Science

Win-Win for Stem Cell Research

Staff / Truthdig Aug 24, 2006 A U.S. research team has developed a method for creating stem cell lines without destroying human embryos by removing a single cell, leaving the embryo intact. If the technique proves to be effective, it should deflate the nonsense rhetoric of right-wing strategists who argue that the surplus embryos used by scientists?destined for disposal anyway?should not be used for lifesaving research. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cosmic Collision Reveals Dark Matter

Staff / Truthdig Aug 22, 2006 And it's quite striking (pictured above), wouldn't you agree? The explosion collision that created it is, like, apparently the biggest thing to hit the galaxy since the Big Bang So we're posting it Politically flavored righteous indignation will return to this space soon Update: The dark matter's gravitational presence was rendered observable by the impact of the collision . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

There Goes the Solar System

Staff / Truthdig Aug 17, 2006 A committee of the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for the naming of planets and other celestial objects, has decided to allow at least three new ?planets? into the solar system. The group made the recommendation after it was asked to resolve the Pluto controversy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Soldiers Sue Army Over Mysterious Illness

Staff / Truthdig Aug 14, 2006 A number of American troops from the same unit in Iraq recently discovered they were all suffering from a mysterious set of illnesses. Though their doctors couldn?t determine the source of the sickness, the soldiers came to believe their exposure to depleted uranium munitions was to blame, and decided to sue the U.S. Army. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Researcher: Men’s and Women’s Brains Wired Differently

Staff / Truthdig Aug 13, 2006 In her new book "The Female Brain," a UCSF neuropsychiatrist writes, "Women have an eight-lane superhighway for processing emotion, while men have a small country road." Men, however, "have O'Hare Airport as a hub for processing thoughts about sex, where women have the airfield nearby that lands small and private planes." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Mixing Explosive Liquids in a Crowd

Staff / Truthdig Aug 11, 2006 Like, we don't know, but it may be a bad idea to combine potentially explosive liquids in trash bins near big crowds (h/t: Boing Boing) Also, John at AMERICAblog wants to know: If liquid explosives were suspected back in a 1995 plane bombing plot, why have liquids been allowed on planes since then, and now suddenly they're not? . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Elephants Have Capacity for Compassion, Study Says

Staff / Truthdig Aug 9, 2006 The study detailed the way elephants responded with apparent concern to a member that fell ill and died, a relative rarity in the animal kingdom. Rarer still is evidence suggesting that elephants of the political type mean to make good on their promise to infuse their conservatism with compassion. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Divine Inspiration From the Masses

Staff / Truthdig Jul 26, 2006 The "open source" programming movement, which harnesses the wisdom of crowds to collectively make a better product (like Wikipedia entries), has grown beyond its software roots to embrace religion. The holy texts of "yoism" shun the wisdom of high priests and rely instead on teachings that evolve online organically. Open-source programming's organizing principle has been embraced in medical research, engineering -- even religion Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Complications in Space Sex

Staff / Truthdig Jul 26, 2006 Experts tell MSNBC that "new devices and data would be needed to hit the zero-G-spot" But an author who has written about the topic says space sex would be "the killer app of space tourism, because every coupleis going to want to try this" . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

NASA’s Goals Delete Mention of Home Planet

Staff / Truthdig Jul 23, 2006 The space agency's mission statement has been quietly altered to omit mention of the phrase ?to understand and protect our home planet? Why does George Bush hate Earth? . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Eye Test Detects Alzheimer?s

Staff / Truthdig Jul 23, 2006 Science/Medicine: Detecting Alzheimer?s in the future could be as simple as an eye test. Doctors in Boston are testing a method using a pulse of infrared light that has been successful in mice. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Desire Controls What We Perceive, Study Finds

Staff / Truthdig Jul 17, 2006 From Live Science: "Without realizing it, people will perceive things according to how they want to see them, a new study suggests." This may explain, for example, why people on different sides of an argument remember wildly different aspects of the confrontation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )