The Learning Blog

The American Association for the Advancement of Science’s magazine, ScienceNOW, recently published their top 10 science news for 2008.

10.  Superfrog. A frog belonging in the Arthroleptidae family found in Cameroon might be nature’s answer to the X-men’s Wolverine character. Read more…

9.  Civilizations and tectonic plates. A new study makes an interesting correlation between tectonic plates and history’s greatest civilizations. More…

8.  Long-held thoughts are not true at all. Two studies, one on chameleons and the other regarding peacocks, seem to oppose long-held ideas that colors are used for either camouflaging or mating. Click here and here for more info.

7.  Your subsconscious controls you. Even before you tell the waiter or your spouse that you want coffee, chances are, your subconscious have already made the decision for you. Read more…

6.  Sacrificial ant. The Brazilian ant Forelius pusillus was observed to sacrifice members of their kind for protection.  Read more…

5.  Faster than light. Swiss researchers have successfully shown that two subatomic particles can communicate nearly instantaneously, even if they are separated by cosmic distances. Read more.

4.  A lizard running like a motorcycle. British researchers said that  some lizards prefer to run with two legs rather than on all fours but not for speed or endurance purposes. Read more…

3.  Body tools. A study on monkeys have found that the brain treats tools just like any other body part. Read more…

2.  Worms react to grunting. A study in Florida tries to explain why earthworms surface rapidly when low-frequency sounds are produced on the ground. Read more…

1.  How do you store and retrieve “nothing”? A joint Canadian and Japanese scientists stored a very peculiar type of nothingness called a “squeezed vacuum.” Read more…

"Squeezed vacuum"

Ever wanted to go on a safari in Africa? It might be that either you don’t have the money or time to go there. Fear not, you can still experience—albeit visually and aurally—the wonders of wildlife of Africa by visiting Earth-Touch. More »

In the future, a person diagnosed with cancer, may be able to use his genes to successfully kill or destroy the cancer cells developing or already active in his body. John McKenzie of ABC News reported that researchers from Washington University, St Louis, Missouri, have studied the genetic sequence of a woman who died from leukemia and compared the sequence of the cancer cells to the normal cells, all 20 thousand of them. More »