ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 754

Why Are There Clouds?

Environment





Photo credit:

Aleksander Niz via Shutterstock. Floating way up there like candyfloss, but how do clouds get 'up there'?

Rolling ominously across a gray sky with booms of thunder or serenely drifting in a bright blue expanse, clouds are fascinating to watch. But how do clouds get there?

Hubble Detects Massive Gas Halo Surrounding Andromeda Galaxy

Space





Photo credit:

NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI). Quasars located behind the Andromeda Galaxy's halo are obscured, while those in other directions can be seen more clearly

The nearest large galaxy to our own has a halo that stretches out for a million light-years around it and almost half way to the Milky Way, The Hubble Telescope has observed. The halo is six times as large as previously thought, and more surprisingly, has a thousand times the anticipated mass.

Vaccinating Against Measles Could Also Protect You From Other Infectious Diseases

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

RidvanArda via Shutterstock.

Regardless of your stance, vaccination against measles is one of the safest, most successful and cost-effective public health interventions so far in history. Prior to mass vaccination campaigns, around 4 million people in the US got measles every year, 500 of whom died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 4,000 suffered serious brain swelling; it’s far from a trivial infection. But thanks to immunization campaigns, cases have dropped by more than 99%.

Researchers Confirm Those With Depression Experience “Fuzzy Thinking”

The Brain





Photo credit:

Lightpoet via Shutterstock. Depression can interfere with our capacity to make quick and accurate decisions.

When you're depressed, it is easy to doubt your abilities. So self-reporting “fuzzy thinking” during bouts of depression is treated with suspicion. However, a new study suggests the description is accurate, concentration and decision making really are affected by mood disorders.

University of Michigan researchers tested the idea of fuzzy thinking in two ways, publishing their findings in Brain. 

Marmoset Babies Learn to Wait for Their Turn to Talk

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

Iuliia Timofeeva/shutterstock.com

Researchers eavesdropping on marmoset conversations reveal that these small monkeys have rules to govern vocal interactions among themselves -- like us. They know to wait their turn before “talking” and not interrupt, behaviors that are guided by their parents. The findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B last month, may help us understand the evolution of human language. 

World’s Oldest Blood Cells Preserved in Ötzi the Iceman

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Atomic force microscope images of Ötzi’s red blood cells / M. Janko et al., Royal Society Interface 2012

Ötzi the Iceman is a 5,300-year-old glacier mummy discovered back in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps near the Italian-Austrian border. After exhaustive examination, researchers revealed that the exceptionally well preserved corpse belonged to a 45-year-old male who likely died of an arrow to the left shoulder.

Record global carbon dioxide concentrations surpass 400 parts per million in March 2015

Credit: NOAA

By Science Daily

For the first time since we began tracking carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere, the monthly global average concentration of this greenhouse gas surpassed 400 parts per million in March 2015, according to NOAA’s latest results.

“It was only a matter of time that we would average 400 parts per million globally,” said Pieter Tans, lead scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network. “We first reported 400 ppm when all of our Arctic sites reached that value in the spring of 2012. In 2013 the record at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory first crossed the 400 ppm threshold. Reaching 400 parts per million as a global average is a significant milestone.

“This marks the fact that humans burning fossil fuels have caused global carbon dioxide concentrations to rise more than 120 parts per million since pre-industrial times,” added Tans. “Half of that rise has occurred since 1980.”

The International Energy Agency reported on March 13 that the growth of global emissions from fossil fuel burning stalled in 2014, remaining at the same levels as 2013. Stabilizing the rate of emissions is not enough to avert climate change, however. NOAA data show that the average growth rate of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere from 2012 to 2014 was 2.25 ppm per year, the highest ever recorded over three consecutive years.

Read the full article by clicking the name of the source located below.

Evolution & The Science of Popular Music

This week, researchers reveal the single most important influence on music since 1960. Also, turns out that sleepwalking and sleep terrors are genetically linked.

Annotations

Sleep Disorders: https://youtu.be/P55WBVZ6hY4

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Sources:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-05/tjnj-klt043015.php

http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2281574#poi150005r3

Scientists Regenerate Nerve Fibers After Spinal Cord Injury

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

vitstudio/Shutterstock

Scientists have been able to show that by treating spinal cord injuries in rats with a specific protein already found in the body, they can encourage sensory neurons to regrow and function over large distances. The new study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Breathtaking 3D Model Of The Pillars Of Creation

Space





Photo credit:

3dimensional model of the Pillar of Creation via ESO/M. Kornmesser

Scientists have probed the depths of the iconic Pillars of Creation and produced the first 3D image of this spectacular stellar structure. The findings are published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.