ἀνθρώποισι πᾶσι μέτεστι γινώσκειν ἑωυτοὺς καὶ σωφρονεῖν.
Our hands and fingertips are amazingly sensitive to texture. We can easily distinguish coarse sandpaper from smooth glass, but we also pick up more subtle differences across a wide range of textures, like the slick sheen of silk or the soft give of cotton. Continue reading “How the brain responds to texture”
Most people believe that when they are irritated, they need to get the anger out of their system. There are plenty of pop psychology self-help manuals that suggest punching a pillow instead of the irritating person, so that we can have a cathartic release and let the pressure out of our own individual pressure cooker. Continue reading “To Vent or Not To Vent: Modern and Ancient Views on Dealing with Anger”
The United Nations estimates that more than 8 million tons of plastics flow into the oceans each year. A new chemical conversion process could transform the world’s polyolefin waste, a form of plastic, into useful products, such as clean fuels and other items. Continue reading “Millions of tons of plastic waste could be turned into clean fuels, other products”
When a person takes a puff on a cigarette, nicotine floods into the brain, latching onto receptors on the surface of neurons and producing feelings of happiness. But nicotine does not simply stay on the surface of cells — the drug actually permeates into neural cells and alters them from the inside out. Now, a team of scientists has developed a protein sensor that glows in the presence of nicotine, allowing the researchers to observe nicotine’s movements in cells and reveal more about the nature of nicotine addiction. Continue reading “This is a neuron on nicotine”
Most detailed analysis yet of prehistoric stone circle shows how masons spent more time making key areas look the best. Continue reading “Stonehenge up close: digital laser scan reveals secrets of the past”
On November 9, 694, C.E., the Seventeenth Council of Toledo convened, in the eponymous capital of Visigoth Spain, and passed a wide-ranging series of restrictions on the Jews of the kingdom. The rules and prohibitions were a continuation of an ongoing effort to lessen the influence of Jews and their religion on society, but ratcheted the pressure on the Jews up a notch by adding a new, political rationale for the measures. Continue reading “694 CE: Visigoth King Enslaves the Jews”
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