The Human Spark crew visited neuroscientist Helen Neville in her Brain Development Lab at the University of Oregon. Check out some behind-the-scenes photos from the visit and the process of videotaping brain activity. View photo gallery…
According to recent research done at the U. of Auckland, NZ, crows have passed a reasoning test that chimps failed. See article at New Scientist, or read more about the intelligence of genus Corvus (crows, ravens, jackdaws) at Nature online.
Antarctica. On the surface, it’s the bleakest of lands, with ferocious winds, flightless birds, and enough ice to flood half the planet’s population if it were to melt. But below that frozen mass, a fantastic environment of indescribable beauty teems with life. Watch the full episode…
Three separate teams overcome a biomedical hurdle — creating stem cells without the use of human embryos. Download a video (88.18 MB) about this scientific feat from NOVA ScienceNow.
Ireland’s verdant fields are not the nation’s only extraordinary natural features. Sculpted millions of years ago by the advance and retreat of vast shields of ice, the Emerald Isle harbors a wealth of wildlife among its craggy mountains, fog-shrouded coastlines, steep gorges, and vast networks of inland waterways. Watch now…
A new study provides fascinating insight into how we recall experiences. Led by Dr. Itzhak Fried of UCLA, it reports that the neurons we use when we experience an event are reactivated when we recall that event later on. Science writer Benedict Carey and Daniel Schacter of Harvard University discuss.
Check out this clip of “Pingu,” modified by the scientists in Oregon to include strange grammatical constructions. They want to see how brains react to mistakes in grammar, even when the listener isn’t fluent in the language being spoken! How would your brain react? Watch now…
“Beyond Human: The New Age of Cyborgs and Androids”, a two-hour series on the future of bioengineering and robotics, explored how technology is blurring the line between man and machine. It originally aired on PBS in May 2001, and is now watchable in its entirety at a number of online video sites. Read more…
At 4:27 a.m. this morning, Eastern time, protons made their first circuit around a 17-mile-long racetrack known as the Large Hadron Collider, 300 feet underneath the Swiss-French border, and then made a return journey, according to the NY Times. Read more…
Researchers have mapped the genetic blueprint of two of the deadliest forms of cancer, detailing the mutations that lead to tumors of the pancreas and brain. Learn more…
