Suppose you want to build a computer that operates like the brain of a mammal. How hard could it be? After all, there are supercomputers that can decode the human genome, play chess and calculate prime numbers out to 13 million digits.

Scientists are studying complex wiring of the brain to build the computer of the […]

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Clicking and scrolling interrupt our attentional focus. Turning and touching the pages instead of clicking on the screen influence our ability for experience and attention. The physical manipulations we have to do with a computer, not related to the reading itself, disturb our mental appreciation, says associate professor Anne Mangen at the Center for Reading […]

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As the Christmas rush goes into top gear for the final week of shopping, spare a thought for those who have a disabled child to buy for: many of the hi-tech toys available are unsuitable - or at least they were until now.

AbilityNet - a charity whose mission is to make technology accessible to people […]

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Will our children still be smiling in 50 years?

The UN climate talks in Poland are at risk of faltering, with accusations from Green groups about Europe’s failure to show the leadership it promised. BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin has been following climate politics for more than 20 years. Here is his postcard from Poznan, addressed […]

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For every rock star who hits it big, there are thousands of artists who never make it out of their own back yards. Before Madonna was “Madonna,” she was a local success in New York clubs.  Until Britney Spears became a global pop superstar, she performed in dance revues in her native Louisiana.

But how can […]

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Source: Science Daily

Much more cross-gender bullying – specifically, unpopular boys harassing popular girls – occurs in later elementary school grades than previously thought, meaning educators should take reports of harassment from popular girls seriously, according to new research by a University of Illinois professor who studies child development.

Philip C. Rodkin, a professor of child development […]

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Scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego returning from research expeditions in Mexico have captured unprecedented details of vibrant sea life and ecosystems in the Gulf of California, including documentations of new species and marine animals previously never seen alive.

Yet the expeditions, which included surveys at unexplored depths, have revealed disturbing declines […]

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A US company claims to have received federal approval to market a 9-mm handgun as a medical device and hopes the US government will reimburse seniors who buy the $300 firearm.

Called the Palm Pistol, the weapon is designed for people who have trouble firing a normal handgun due to arthritis and other debilitating conditions.
"It’s something […]

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HISTORY may be repeating itself. Until the mid-20th century, many European countries grew rich on the resources of their colonies. Now, countries including China, Kuwait and Sweden are snapping up vast tracts of agricultural land in poorer nations, especially in Africa, to grow biofuels and food for themselves.

HISTORY may be repeating itself. Until the mid-20th […]

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Many people see human facial features in the front end of automobiles and ascribe various personality traits to cars — a modern experience driven by our prehistoric psyches. (Credit: iStockphoto/Brian Sullivan)

No one needs to tell Disney, which brought the likes of Herbie the Love Bug and Lightning McQueen to the big screen, that cars have […]

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