Month: July 2021
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Proud. Digging the river. Dying.
It’s a resource used in global construction and mined from rivers and coasts across the world. Now new research has shown sand mining is causing river beds to lower, leading to riverbank instability and increasing the likelihood of dangerous river bank collapse, damaging infrastructure and housing and putting lives at risk. (1) We used to…
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Reverse evolution
The study of evolution is revealing new complexities, showing how the traits most beneficial to the fitness of individual plants and animals are not always the ones we see in nature. Instead, new research by behavioral scientists shows that in certain cases evolution works in the opposite direction, reversing individual improvements to benefit related members…
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Reducing resistance… Non-knowledge…
The realization of so-called topological materials – which exhibit exotic, defect-resistant properties – has opened up a new realm in materials discovery. Several of the hotly studied topological materials to date are known as topological insulators. Their surfaces are expected to conduct electricity with very little resistance, somewhat akin to superconductors but without the need…
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Magnetic sense. Astronomy. Void cosmos. Humans moving.
The human brain can unconsciously respond to changes in Earth’s magnetic fields, according to a team of geoscientists and neurobiologists. This interdisciplinary study revives a research area in neuroscience that has remained dormant for decades. (1) We used to believe we can sense the cosmos. We used to have astrology and religion. Now we have…
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Control. Life. Death.
A recent study found out that older adults feel younger when they feel that they have more control over their daily lives, regardless of stress or health concerns. However, stress and health – not a sense of control – play a significant role in how old younger adults feel. (1) Old people try to control…
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