In a paper published earlier this week, IBM researchers made huge strides in mapping the architecture of the brain, charting three times as many connections as any previous study. Where does such a map lead? The future of cognitive computing. Specifically, the study traced long-distance connections in the brain of a Macaque monkey, the “interstate highways” which transmit information [...]

Continue Reading...

Scientists have discovered the first cometary planet, one with a huge tail, a stream of gas being ripped off by solar winds at 22,000 miles per hour. This jovian world is located 153 light-years from Earth. The planet—called HD 209458b—orbits 100 times closer to its home star than our Jovian neighbor, traveling in an astonishingly fast 3.5-day orbit. For comparison, Mercury—our solar system [...]

Continue Reading...

“It had long been suspected that the egg came first, but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first,” says Dr. Colin Freeman, from Sheffield University. Here’s the explanation. Updated. When scientists from Sheffield University and Warwick University used a supercomputer called HECToR to take a close look at egg shells, they discovered that [...]

Continue Reading...

The scientist responsible for some of the Pentagon’s wildest research has devise d methods that could one day save trauma patients, and even extend the shelf life of transplant organs. Step one: Suffocate the wounded. Step two: Put ‘em on ice. Mark Roth, a biochemist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, has been working on suspended animation – inspired by the processes of animal [...]

Continue Reading...

Babies do a lot of sleeping—sometimes up to 18 hours a day. And with the remaining six hours dedicated to pooping and crying, you have to wonder when these tater tots are actually learning. The answer: sleep multitasking. In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists observed that babies are masters of a skill that I’ve been working on since [...]

Continue Reading...

Every one of us loves to sleep and get a well deserved rest for ourselves. The recent launch of iPad has made us fall in love with the magical gadget fron Apple as well. It turns out that these two  can’t be loved at the same time. In simplistic terms, don’t use iPad when you are getting ready to sleep or you risk the chance of getting a reduced sleep time. The reason behind the [...]

Continue Reading...

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a space shuttle in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble. Although not the first space telescope, Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well-known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for astronomy. The HST is a collaboration between NASA and the [...]

Continue Reading...

NASA has been wowing us with beautiful imagery from Mars and of our own planet’s volcanic activity, and now the space agency has released some spectacular photos and videos of our sun; we’ve included a few below. The recently launched Solar Dynamics Observatory has been taking some unique portraits of our solar companion using four telescopes looking at the sun in different wavelengths. [...]

Continue Reading...

The Air Force will say only that the shuttle-style X-37B is “a flexible space test platform. The U.S. Air Force successfully launched an unmanned space plane Thursday carrying an undisclosed payload. The Air Force’s Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), also known as the X-37B, lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:52 p.m. EDT. The ship, built by Boeing, was carried aloft by an Atlas V rocket launched [...]

Continue Reading...

For decades boys and girls have dreamed of becoming astronauts when they grow up. Now young assembly-line robots and claw vending machines can share the same dream with news that NASA plans to send Robonaut 2 (R2) into space. R2 will be the first human-like robot in space when it is launched on the space shuttle Discovery later this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space [...]

Continue Reading...