Biology
A research shows the correlation between Facebook use and brain activity
A research carried out at the Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) and published in “Frontiers in Human Neuroscience” analyzed the effects of Facebook on the human brain. 31 subjects were examined using magnetic resonance imaging while (MRI) while they watched pictures of themselves or other people accompanied by positive comments.
The International Space Station as a biology laboratory
In late May, NASA selected 31 proposals for biological research to be carried out on the International Space Station. In the list there are many types of research, ranging from the growth of plants to cell growth, from researches related to the development of new vaccines to others concerning the strength of human bones. These studies will benefit from a truly unique environment thanks to microgravity and other features that don’t exist on Earth.
New evidence that the T.rex was really a predator
For common people, the T.Rex, scientifically called Tyrannosaurus rex (photo of the skeleton ©ScottRobertAnselmo), is the most ferocious predator in world’s history. Instead, among paleontologists for almost a century there’s been a dispute about whether it was a predator or a scavenger. Recently, a group of researchers has found in South Dakota the remains of a hadrosaur with the tooth of a T.Rex wedged between the vertebrae of its tail. This discovery is considered a proof that this animal was indeed a predator.
The discovery of the biggest viruses in the world puzzles scientists
Professor Jean-Michel Claverie and Dr. Chantal Aberge of the French University of Aix-Marseille (Aix-Marseille Université) have discovered the largest viruses in the world, that have been called Pandoravirus. They have found two species, the Pandoravirus salinus, that lives in the saline water near the mouth of the Chilean river Tunquen, and the Pandoravirus dulcis, that lives in a freshwater pond near Melbourne, Australia.
