I've just started taking a class on Coursera, 'A brief history of humankind'. The first lecture was very interesting and I learned that the multiple species of humans--homo erectus, homo neanderthalensis, homo floresiensis and so on--were not simply links in a chain leading to us, homo sapiens. All these species of humans lived at the …
Brain Work
This recent article describes an experiment in which what they call a 'false memory' is implanted into the mind of a mouse. The mouse is associating the painful shocks it is given, with a different room that it had been in earlier--not the one it was in at the time of the shocks. This sounds …
It’s everywhere..
I'm talking about bacteria, the dominant form of life on earth. Don't believe me? Consider this: The biomass of bacteria exceeds that of all other plant and animal life combined. Bacteria can evolve to eat anything, including asphalt, plastics and even nuclear waste. Bacteria can live in scorching deserts, the freezing arctic, at the bottom of the ocean, …
Robot Eyes
In recent science news, a computer chip placed in a rat's eye successfully sent signals to its brain. This is one step toward having mechanical eyes for blind people. And one step closer toward me having my robot body. Every day we are more accurate and more detailed in our maps of the human brain. …
one way trip to mars
Recently, Dutch company Mars One has started recruiting volunteers for a one way trip to Mars. The goal is to land the first crew of two males and two females on the red planet in 2023, and another every two years after that. Settlements will already be prepared by robotic missions to go on beforehand. …
Jonas David 