Ancient Humans Wore Ancient Bling
Discovered: Fashion accessory trends date back 75,000 years; how we zone out at parties; the oldest human ancestor turned 338,000 years old; the Higgs Boson — or nearly so.
Advertisement
The president proposed a $100 million, long-term investment initiative Tuesday: the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, or BRAIN for short, so scientists may better understand our noggin'.
Discovered: Fashion accessory trends date back 75,000 years; how we zone out at parties; the oldest human ancestor turned 338,000 years old; the Higgs Boson — or nearly so.
Funding-strapped researchers should be rejoicing at Obama's promise to put $3 billion towards mapping the human brain, right? Not according to scientists who say the project lacks clear goals and gobbles up money that could've gone to a lot more smaller studies.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Discovered: Some of our DNA is four-stranded, and that's not a good thing; the brain's selfishness center; men who can't smell don't have much sex; hearing loss foreshadows mental decline.
Discovered: Scientists dig up Frodo fossils; autistic people hear music better; babies' brains foretell adult diseases; Deepwater Horizon cleanup could hurt coral all over again.
Discovered: PBDEs in common household items hinder brain development; 16th century astronomer didn't die from mercury poisoning; brain activity translated into music; belly buttons are swarming with bacteria.
Discovered: A drug-resistant bug's life; a tiny tractor beam; the genetic mutations underlying brain cancer; how kids get hit by cars.
Discovered: Amateur astronomers find fascinating new planet; mapping Antarctica before it melts away; bigger brains correlate with greater cancer risk; shocking pants prevent bedsores.
Discovered: Evidence ancient Mars was dry; short kids depress moms; swine flu mutation; creating artificial memories in rat brain tissue is still a long way off from Total Recall.
Discovered: Antarctic ice methane could hasten global warming; tuning an instrument also tunes the brain; NASA survey finds millions of potential black holes; low-cal diets don't improve lifespan.
Discovered: A record-breaking galaxy cluster; how squids change hue; the way our brains deal with waste; engineering better toilets.
Discovered: We give up searching when targets are few and far between; studying the urban landscape; science teachers release invasive species into the wild; inside the brains of hoarders.
Happening today is a convergence of medicine, technology, social media and a testament ... oh nevermind. You know what? Houston's Memorial Hermann hospital is live-tweeting a brain surgery this morning.
Discovered: A hair regeneration technique using stem cells, a brand new dark matter theory, brain scans can predict future weight gain and future sex and another reason to drink.
The makers of the iBrain, a machine used to collect sleep data, have loftier plans for the EEG recording tool: mind reading.
Ever since the first tort suit that claimed a link between phone radiation and brain was filed in 1993, research into the subject has fallen on all ends of the spectrum.
More evidence that DNA and intelligence are related--but let's not get carried away
Have a story we missed? A link we have to click? A sharp opinion about the news? Instead of waiting for us to post it, tell us on the Open Wire.
Submit your news and ideas | See all reader postsThe Atlantic Wire is your authoritative guide to the news and ideas that matter most right now. Our team tracks newsmakers and opinions across the entire media spectrum: newspapers, web sites, television, radio and magazines.
But we do more than just collect information. By synthesizing, analyzing and summarizing what’s out there, and adding new information when we can, we are a news engine that gives you a quick and valuable account of the issues of the day.
Have a hot tip? A story we missed? Tell us on the Open Wire
How to send us editorial or technical feedback
Get Five Best Columns in your inbox each morning (preview)
