Salt makes almost everything taste better — we add it while cooking to enhance the flavor of other ingredients, sprinkle some into baking to balance out sweetness, and enjoy it in our favorite snacks, like chips, pretzels, and microwave popcorn. Besides these obvious sources, many highly processed foods — foods we wouldn't ordinarily consider salty — contain an unexpectedly high amount of sodium, such as canned goods, salad dressings, cold cuts, various cheeses, flavored yogurts, ketchup, ...read more
Generative AI (Gen AI) tools like ChatGPT have become an ever-present part of many people’s personal and working lives. And whether they are causing more harm than good to our cognitive skills or problem solving is a growing concern. Experts are worried that dependence on Gen AI is making users who lean heavily on these tools “dumber,” according to research findings.In a recent paper, a team from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University found that “higher confidence in Gen AI is associat ...read more
When the 2020 pandemic sent everyone home to “shelter in place,” kids began online school and adults telecommuted using videoconferencing. Suddenly, people saw a constant reflection of themselves mirrored on the screen.There we were, side-by-side in little boxes next to our colleagues as we pretended to listen to a department meeting or a budget update. Our every move was mirrored back to us, and it gave many people a chance to scrutinize their appearance.Small smiles revealed previously unn ...read more
Earth’s largest mass extinction eliminated a lot of marine species. But it didn’t eliminate them all. According to a study in Science Advances, warm, oxygen-depleted waters may have helped select survivors of the end-Permian extinction in the aftermath of the event around 252 million years ago, allowing them to expand their ranges throughout Earth’s oceans. The results reveal how marine animals have recovered from past mass extinctions and how they could recover from mass extinctions in th ...read more
Spring brings warmer temperatures, fresh greenery, and the return of birdsong. Songbirds are known for performing species-specific tunes to attract mates and defend their territories. But how do birds learn these signature songs? Much like humans, it takes time and practice to master a skill.To understand the brain signals involved in birds’ intrinsic desire to learn their songs, a research team from Duke University, North Carolina, closely studied how zebra finches practice their songs until ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine