A condenser turns a substance from its gaseous state to its liquid state — by cooling it. Historically, condensers were always oriented vertically so as to allow water to drain by gravity. But then, about five years ago, Virginia Tech…

Around 43,000 years ago, the first frontmen of Homo sapiens colonised Europe. They replaced the Neanderthals in the region approximately 3,000 years later — violently, per French palaeontologist Marcellin Boule (the first person to analyse a Neanderthal). One hypothesis about…

Given that you are not a drummer, you can perform fine motor tasks only with one hand and you will struggle to play different rhythms with both hands simultaneously. Drummers, however, “can do things that are impossible for untrained people”….

A squeeze in the arm, a pat on the shoulder, or a slap in the face — touch is an important part of the social interaction between people. Nobody needs to drive the point home in the days of social…

Sounds reach one of our ears first and then the other. The time delay in between is too short for us to perceive but it is long enough for the brain to process to determine the source of the sound….

The significance of certain objects is so deeply anchored in our psyche that we rely on them even when their intended function is out of context. A bike helmet suggests safety even when the wearer is just sitting on a…

These days we hear a lot about people affected by COVID-19 and also about people arrested for spreading misinformation on the disease. Just two related topics? When experts try to forecast the spread of anything across populations (anything from COVID-19…

Cells divide. Cells divide and replace old or damaged cells. This is why biologists wonder how old are cells in our body, in an organism. One general idea is that nerve cells (neurons) are old, while other cells in the…

A study of Nobel-winning economists by Bruce Weinberg and David Galenson identifies two different life cycles of creativity — a surge in the mid-20s or in the mid-50s, depending on distinct attributes of personality. The sudy has it that those…

Pregnant women may take heed. Poor diet during the pregnancy may program their babies to become couch potatoes even before they are born. And once triggered in the womb, the ‘slack snacker’ syndrome is likely to follow the offspring all…

If you unearth an artefact with the same shape and used for the same purpose in two or more differentregions, it could be the bespoke result of cultural diffusion — but not necessarily. Archaeologist Sue O’Connor studied five fish hooks…

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is just one of those places that sightseers flock to — “to see it before it’s gone”! It is an example of the concept of ‘Last Chance Tourism’. The key words hovering over a site…