Now here's a paper with an interesting title: The dark matter of the brain
Author Saak V. Ovsepian argues that "the great majority of nerve cells in the intact brain do not fire action potentials, i.e., are permanently silent." This is a remarkable claim, and it raises the question of what these silent neurons are doing. However, I didn't find myself convinced of the existence of this 'dark matter'.
Ovsepian points out that numerous studies have found that only a minority of the ne ...read more
Researchers have updated their predictions for what melting ice sheets will do to the planet within the next century. By 2100, the shrinking Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets will raise sea levels by nearly 10 inches. The influx of water will disrupt an ocean current vital to our weather, with dangerous consequences.
“We’re dealing with a very delicately balanced system,” said Nicholas Golledge, a climate scientist at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, ...read more
Scientists have found an odd difference between the brains of men and women. Women’s brains appear younger than their age, but men’s brains appear to be older.
When looking at the brains of both sexes of the same chronological age, women’s brains were 3.8 years younger and men's brains were 2.4 years older on average. The finding, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, may explain why older women tend to outperform their male pe ...read more
One of the fundamental questions in looking for life in the universe is figuring out where the materials necessary for making life are likely to exist. These complex organic molecules are, somewhat surprisingly, found all over: in giant dust clouds in space, and on lonely comets in our own solar system. The question for astronomers is figuring out how they make their way onto planets like Earth.
Astronomers looking to learn about the solar system's early history often turn to comets, as t ...read more
In a surprise find, researchers discover smoking pot may not hinder sperm counts. According to a new study, men who had smoked marijuana at some point in their lives had higher sperm counts than men who had never smoked weed. The finding contrasts previous research showing regular cannabis use lowers sperm numbers.
“These unexpected findings from our study highlight that we know too little about the reproductive health effects of cannabis and, in fact, of the health effects in general to ...read more
As brutal cold spilled out of the Arctic and enveloped much of the U.S. Upper Midwest and Great Lakes in late January, news stories tied the event to global warming. Here's a sampling of headlines:
"Brace for the Polar Vortex; It May Be Visiting More Often" (NY Times)
"The Polar Vortex And How It's Related To Global Warming (Forbes)
"Polar Vortex Linked to Climate Change (WGBH)
An increasing but still contested body of science suggests that rapid and intense warming in th ...read more
Black holes pepper our universe, but like their name implies, most are invisible — until something happens to change that. That something is often material flowing into the black hole. And in March 2018, one such previously invisible black hole flared to life when a flood of matter fell inward, allowing astronomers to spot and track the event, ultimately mapping out the region close to a black hole in finer detail than ever before.
That work, published January 9 in Nature, was led b ...read more
Since InSight’s landing on Mars late last year, it’s been hard at work studying what lays beneath the surface of the Red Planet. The lander's mission is to understand Mars’ deep interior, what it’s made of and how the planet moves. To that end, InSight has been studying the area around it, practicing its movements, and scouting the best locations to place instruments. And now, the science is kicking into gear.
InSight's Mission So Far
To accomplish it ...read more
Asteroid exploration has been all the rage lately, and the European Space Agency (ESA) isn’t missing out on the fun.
On February 4, ESA released new details about its upcoming Hera mission — the first spacecraft to explore a binary asteroid. The mission will launch to asteroid 65803 Didymos, a binary pair made up of one large body and a smaller object that orbits around it, in 2023. Aptly nicknamed Didymoon, the smaller of the two stretches just&nb ...read more
