy; their parents rejoice at winning the lottery. But to paraphrase T. S. Eliot, their careers tend to … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A large group of climate scientists has made a bracing statement in the journal Nature Climate Change, arguing that we are mistaken if we think global warming is only a matter of the next 100 years or so — in fact, they say, we are locking in changes … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Scientists have discovered an insect that went extinct for more than 120 million years and featured many of the traits associated with modern butterflies including markings on the wing called eye spots. Known as Kalligrammatid lacewings, paleobotanists … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Whether you’re an early riser or can’t function in the mornings without five cups of coffee may come down to your DNA, according to a new study. Researchers from the genetics company 23andMe say they’ve identified variances in 15 locations of the human … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
This year, a 30-second Super Bowl ad costs as much as $5 million, up from last year’s $4.5 million. It’s a spectacular amount of money for so little airtime, but dozens of companies have no problem forking over the cash. After all, a Super Bowl spot is … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
As a scientist fascinated by microbes, Julie Horvath wants to know as much as possible about what’s living on her skin. So when she and a few colleagues swabbed their armpits and bellybuttons and let the bacteria incubate for a couple days, she was … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
British scientists have been given the green light to genetically modify human embryos, for the first time in the nation’s history. The landmark decision means scientists will now be allowed to alter the DNA of embryos, for research purposes only. It … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The daily ritual of preparing eggs for breakfast may date back almost 50,000 years. New research out of Australia lead by University of Colorado Boulder geology professor Gifford Miller may provide some of the first direct evidence that humans in Australia … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Sharing bacteria in the operating room normally is a no-no but in a novel experiment, researchers are giving babies born by C-section a dose of presumably protective germs from mom’s birth canal. We share our bodies with microbes — on the skin, in the … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The medieval mathematicians of Oxford, toiling in torchlight in a land ravaged by plague, managed to invent a simple form of calculus that could be used to track the motion of heavenly bodies. But now a scholar studying ancient clay tablets suggests … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary