en-ushttp://www.sciam.com/144http://www.sciam.com/media/logo/SAlogo_144px.gif45http://www.sciam.com/Copyright 1996-2008 Scientific AmericanScience news and technology updates from Scientific American Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=oceanic-dead-zones-spread&sc=rss <p>More bad news for the world's oceans: Dead zones--areas of bottom waters too oxygen depleted to support most ocean life--are spreading, dotting nearly the entire east and south coasts of the U.S. as well as several west coast river outlets.</p><p>According to a new study in Science, the rest of the world fares no better--there are now 405 identified dead zones worldwide, up from 49 in the 1960s--and the world's largest dead zone remains the Baltic Sea, whose bottom waters now lack oxygen year-round.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=oceanic-dead-zones-spread&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=haEyFK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=haEyFK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=LU0yGk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=LU0yGk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=DTnEjK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=DTnEjK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=JQIppK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=JQIppK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=4a2o8k"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=4a2o8k" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Chemistry,Environment,Society & Policy,Science in Service Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=in-brief-aug-08&sc=rss <p>Reconstructing the Very First CellUnlike modern cells, with their mitochondria, pores, nuclei and such, the very first cell, which emerged some 3.5 billion years ago, was simple. It probably consisted of just a membrane with genetic information inside--raising the question of how it could take in nutrients and reproduce. Harvard Medical School researchers have built a model of what the first cell may have looked like. Using fatty acids that likely existed on a primeval Earth, they created a membrane porous enough to let in nutrients but strong enough to protect the genetic material inside. In a test tube of water, the fatty acids formed into a ring around a strip of DNA. The investigators also added nucleotides--units of genetic material--which entered the cell, latched onto the DNA and replicated it over 24 hours. Scientists now must figure out how the original and copycat DNA strands can separate, which would enable the cell to divide and reproduce. The study turned up in the June 12 Nature.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=in-brief-aug-08&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=sdY2aK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=sdY2aK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=L1jovk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=L1jovk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=3OZC6K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=3OZC6K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=37DLAK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=37DLAK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=45NVdk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=45NVdk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Environment,Health,Technology,Society & Policy Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=arranging-for-serenity&sc=rss <p>I am a New Age skeptic. I used to be a New Age cynic, so this change shows how far I have come in opening my mind to things I do not understand. I no longer dismiss channeling and crystals and acupuncture as so much hocus-pocus, nor do I embrace these practices. I simply await proof.</p><p>I have to admit, though, that there is one New Age practice that has always had some intuitive appeal to me, and that&rsquo;s feng shui. Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement, which is based on the belief that space and distance and the arrangement of objects can affect our emotions and our sense of well-being. This idea makes sense to me on a gut level: I know that I feel a greater sense of psychological equilibrium in some spaces than I do in others. I just do not know why.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=arranging-for-serenity&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=jbG8sK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=jbG8sK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=ia8NWk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=ia8NWk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=uelIXK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=uelIXK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=He7wVK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=He7wVK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=OtksZk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=OtksZk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Mind & Brain,Physics Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:45:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=preventing-blackouts-power-grid&sc=rss <p>Editor's Note: This story was originally published in the May 2007 issue of Scientific American.</p><p>August 14, 2003, was a typical warm day in the Midwest. But shortly after 2:00 P.M. several power lines in northern Ohio, sagging under the high current they were carrying, brushed against some overgrown trees and shut down. Such a disturbance usually sets off alarms in a local utility&rsquo;s control room, where human operators work with controllers in neighboring regions to reroute power flows around the injury site.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=preventing-blackouts-power-grid&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=c36qiK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=c36qiK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=OBupLk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=OBupLk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=DcQGlK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=DcQGlK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=CSXg2K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=CSXg2K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=BU5jTk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=BU5jTk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Technology,Society & Policy,Energy Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=2003-blackout-five-years-later&sc=rss <p>On August 14, 2003, shortly after 2 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, a high-voltage power line in northern Ohio brushed against some overgrown trees and shut down--a fault, as it's known in the power industry. The line had softened under the heat of the high current coursing through it. Normally, the problem would have tripped an alarm in the control room of FirstEnergy Corporation, an Ohio-based utility company, but the alarm system failed.</p><p>Over the next hour and a half, as system operators tried to understand what was happening, three other lines sagged into trees and switched off, forcing other power lines to shoulder an extra burden. Overtaxed, they cut out by 4:05 P.M., tripping a cascade of failures throughout southeastern Canada and eight northeastern states.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=2003-blackout-five-years-later&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=EFQr9K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=EFQr9K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=3TrGZk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=3TrGZk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=k9lgFK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=k9lgFK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=SeM7xK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=SeM7xK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=qCruVk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=qCruVk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Technology,Society & Policy,Energy,Everyday Science Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=minding-mistakes&sc=rss <p>April 26, 1986: During routine testing, reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explodes, triggering the worst catastrophe in the history of the civilian use of nuclear energy.</p><p>September 22, 2006: On a trial run, experimental maglev train Transrapid 08 plows into a maintenance vehicle at 125 mph near Lathen, Germany, spewing wreckage over hundreds of yards, killing 23 passengers and severely injuring 10 others.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=minding-mistakes&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=4f3VFK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=4f3VFK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=J66vsk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=J66vsk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=pm4D6K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=pm4D6K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=WnLTTK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=WnLTTK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=wNUQEk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=wNUQEk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Mind & Brain,Physics Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=new-lie-detector&sc=rss <p>Last year Sean A. Spence, a professor at the school of medicine at the University of Sheffield in England, performed brain scans that showed that a woman convicted of poisoning a child in her care appeared to be telling the truth when she denied committing the crime. This deception study, along with two others performed by the Sheffield group, was funded by Quickfire Media, a television production company working for the U.K.&rsquo;s Channel 4, which broadcast videos of the researchers at work as part of a three-part series called &ldquo;Lie Lab.&rdquo; The brain study of the woman later appeared in the journal European Psychiatry.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=new-lie-detector&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=D5dvqK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=D5dvqK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=3IMwbk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=3IMwbk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=1y2jIK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=1y2jIK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=WKsYGK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=WKsYGK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=Mw9tsk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=Mw9tsk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Mind & Brain Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=cancer-drug-costs-may-help-doctors&sc=rss <p>Oncologists will soon be adding &ldquo;financial counselor&rdquo; to their job description. With an increasing number of cancer patients suffering economic hardships as a side effect of expensive therapy, most oncologists are finding that cost needs to be considered as part of treatment options. Leading cancer organizations are now working on incorporating cost into treatment guidelines and other materials. The change, which departs from the current American medical ethos, is fraught with thorny questions not only for cancer doctors and patients but also for the health care system at large.</p><p>The U.S. spends about $200 billion annually on cancer care; many new drugs cost several thousand dollars monthly. For patients, co-payments represent the most severe sappers of bank accounts. Increasingly, insurers are holding patients accountable for up to 20 percent of the prescription price. Covered drugs being used off-label (for an indication not formally approved but still medically appropriate) can carry co-pays of up to 30 percent.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=cancer-drug-costs-may-help-doctors&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=TtwfDK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=TtwfDK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=n9bMdk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=n9bMdk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=6DoKtK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=6DoKtK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=kMQ2sK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=kMQ2sK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=1sb8Xk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=1sb8Xk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Health,Technology,Society & Policy Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=unlikely-victims-of-banning-cfcs&sc=rss <p>A federal ban on ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), to conform with the Clean Air Act, is, ironically, affecting 22.9 million people in the U.S. who suffer from asthma. Generic inhaled albuterol, which is the most commonly prescribed short-acting asthma medication and requires CFCs to propel it into the lungs, will no longer be legally sold after December 31, 2008. Physicians and patients are questioning the wisdom of the ban, which will have an insignificant effect on ozone but a measurable impact on wallets: the reformulated brand-name alternatives can be three times as expensive, raising the cost to about $40 per inhaler. The issue is even more disconcerting considering that asthma disproportionately affects the poor and that, according to recent surveys, an estimated 20 percent of asthma patients are uninsured.</p><p>&ldquo;The decision to make the change was political, not medical or scientific,&rdquo; says pharmacist Leslie Hendeles of the University of Florida, who co-authored a 2007 paper in the New England Journal of Medicine explaining the withdrawal and transition. In 1987 Congress signed on to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, an international treaty requiring the phasing out of all nonessential uses of CFCs. At that time, medical inhalers were considered an essential use because no viable alternative propellant existed. In 1989 pharmaceutical companies banded together and eventually, in 1996, reformulated albuterol with hydrofluoroalkane (HFA), an ozone-safe propellant. After more than one brand of HFA-albuterol became available, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared in 2005 that CFC inhalers were no longer essential and must be completely off the shelves by the last day of this year.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=unlikely-victims-of-banning-cfcs&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=tEpDvK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=tEpDvK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=loE1dk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=loE1dk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=PGNMaK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=PGNMaK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=NoHL4K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=NoHL4K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=FJM0yk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=FJM0yk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Health,Society & Policy Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:00:08 EST http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=A4696831-FAE7-65BE-B49567A5F4E21D5F&sc=rss <p>[Below is the original script. But a few changes may have been made during the recording of this audio podcast.]</p><p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=A4696831-FAE7-65BE-B49567A5F4E21D5F&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=V08pzK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=V08pzK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=gJ2qLk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=gJ2qLk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=I9thLK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=I9thLK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=i6VLZK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=i6VLZK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=eZ4jFk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=eZ4jFk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Mind & Brain Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:25:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=science-of-star-wars-clone-wars&sc=rss <p>The new animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars features an army of cloned soldiers doing battle with droids on far-flung planets. For those of us who grew up watching the Star Wars movies, droids and laser blasters are almost as real as cell phones and Wi-Fi. But what in Star Wars qualifies as remotely plausible, according to our understanding of science, and what is pure fantasy? To help answer this question, ScientificAmerican.com spoke with Jeanne Cavelos, a science fiction writer and author of The Science of Star Wars [read excerpts from the book here]. When her book came out, researchers had spotted less than two dozen planets around other stars--that figure is now over 300--and South Korean researcher Woo Suk Hwang was five years from rocking the world with his fraudulent claims of cloning the first human cells. We asked Cavelos to update us on how George Lucas's vision has fared.</p><p>How far have would you say researchers have come with cloning in the last few years, and will we ever have clone armies like in Star Wars? <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=science-of-star-wars-clone-wars&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=Gv0a0K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=Gv0a0K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=bJ0Kjk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=bJ0Kjk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=UFxorK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=UFxorK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=1eIGPK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=1eIGPK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=DjWe8k"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=DjWe8k" border="0"></img></a> </div> Space,Technology,What's Next,Everyday Science Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:19:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=top-10-exoplanets&sc=rss <p>Hoth. Coruscant. Endor. These names will ring familiar to fans of that galaxy far, far away--the setting for the Star Wars movies, including the new animated feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Now what about V391 Peg b? GJ 3021? WASP-15? If you guessed Star Wars droids, you're wrong. They're the names of actual planets found around other stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy. </p><p>Slowly but surely researchers are learning that our stellar neighborhood is filled with extrasolar planets, better known as exoplanets. Many of them are just as, if not far more, exotic as anything in the Star Wars saga. And someday they may have names that are equally memorable.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=top-10-exoplanets&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=4g9a1K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=4g9a1K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=ptoAtk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=ptoAtk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=0df2kK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=0df2kK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=b7G9mK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=b7G9mK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=efRoFk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=efRoFk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Space,What's Next Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=raymond-kurzweil-life-extension-westinghouse&sc=rss <p>FINALIST YEAR: 1965</p><p>HIS PROJECT: Programming a computer to compose music like classical composers did</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=raymond-kurzweil-life-extension-westinghouse&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=hP1V4K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=hP1V4K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=iySsWk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=iySsWk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=grv8RK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=grv8RK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=5Z1XMK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=5Z1XMK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=9mBE1k"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=9mBE1k" border="0"></img></a> </div> Health,History of Science Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:15:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=are-viruses-alive-2004&sc=rss <p>Editor's Note: This story was originally published in the December 2004 issue of Scientific American.</p><p>In an episode of the classic 1950s television comedy The Honeymooners, Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden loudly explains to his wife, Alice, &ldquo;You know that I know how easy you get the virus.&rdquo; Half a century ago even regular folks like the Kramdens had some knowledge of viruses--as microscopic bringers of disease. Yet it is almost certain that they did not know exactly what a virus was. They were, and are, not alone.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=are-viruses-alive-2004&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=xb1TyK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=xb1TyK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=pWsVwk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=pWsVwk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=YwYKNK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=YwYKNK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=MV2ycK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=MV2ycK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=uDfFak"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=uDfFak" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Health,Everyday Science Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=down-in-the-dark&sc=rss <p>The association between darkness and depression is well established. Now a March 25 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals for the first time the profound changes that light deprivation causes in the brain.</p><p>Neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania kept rats in the dark for six weeks. The animals not only exhibited depressive behavior but also suffered damage in brain regions known to be underactive in humans during depression. The researchers observed neurons that produce norepi&shy;nephrine, dopamine and serotonin--common neurotransmitters involved in emotion, pleasure and cognition--in the process of dying. This neuronal death, which was accompanied in some areas by compromised synaptic connections, may be the mechanism underlying the darkness-related blues of seasonal affective disorder.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=down-in-the-dark&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=sK1xmK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=sK1xmK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=Dca3Vk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=Dca3Vk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=kDYLnK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=kDYLnK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=YaQWXK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=YaQWXK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=lSGn2k"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=lSGn2k" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Mind & Brain Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-snoozing-makes-you-smarter&sc=rss <p>In 1865 Friedrich August Kekul&eacute; woke up from a strange dream: he imagined a snake forming a circle and biting its own tail. Like many organic chemists of the time, Kekul&eacute; had been working feverishly to describe the true chemical structure of benzene, a problem that continually eluded understanding. But Kekul&eacute;&rsquo;s dream of a snake swallowing its tail, so the story goes, helped him to accurately realize that benzene&rsquo;s structure formed a ring. This insight paved the way for a new understanding of organic chemistry and earned Kekul&eacute; a title of nobility in Germany.</p><p>Although most of us have not been ennobled, there is something undeniably familiar about Kekul&eacute;&rsquo;s problem-solving method. Whether deciding to go to a particular college, accept a challenging job offer or propose to a future spouse, &ldquo;sleeping on it&rdquo; seems to provide the clarity we need to piece together life&rsquo;s puzzles. But how does slumber present us with answers?</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-snoozing-makes-you-smarter&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=Qw1i0K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=Qw1i0K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=AslTWk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=AslTWk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=D0nuMK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=D0nuMK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=Ohx7dK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=Ohx7dK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=kls2lk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=kls2lk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Mind & Brain Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=magnifying-taste&sc=rss <p>Humans are hardwired to love the sweet, savory and salty foods that provide the energy, protein and electrolytes we need. In an age of mass-produced products laden with sugar and salt, however, our taste proclivities can readily bring on obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes--all among society&rsquo;s biggest health problems.</p><p>But what if a handful of tiny compounds could fool our brains into eating differently? That is the idea behind the new science of flavor modulation. Scientists who have unlocked the long-standing mystery of taste biology are developing inexpensive yet potent compounds that make foods taste sweeter, saltier and more savory (heartier) than they really are. By adding tiny amounts of these modulators to traditional foods, manufacturers could reduce the amount of sugar, salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG) needed to satisfy, resulting in healthier products.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=magnifying-taste&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=Yn8GAK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=Yn8GAK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=yOgkek"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=yOgkek" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=A23gIK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=A23gIK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=gWey2K"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=gWey2K" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=AZVT6k"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=AZVT6k" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Mind & Brain,Technology Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=congresswoman-degette-slams-religious-right-on-science&sc=rss <p>Six-term Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette owns a dubious distinction: She is one of the two co-authors of the bill that garnered President George W. Bush's first-ever veto.</p><p>The subject of the legislation: embryonic stem cells. DeGette, who represents Colorado's 1st District--which includes Denver and its environs--is for them. The president isn't.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=congresswoman-degette-slams-religious-right-on-science&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=0CsZWK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=0CsZWK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=W2wHDk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=W2wHDk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=L7AMgK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=L7AMgK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=ik9uJK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=ik9uJK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=bFUb6k"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=bFUb6k" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Health,Society & Policy Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:00:00 EST http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=decision-making-in-brain&sc=rss <p>The insight that neurological functions could be localized in the brain--that activities such as speech, vision and hearing take place in fixed locations, with the aid of specialized neural circuits--has served as one of the driving ideas in neuroscience. Less often appreciated is the companion notion that the power of the brain, the key to its flexibility and coordination, lies not just in the capacities of these dedicated processing centers, but also in the connections among them. It is not enough, as the phrenologists proposed centuries ago, to have islands of specialized function for each of the brain&rsquo;s activities. For modern neuroscientists, the whole story must lie not just in the brain&rsquo;s compartmentalization, but in its communication.</p><p>Nevertheless, modern neuroscience techniques often focus on localization at the expense of communication. Whole-brain imaging techniques such as functional MRI, for example, have allowed researchers to gain some insight into which regions of the brain are more active during a given behavior. But the most direct technique available for studying brain function during behavior--measuring the electrical activity of individual neurons--typically focuses on a specific location within the brain. This is not only because the technical challenges posed by simultaneous recordings in several brain areas are daunting, but also because many regions remain poorly understood, and others frequently share so many connections with the rest of the brain that they often appear to be involved in everything. Most of the time, the neural circuits involved are sufficiently complex that neuroscientists are simply trying to get a handle on what role, if any, a particular brain area plays in behavior; try to factor in communication among several of them, and most hypotheses become too complicated to test directly. In effect, studying information flow within the brain becomes a bit like tapping into a massive network switchbox: there&rsquo;s a constant stream of information flowing past, but without a clever experiment, it&rsquo;s nearly impossible to tell just where that information is going or how it&rsquo;s being used. Unfortunately, these are the very questions neuroscientists suspect are most crucial for understanding one of the most complex of human behaviors: how we make decisions.</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=decision-making-in-brain&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=Oe7naK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=Oe7naK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=IYbDHk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=IYbDHk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=ZPV6uK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=ZPV6uK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=FK26yK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=FK26yK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=bdwvVk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=bdwvVk" border="0"></img></a> </div> Biology,Mind & Brain Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:08 EST http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=9330827E-95DE-9E73-EFB2CFF69632CF14&sc=rss <p>[Below is the original script. But a few changes may have been made during the recording of this audio podcast.]</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <a href=http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=9330827E-95DE-9E73-EFB2CFF69632CF14&amp;sc=rss>[More]</a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=CfdMYK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=CfdMYK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=QnH9Fk"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=QnH9Fk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=floxmK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=floxmK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=l1lBmK"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=l1lBmK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?a=X7ha4k"><img src="http://rss.sciam.com/~f/sciam/topic/thought-and-cognition?i=X7ha4k" border="0"></img></a> </div> Mind & Brain