An international team of physicists has found the first direct evidence of pear shaped nuclei in exotic atoms. The findings could advance the search for a new fundamental force in nature that could explain why the Big Bang created more matter than antimatter — a pivotal imbalance in the history of everything. [1]
Pfeeewwww!
I for a moment thought that scientists will only keep discovering new particles to fill in the gaps as part of the “I cannot think of anything innovative” program.
Now at last we have new fundamental forces as well!
Long live stupidity! Long live loss of inspiration!
The evolution of various organs of the human body is an essential part of the Theory of Evolution and a beloved theme for discussion among biologists.
We have many organs which seem evolved in exactly the way needed so as to allow them to perform their important mission.
We have legs which have evolved so as to support our walking.
It seems logical, but it may be not. Strangely enough, an idea which is lost in the abyss of time may shed new light to that notion.
It was Epicurus who postulated it: The organs ARE NOT evolved so as to support their functions, but the other way around! The functions are evolved BASED ON the organs we have available!
Scientists have identified a key molecule responsible for triggering the chemical processes in our brain linked to our formation of memories. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Neural Circuits, reveal a new target for therapeutic interventions to reverse the devastating effects of memory loss. The BBSRC-funded research, led by scientists at the University of Bristol, aimed to better understand the mechanisms that enable us to form memories by studying the molecular changes in the hippocampus — the part of the brain involved in learning. [1]
This is a great example of how scientists write and think.
They are very carefull into their analysis and conclusions, leaving room for misjudgement if you are not well informed or prepared to that kind of wordings. Words like “linked to”, “involved into” are used simply because we have NOT yet understood the mechanism of memory and WHERE it is stored.
Such vague terminology is the only way scientists have to speak for issues they are still investigating. Ordinary people read such announcements and draw the conclusion that we “know” how memory (see here and here) is stored. Scientists let people believe that since it grants them more cudos and money.
It’s a win-win situation, except for the fact that I have to explain to every philosophy forum I write the obvious: that we do not even know WHERE memory is stored (let alone HOW)…
HeLa cells are the world’s most commonly used human cell lines, and have served as a standard for understanding many fundamental biological processes. In a study published today in G3: Genes, Genomes and Genetics online, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, announce they have successfully sequenced the genome of a HeLa cell line. It provides a high-resolution genomic reference that reveals the striking differences between the HeLa genome and that of normal human cells.
In particular, the researchers found that countless regions of the chromosomes in each cell were arranged in the wrong order and had extra or fewer copies of genes. This is a telltale sign of chromosome shattering, a recently discovered phenomenon associated with 2-3% of all cancers. [1]
Hercules chose the difficult path… What about Science?
A HeLa cell is a cell type in an immortal cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line was derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951 from Henrietta Lacks, a patient who eventually died of her cancer on October 4, 1951. The cell line was found to be remarkably durable and prolific as illustrated by its contamination of many other cell lines used in research. [2]
Studying human cells behaviour based on a broken cancer cell because it was easy to reproduce. No wonder mate! It was a CANCER cell!
The easy way is almost always the WRONG one in science…
In a “breakthrough” for the field of particle physics, Professor of Physics Larry Hunter and colleagues at Amherst College and The University of Texas at Austin have established new limits on what scientists call “long-range spin-spin interactions” between atomic particles. Their observation would constitute the discovery of a “fifth force of nature” (in addition to the four known fundamental forces) and would suggest the existence of new particles as well (beyond the ones known in the Standard Model). [1]
I don’t know about you, but I believe progress in science is finding more elegant and simple theories to explain things. A theory which produces “new” particles” or forces is certainly not in that direction…
