Poison can be a curse, a killer, and even a medicine—an alchemical substance that appears in everything from myth to literature. You might not think of poison as being this multifaceted, but that’s exactly what the American Museum of Natural History’s new exhibit—The Power of Poison—delightfully urges you to do.
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After narrowly avoiding the chopping block
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Homo sapiens evolved about 200-150,000 years ago in Africa, but our story as a species stretches back much further than that with early human ancestors. And the evolution of Homo sapiens is itself a tangled tale, full of unanswered questions and gothic family melodrama. Here are a few facts you may not know about the human evolutionary story.
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Big cats are abundant in the wilds of the Earth today. Africa alone has a number of big cat species such as lions, tigers, and many other varieties. A group of researches have discovered the fossilized remains of an ancient big cat in the Himalaya mountains. According to the researchers, the fossilized remains are of […]
A binding agreement, as much a social contract as Social Security or Medicare, the traditional Hippocratic Oath holds those who swear to it to a strict code of professional and personal conduct. Contrary to popular belief, though, most doctors never take this oath—and, actually, most of us are probably glad they never do.
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It’s one of those things you’ve probably idly wondered but never really lent masses of thought: what the hell would the planet be like if humans had never existed? Fortunately, this video tries to explain.
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Don’t you just love to hear stories about accidental discoveries in the world of science that actually changed the way we see the world, as well as bring some benefit to mankind? Take the discovery of penicillin for example, if Dr. Alexander Fleming threw away that petri dish, it might have taken a few more years (and many more lives lost along the way) before penicillin was discovered. Well, in the 21st century, Dr. Marianne Tarun, who is a postdoctoral research associate at Washington State University, has managed to accidentally discover that the conductivity of strontium titanate crystals happens to gain an increase by as much as 400% for days after being exposed to room lights.
This particular discovery certainly has its fair share of positive benefits as well as possible applications, especially in the realm of computer memory and various kinds of electronic devices. This serendipitous discovery was made after a sample of strontium titanate was left on a table counter prior to conductivity testing. Strontium titanate is a kind of crystal used in jewelry, just so you know what it is. This particular effect that was discovered has been labeled as “persistent photoconductivity”. Hopefully this discovery will lead to better and more efficient electronics down the road.
Accidental Discovery Leads To Electrical Conductivity Boosted By 40,000% original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Like a modern Henri Becquerel, Washington State University doctoral student Marianne Tarun’s discovery came quite by accident. Her simple lab error has uncovered a new way to boost electrical conductivity of a crystal by 40,000 percent, simply by exposing it to light.
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Counter to everything you’ve ever been told, it appears that wrapping babies’ heads in plastic bags may very well be the key to a full and happy life—at least for those born of obstructed labor, anyway. And what’s more, this novel idea came about from one of the most unlikely sources: a car mechanic dreaming about wine.
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We’ve been following the comet ISON since it was first discovered. The comet is making its way towards the sun and putting on quite a light show as it does. The comet will reach its closest approach to the sun around Thanksgiving day, assuming it doesn’t break apart before then. Amateur sky watchers wanting to […]
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