dracodraconis: (Default)
dracodraconis ([personal profile] dracodraconis) wrote2007-05-01 11:54 am

Mind Games and Giant Fungus


Source: National Geographic
Snagged from [livejournal.com profile] fugaciouslover. Prototaxites stood more than 8 metres tall, and flourished between 420 and 370 million years ago with fossils being found around the world. A recent study may have finally identified what this organism was... a giant fungus.

Source: National Geographic
New simulations have led scientists to the conclusion that global warming may reduce, rather than increase, the strength of hurricanes. The key is that a rise in ocean temperature will also increase wind shear which inhibits hurricane formation. What they have yet to discover his how wind shear and hurricane formation interact to generate the storms we observe. Without this knowledge, it is impossible to accurately predict the rate of hurricane formation as the Earth's temperature rises.

Source: msnbc.com
An interesting article found by [livejournal.com profile] _luaineach. When the average person makes a mistake, the anterior cingulate cortex generates a pulse a few milliseconds after the mistake is recognized. This pulse, called the ERN (Error-Related Negativity) is noticeably subdued in people impulsive and antisocial disorders. It should be noted that all the participants in the study were average, healthy university students; however, those with subdued ERNs were more impulse than average, just not to a degree that reduced their ability to function within society. The researchers theorize that reduced ERN generation may be at the heart of pathologies related to poor impulse control.

Source: CBC News
Another story noticed by the ever-vigilant [livejournal.com profile] ancalagon_tb. NeuroSky has developed a toy that allows users to control certain video games with their minds. The company demonstrated a game in which users must concentrate to keep a light sabre active. The device reads the EEG signals they generate while performing the task and compare them to baseline EEG levels related to concentration, relaxation, and anxiety.

Source: New Scientist
DARPA researchers, recognizing the problems of depending solely on GPS to obtain accurate position information, are looking at using other "signals of opportunity" to help soldiers find their position. They are looking at using television signals to augment GPS in situations where the position of the television transmitter and time of transmission is known.