Saturday, July 30, 2011

Ancestry of Polar Bears

Source: istockphoto.com
According to a study in the journal Current Biology, every polar bear alive today can trace its ancestry back to a single female bear that lived in Ireland during the last Ice Age. Interestingly, this single female bear was a brown bear. These findings are based on the analysis from mitochondrial DNA extracted from bones.


Read more here: Today's Polar Bears Trace Ancestry To ... Ireland? : NPR

Friday, July 22, 2011

IBM aims to develop real-life Harry Potter memory storage "Pensieve"


IBM research labs are working developing a real-life "Pensieve" using GPS-enabled smartphones. They hope that you will never forget anything ever again. See video below.



IBM Press room - 2008-07-29 Made in IBM Labs: IBM Research Develops Technology to Aid Human Memory - United States

Science Made Simple Animations

Science made simple are a series of short videos explaining complex scientific ideas. This video discusses quantum physics, genetic modification, and superconductors.


Science Made Simple from Jacob Slack on Vimeo.

Names of Everyday Things You Never Knew Had Names

The device to measure your foot size is called a Brannock Device.
Many everyday things have names you might have never heard before, for example:


What is the smell outside after rain called? - Petrichor
What is the grove below your nose called? - Philtrum
What is the coating at the end of shoelaces called? - Aglet

Click here to find more Everyday Things You Never Knew Had Names

Ten interesting facts about animals and plants

Did you know that goats have a 340 degree vision?
Did you know that a swan can break your arm? Did you know that a dropped tarantula spider will shatter into pieces?

See more interesting findings here: 10 Weird And Wonderful Oddities Of Nature