ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 509

Incredibly Grim Interactive “Murder Map” Shows Where You’re Most Likely To Be Murdered

Editor's Blog





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This is possibly one of the darkest digital tapestries in recent memory. murdermap.co.uk

A former court reporter at London’s Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, called Peter Stubley has set up a website where you can see when and how Londoners have been murdered.

New Study May Solve Super-Earth Formation Mystery

Space





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Why don't super-Earths become gas giants? NASA

Thanks to the Kepler spacecraft, we know that at least half the Sun-like stars in the galaxy host at least one planet, and for three out of 10 stars that planet is a super-Earth. But the existence of these planets, bigger than Earth but still rocky, has complicated our ideas of how planets form. Now, a new model provides a solution to this puzzle.

The size of super-Earths, a mass between 2 to 20 Earth masses and 1 to 4 times Earth's radii, means that they are on the borderline of becoming gas giants. Exactly why they dont become worlds like Jupiter, though, is a bit of a mystery.

Do Animals Have Culture?

Photo credit: iStockphoto

By Adam Frank

Last week, I watched in awe as a river of crows made their way across the evening sky toward their roosts south of my house.

Listening to the cacophony of their cries, I found myself with a simple question — is what I’m seeing just instinct or do these crows have their own culture? In fact, do any animals have culture in the same sense we do?

Being an astrophysicist, I didn’t have the slightest clue about the answer. Lucky for us all, however, I do know somebody who has spent a lot of time studying the problem — 13.7’s own Barbara King, chancellor professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary. Like me, she’s a former resident of the great state of New Jersey. So, I emailed Barbara and the following conversation ensued:

Adam: So, let’s begin with a VERY important question since we are both from New Jersey. What is your favorite Bruce Springsteen album? After that we can get to the less critical issue of whether animals have culture.

Barbara: “Born To Run” came out when I was in college, and that’s when I fell hard for Bruce and the band, so that album will always have a special place in my heart. From student days to retirement now from university teaching, Springsteen’s music has lit up my life always.

Adam: I agree that “Born to Run” is a life altering experience — but I didn’t discover Springsteen ’til high school when “Darkness on the Edge of Town” came out. It totally spoke to my overblown teenage anger and hope about the world. Still, I think my favorite album may be the first “Greetings from Asbury Park.” The storytelling on songs like “Spirit in the Night” has been a constant source of joy even in dark times.

So, as for whether animals have culture — it’s a big topic. Let me narrow it down to ask to if animals create more than “instinct” allows?

Barbara: It’s widely known by now that chimpanzees in West Africa crack open hard-shelled nuts with rock and stone hammers to extract the delicious protein inside, and that chimpanzees in East Africa don’t. These East African chimpanzees COULD do it — they’re smart enough, they have the materials at hand. It’s just not their way.

Similarly, chimpanzees in some places groom each other by clasping hands high above their heads. Others don’t. Why? It’s not in their genes and it’s not determined by their environments. It’s just what these apes learn to do from watching their elders. That’s culture — at least that’s one, arguable definition of culture.

Continue reading by clicking the name of the source below.

Long-Term Ecstasy Use Associated With Reduced Serotonin In The Brain

The Brain





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The long-term dangers of ecstasy remain a somewhat controversial topic. Studio 52/Shutterstock

Of all recreational drugs, ecstasy is arguably the most controversial, with experts varying wildly in their opinions over the dangers it poses. The drug’s active ingredient, MDMA, was once described by a prominent neuroscientist as no more dangerous than horse riding, while various studies have indicated that long-term use may not be as harmful as the popular media makes out.

Raft-Building Ants Remember What Positions To Take

Plants and Animals





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The ants consistently occupied the same regions of the rafts – either top, middle, base, or side position. UC Riverside

By working together, ants can do things that would be unachievable as insects on their own.

Crazy Video Shows Huge Alligator Eating Another Alligator

Plants and Animals





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Alex Figueroa/Youtube

As a small reminder from Mother Nature not to get on her wrong side, here’s a truly terrifying and fairly one-sided showdown between two alligators.

Alex Figueroa began his day on April 13 by taking a morning stroll near his home in Lakeland, Florida. However, his peaceful walk before work ended with encountering and filming a huge alligator eating a smaller alligator. He estimated that the larger alligator was around 3.3 to 3.6 meters (11 to 12 feet) long.

Global Reliance On Fossil Fuels Could End Within A Decade

Environment





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Has the twilight of the age of fossil fuels arrived? Thaiview/Shutterstock

A new study, published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, suggests that the global reliance on fossil fuels could be phased out within a decade or two. This may seem ludicrously optimistic, but Benjamin Sovacool, a professor of energy policy at the University of Sussex, points to examples of the recent past that show that the next revolution in energy production could happen sooner than we think – but only if we force change through.

Here’s What Science Does To Your Brain

The Brain





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Human brains are hardwired for surviving in the wild, but have become scientific tools. Africa Studio/Shutterstock

Having walked on the Moon, discovered the Higgs Boson and figured out how gravity works, it’s safe to say humans are pretty good at doing science. Our brains, however, were not originally designed for space travel or particle physics, which poses the question: How does the human brain adapt its ancient functions for cutting-edge science?

First Ever Inflatable Habitat Attached To The International Space Station

Space





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BEAM was installed by the station's robotic arm on Saturday. Tim Kopra/NASA

History was made this weekend, as the International Space Station (ISS) received its first inflatable habitat, a key technology that may one day be used for space hotels, and even missions to the Moon and Mars.

New Polio Vaccine Is Being Rolled Out Across The World

Health and Medicine





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A health worker administers the vaccine to a child in Chaman, Pakistan. Asianet-Pakistan

The effort to destroy the poliovirus once and for all has entered what could be its final phase. As reported by BBC News, 155 nations have begun switching to a new type of vaccine designed to target the two remaining viral strains, of which there have only been 10 confirmed cases this year.