Science

The Science of Star Trek

June 7, 2012 by noemi Leave a Comment

I can be more stubborn than an mule when I want to be, and I suppose that many of you will be the same when it comes to Star Trek (or replace that with your series/book/movie of choice).

The science of Star Trek, when conceptualized, was clearly science fiction, but who is to say that that science cannot become reality? Certainly, the great minds of our time have worked hard to make huge strides in advancing science, and there ought to be some aspects in the science of Star Trek that have come true (or will come true in the near future). [Read more…] about The Science of Star Trek

The Science Behind the “Old Books Smell”

April 24, 2012 by noemi Leave a Comment

That “old books smell” is hard to beat, isn’t it? That particular scent brings me back to my days as a student, when I would spend lots of time browsing the shelves of the library. As the case usually is with university libraries, a considerable part of their collection are old books. And yeah, that smell has become firmly embedded in my memory.

I am pretty sure that I am not alone in this. In these days when even those who like the feel and smell of (paper) books are looking to e-books, the yearning for the old books smell still has a strong following. But have you ever thought about the scientific explanation for this? [Read more…] about The Science Behind the “Old Books Smell”

Entorhinal Cortex: Remember That If You Want to Strengthen Your Memory

February 9, 2012 by noemi Leave a Comment

Strengthen Memory — Alzheimers Stimulation

I have been called forgetful so many times that I do not remember how often it has happened. I have to admit that I do have my Dory ((Finding Nemo)) moments. I am sure you have yours, too. How many times have you forgotten where you have put your keys? I bet you have forgotten where you have parked your car as well. These things do happen to ordinary people, and there is nothing we can do about it. Or is there? [Read more…]

New Molecule Created By 10-Year-Old

February 8, 2012 by noemi 1 Comment

tetranitratoxycarbon — Tetranitratoxycarbon

This little girl is THE man! Clara Lazen, who is only 10 years old, has created a new molecule in science class, albeit accidentally. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri and created the new molecule by chance when her science teacher, Kenneth Boehr, handed out your run-of-the-mill balls and sticks.

Boehr gave his students balls representing the atoms of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, presumably to “play” with them. The result of Clara’s “playing” was totally unexpected: the new molecule dubbed Tetranitratoxycarbon. [Read more…] about New Molecule Created By 10-Year-Old

Need Electrical Juice? Walk More!

August 24, 2011 by noemi Leave a Comment

How often do you have to charge your smartphone? I think I mentioned some time ago that ever since I switched to the iPhone 4, I have had to charge my mobile phone every day. Comparing this to the every other day (sometimes every three days) charging I had to do with my Nokia E63, it does seem excessive. However, if you think about what one normally does with the iPhone (not to mention 3G or Wi-Fi always on), the once a day charging system does make sense.

Having access to electrical juice is something that the modern person has to deal with on a daily basis. As such, researchers are also on the ball as to figuring out how to make batteries last longer and how to provide consumers with more power. [Read more…] about Need Electrical Juice? Walk More!

New Discovery: Birds Tweet Using Grammar

June 29, 2011 by noemi Leave a Comment

Finches follow grammar rules when tweeting

That’s more than you can say for many of their human counterparts who tweet in the technological way, yes? 😉

All kidding aside, scientists have found signs that those cute little creatures with feathers have something that resembles grammar as we know. Based on a report published by New Scientist ((Source)), Bengal finches have their own syntax when they chirp, sing, tweet, or whatever you want to call it. While the birds do not have the same concepts that we humans (such as the parts of speech – nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.), they have syntactic structures.

By the way, syntax is defined as the ” is the study of the principles and rules for constructing sentences in natural languages.” ((Wikipedia)) Basically, the birds having a syntax of their own means that they have rules that govern their “speech”. Grammar falls under syntax.

I suppose that this is not a totally new concept and that, in fact, many people have suspected this for the longest time. The breakthrough is that researchers from Kyoto University in Japan have actually found some proof that this suspicion might be true. What the scientists did was to play various songs until the finches got used to them – or understood them. They then jumbled up the syllables in the songs and observed how the finches reacted. What they found out was that only one of the four jumbled up songs made the finches react in an adverse manner. The scientists say that based on the finches’ reactions, it seemed that the particular song broke the birds’ grammar rules – whatever those rules may be. And if you are thinking if it was just coincidence, give the researchers a little more credit, will you? They did the experiment on many birds and they had the same reaction – at least those birds who were exposed to other birds.

That last bit seems to support the idea that the grammar rules are not innate in the finches. They have to learn the rules – just like we humans do.

I don’t know about you, but I find the study – and its results – fascinating. Maybe these birds can teach humans to follow grammar rules a little more on Twitter. You know what I’m saying?