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A Note to the Nobel Prize Selection Committee
Howard Temin was an ideal role model for scientists; the Nobel can encourage them to follow his example
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Roots of Unity
Law & Order: MVT
Using mathematics to catch the bad guys—in the most contrived way possible
Observations
Mother Earth Doesn’t Like to Be Naked
Harvesting almonds is easier on bare dirt—but the soil itself is happier when clothed
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Itching for treatments that scratching can't always soothe
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Scientists for years have been scratching their heads over the cause of itching. There were theories that it shared a nerve pathway with pain to the brain – and now comes news that different forms of itching apparently have their own neural routes...
Who has a better sense of humor--Liberals or conservatives?
Are you more likely to get a joke if you lean politically left or right? That's the question New York Times columnist John Tierney asks today, extending a line of inquiry popular this campaign season: the personality characteristics of ideologues...
Rain man: Does damp weather predict autism?
Autism is more common in rainy, coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest than in drier, inland parts of three states in the region, according to new research that suggests a possible link between the brain disorder and precipitation...
U.S. and Soviet spooks studied paranormal powers to find a Cold War advantage
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is well known for pushing the boundaries of science and technology in search of ways to give the U.S.
I'm really Rosie: Men more amorous toward ladies in red
Listen up, ladies: If you're looking to score, break out that red dress.
Men were more eager to bed women wearing red than those decked out in other colors, according to five studies involving 149 men and 32 women published today in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ...
Tennis refs are people, too: Visual illusion to blame for all those bad calls
Flummoxed by those wrong "out" calls tennis referees make? Blame it on the brain's sluggish visual-processing system: It makes the ump — and all humans — likely to perceive moving objects as farther along in their trajectory than they actually are, a new study says...
Ghostbusters: Are military bases haunted?
Military bases appear to be a popular haunt for wandering spirits, with several attracting the attention of ghost hunters seeking evidence of paranormal activity.
Holding hot coffee = warm and fuzzy feelings
You know the famous – some would say infamous -- studies done in the 1950s by University of Wisconsin, Madison, psychologist Harry Harlow in which he separated macaque monkeys from their mothers and put them in cages, where they were then given a choice of bonding with surrogate cloth moms or sucking milk from a baby bottle on a wire?...
Am I a narcissist? Part II: Ask my staff
A few weeks ago, I found out that my presence on Facebook can indicate just how narcissistic I am, thanks to a study in the October issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ...
Are you more likely to be politically left or right if you scare easily?
Here's a fun trick: scare someone you don't know, then guess whether they favor the death penalty and the war in Iraq based on how freaked out they got.
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A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
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Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
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