“Sophia the Robot” wants a kid
“Sophia the Robot” is no stranger to the spotlight. In 2016, her first public appearance at SXSW (South by Southwest Festival) took the robotics world by storm.
At the time, Sophia’s conversational skills were rather elementary and, while still impressive, they were easily overshadowed by her uncanny humanoid appearance.
Sophia…
Exploring the neuroanatomy of mass murderers
Whether you realize it or not, the anatomy of your brain influences every decision that you make. It influences how you think, how you perceive the world, and how you think the world perceives you.
Neuroscience
By nature, people are pretty self-centered. We all automatically prioritize ourselves (and maybe our family)…
How a zookeeper “romances” a bird to save her species
With an estimated population of just five thousand birds, the white-naped crane is one of the most at-risk crane species. In the wild, fragmented colonies can be found throughout Japan and Korea, as well as parts of Mongolia, Siberia, and central China.
The population’s diminished numbers are primarily due to…
Dinosaurs: Will history repeat itself?
Over 60 million years ago, a killer asteroid fell from the sky and smacked into modern-day Mexico. What happened next is unclear, but it ended with the extinction of the dinosaurs. Scientists argue that many of the dinosaurs, or possibly all of them, did not die immediately on asteroid impact…
How an earthquake “shook up” the ice cream industry
Who doesn’t love ice cream?
It’s the perfect treat for a hot day — cool and sweet. Plus, there are thousands of different flavors to choose from, and even more toppings!
Yet, despite all these virtues, the beloved dessert still has a serious flaw:
It melts.
As an ice cream…
The legend of Henrietta Lacks
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks walked into the Baltimore Johns Hopkins Hospital. She was concerned about abnormal bleeding and a painful nodule she felt near her lady parts.
Mrs. Lacks’ alarming symptoms were just one of her worries. As an African American woman, she was also unwelcome in most healthcare facilities…
A “sub”lime naval weapon
Last weekend, my uncle and I hopped on a plane and visited OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).
Along with their indoor exhibits, the museum’s grounds also harbored a decommissioned submarine, the USS Blueback. …
Your sanguinary sacrifice will not be in vein!
Humans have been exploring Mars since the 1960s. Today, colonizing the Red Planet remains at the forefront of the world’s outer space missions.
However, building a Martian colony is no easy feat.
One major problem scientists have faced is finding the resources to continually build new settlements. Simply shipping loads…
Don’t worry — it’s (mostly) normal!
Right now, there are thousands of “bugs” crawling all over your face. These critters, known as face mites or demodex mites, are transparent in color and microscopic in size, making them invisible to the naked eye.
But, just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean that they don’t exist!
With…
How to steal from a black hole
The name “black hole” is really a misnomer. If you do a quick Google search, you’ll find out that black holes aren’t black, but invisible.
The attribution of black, dark, and shadowy characteristics to the black hole is quite unfounded. …
