We may never understand the mysterious ways of domestic cats. But a team of 25 researchers across three continents have completely sequenced one cat’s DNA. The cat in question is Cinammon, an Abyssinian cat for whom the University of Missouri in Columbia is home. It’s the first complete sequencing of a cat. The same researchers […]
http://vimeo.com/84240825 NPR explores the science behind why groups of birds often fly in a V formation while migrating. [NPR]
Over the course of human history, thousands of languages have developed from what was once a much smaller number. How did we end up with so many? And how do we keep track of them all? Alex Gendler explains how linguists group languages into language families, demonstrating how these linguistic trees give us crucial insights […]
The science behind quicksand and liquefaction as explained by Minute Earth! Here we explain how Port Royal – “the most wicked and sinful city in the world”, cars, roads, and huge buildings can sink into the ground during during earthquakes or blasting. [Minute Earth]
An adult human can distinguish up to 10,000 odors. You use your nose to figure out what to eat, what to buy and even when it’s time to take a shower. But how do the molecules in the air get translated into smells in your brain? Rose Eveleth charts the smelly journey through your olfactory […]
Some fun and simple science experiments you can try at home! [Source: Buzzfeed]
This Sunday night will be a bonanza for those of you who like watching the sky. It’s a supermoon, meaning a full moon coinciding with the perigee, which is the close point in the moon’s orbit (as well as part of a magic spell.) That leads to a perceived difference in size as illustrated above […]
Your genome, every human’s genome, consists of a unique DNA sequence of A’s, T’s, C’s and G’s that tell your cells how to operate. Thanks to technological advances, scientists are now able to know the sequence of letters that makes up an individual genome relatively quickly and inexpensively. Mark J. Kiel takes an in-depth look […]
Planet Earth is this solid thing you are standing on right now. In your everyday life you don’t really waste a thought about how amazing this is. A giant, ancient, hot rock. How did it come into existence and how big is it really? You will be surprised. The ground you are standing on is […]
Humanity has long been looking at the universe and asking the big questions: How did it begin? How will it end? Cosmologists are searching hard for the answers, but where do they even start? The answer is light. Pete Edwards outlines the six unique messages that light carries which, when put together, disclose a stunning […]