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Great balls of lightning News

by Pat, 19 October 2012 | 0 comments

Nineteenth century depiction of ball lightning

You’re at home, sitting on the couch. Outside, there is thunder and lightning. You notice something at the window: a strange, glowing ball of light. As you watch, it appears to pass through the glass. It wanders through the air before abruptly disappearing.

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Mimic memory Activity

by David Shaw, 13 October 2012 | 0 comments

Butterflies

These mimic activities are about memory. To do them well, you need to remember exactly what you saw. Your brain makes memories in a few stages. Sensory memory describes what happens when you briefly see an object. It lasts just a split second, however.

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Cells can go back to the start News

by Pat, 12 October 2012 | 0 comments

Mature cells such as these neurons develop from immature pluripotent cells.

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been jointly awarded to Sir John B. Gurdon and Professor Shinya Yamanaka. They received the award ‘for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent’. What does that mean?

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Everything in its right place News

by David Shaw, 9 October 2012 | 0 comments

Newroz Venn diagram

Do you own a dog? Do you ride a bike to school? Do you have black hair? Each of these questions divides people into two groups – you either have a dog, or you don’t.

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Element 113 spotted News

by Pat, 5 October 2012 | 0 comments

Artist's impression of colliding nuclei.

A few months ago, Science by Email reported on the naming of two superheavy elements, flerovium and livermorium. Now a team from Japan has reported making a third atom of another, new superheavy element with an atomic number of 113.

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(Not) apple pie Activity

by Mike, 5 October 2012 | 3 comments

Piece of pie

Create a taste illusion with this fun recipe!

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Super clock News

by Pat, 5 October 2012 | 0 comments

Protein crystals

A clock that lasts forever, without batteries or winding up, sounds like something from science fiction. Right now, that’s the case. But a research team led by scientists in the USA thinks it might actually to be possible to make such a device.

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Bionic eye a step closer News

by Pat, 28 September 2012 | 0 comments

Interior of an eye affected by retinitis pigmentosa.

Bionic vision technology aims to help people who are blind or vision-impaired regain their sense of sight. Like with the cochlear implant, or bionic ear, Australian researchers are again leading the way, this time to develop a bionic eye.

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Orange life jacket Activity

by Jasmine Fellows, 28 September 2012 | 0 comments

Floating orange with sink

Written by Sarah Kellett Life jackets are often orange to make them easy to spot after an accident. And orange fruit have their own life jackets, all built in!

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New monkey species discovered News

by Pat, 20 September 2012 | 1 comments

Two monkeys

Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of monkey in central Africa. It’s only the second new species of primate to be discovered on the continent in 28 years.

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