‘Tooth repair drug’ may replace fillings

The team at King’s College London showed that a chemical could encourage cells in the dental pulp to heal small holes in mice teeth. A biodegradable sponge was soaked in the drug and then put inside the cavity. The study, published in Scientific Reports, showed it led to “complete, effective natural repair”. […] They discovered Read more about ‘Tooth repair drug’ may replace fillings[…]

Entrepreneurial experiences ‘no better than textbooks,’ says study

The common thought that learning by experience is most effective when it comes to teaching entrepreneurship at university has been challenged in a new study. An analysis of more than 500 graduates found no significant difference between business schools that offered traditional courses and those that emphasise a ‘learning-by-doing’ approach to entrepreneurship education. The research Read more about Entrepreneurial experiences ‘no better than textbooks,’ says study[…]

CRISPR gene-editing tested in a person for the first time

A Chinese group has become the first to inject a person with cells that contain genes edited using the revolutionary CRISPR–Cas9 technique. On 28 October, a team led by oncologist Lu You at Sichuan University in Chengdu delivered the modified cells into a patient with aggressive lung cancer as part of a clinical trial at Read more about CRISPR gene-editing tested in a person for the first time[…]

“You’re all going to die”: A scientifically proven pep-talk for winning

For the study, Greenberg and colleagues first recruited basketball players to play two back-to-back, one-on-one games with lead researcher Colin Zestcott, another psychologist at the University of Arizona. (The players didn’t know that Zestcott was a researcher; they thought he was another study participant.) After the first game, half of the participants were randomly assigned Read more about “You’re all going to die”: A scientifically proven pep-talk for winning[…]

Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: you can after all

Sexual activity before competition has been considered as a possible cause for reduced performance since ancient Greece and Rome. Recently, the hypothesis that optimal sport performance could be influenced by a variety of factors including sexual activity before competition has been investigated. However, few scientific data are available, with the exception of anecdotal reports of Read more about Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: you can after all[…]

It turns out that anonymity decreases online posting agression!

This article introduces social norm theory to understand online aggression in a social-political online setting, challenging the popular assumption that online anonymity is one of the principle factors that promotes aggression. We underpin this social norm view by analyzing a major social media platform concerned with public affairs over a period of three years entailing Read more about It turns out that anonymity decreases online posting agression![…]

Dutch Olympians not allowed to drink? Are they reformed religious fanatics?

Yuri van Gelder, Dutch gymnast, went out for a few to celebrate making the final. Apparently he got carried away and had some alcohol (shock! horror!) and came home at some time in the morning. So the Dutch team have sent him home, without allowing him to participate in the final. His behaviour sounds slightly Read more about Dutch Olympians not allowed to drink? Are they reformed religious fanatics?[…]

Massive open-access database on human cultures created

D-PLACE – the Database of Places, Language, Culture and Environment – is an expandable, open access database that brings together a dispersed body of information on the language, geography, culture and environment of more than 1,400 human societies. It comprises information mainly on pre-industrial societies that were described by ethnographers in the 19th and early Read more about Massive open-access database on human cultures created[…]

Hundreds of Genes Spring Back to Life in the Days After Death

In the first of the two studies, the researchers sought to determine which genes out of about a thousand might still be functioning in zebrafish and mice in the immediate days following death. To their surprise, the researchers found that hundreds of genes sprung back to life. Not only that, the activity of some of Read more about Hundreds of Genes Spring Back to Life in the Days After Death[…]

Happiness equation: New equation reveals how other people’s fortunes affect our happiness

A new equation, showing how our happiness depends not only on what happens to us but also how this compares to other people, has been developed by UCL researchers funded by Wellcome. The team developed an equation to predict happiness in 2014, highlighting the importance of expectations, and the new updated equation also takes into Read more about Happiness equation: New equation reveals how other people’s fortunes affect our happiness[…]

Chinese loan sharks seek salacious selfies as collateral

The selfies are accepted as collateral for loans up to 15,000 yuan – about US$2,200 – on a whopping 30 per cent rate of interest per week. That may, however, have to do with translation: China Daily says the interest rate is 30 per cent per year. As well as the selfies, borrowers had to Read more about Chinese loan sharks seek salacious selfies as collateral[…]

The law is nuts: Tinder to stop facilitating under 18s dating due to legal worries

Tinder is discontinuing use of the app for everyone under the age of 18 starting next week, according to a statement from Tinder VP of Communications Rosette.. Source: Tinder discontinues service for users under 18 If you are held responsible for what happens during human interaction because you facilitate the meeting of the humans, there is Read more about The law is nuts: Tinder to stop facilitating under 18s dating due to legal worries[…]

Unintended consequences of AI: Amazon Echo seems to condition kids to be rude

Alexa will put up with just about anything. She has a remarkable tolerance for annoying behavior, and she certainly doesn’t care if you forget your please and thank yous. But while artificial intelligence technology can blow past such indignities, parents are still irked by their kids’ poor manners when interacting with Alexa, the assistant that Read more about Unintended consequences of AI: Amazon Echo seems to condition kids to be rude[…]

Swarm A.I. Correctly Predicts the Kentucky Derby, Accurately Picking all Four Horses of the Superfecta at 540 to 1 Odds – showing that humans can swarm

Until recently, the human species has been unable to take advantage of this fundamental biological technique, for we didn’t evolve the ability to swarm. Enter Unanimous A.I., a Silicon Valley startup founded in 2014 by serial entrepreneur and researcher Dr. Louis Rosenberg. The core question Rosenberg set out to answer was: Can humans swarm, and Read more about Swarm A.I. Correctly Predicts the Kentucky Derby, Accurately Picking all Four Horses of the Superfecta at 540 to 1 Odds – showing that humans can swarm[…]

France Is Getting Closer To Banning After-Work Emails

The bill would make businesses come up with hours during which employees cannot check or send emails. And it comes as workers are finding it increasingly difficult to detach themselves from work, Socialist MP Benoit Hamon told BBC News. “Employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work,” he said. “They remain Read more about France Is Getting Closer To Banning After-Work Emails[…]

Brain link bypasses spine to control hands

Here we show that intracortically recorded signals can be linked in real-time to muscle activation to restore movement in a paralysed human. We used a chronically implanted intracortical microelectrode array to record multiunit activity from the motor cortex in a study participant with quadriplegia from cervical spinal cord injury. We applied machine-learning algorithms to decode Read more about Brain link bypasses spine to control hands[…]

A Student In Iceland May Have Just Saved The Planet

The answer to our world’s plastic pollution problem is here.[…]To show Ari doesn’t just talk a big game, he started studying the strengths and weaknesses of certain substances, eventually landing on a solution to our plastic problem made from algae.[…]If the bottle remains full of water it will keep its shape, as soon as it’s Read more about A Student In Iceland May Have Just Saved The Planet[…]

Study finds relationship between knowing you’re under surveillance and the views you post online

Instead, it attenuates the relationship between the opinion climate and voicing opinions except among a small number of participants who believe surveillance is not justified. Those who firmly believe that the govern-ment’s monitoring programs are unacceptable decide whether to share their views entirely independently of both perceived surveillance and the opinion climate. […]Although not directly Read more about Study finds relationship between knowing you’re under surveillance and the views you post online[…]

The size of your pupil shows which letter you are reading

We present a new human-computer interface that is based on decoding of attention through pupillometry. Our method builds on the recent finding that covert visual attention affects the pupillary light response: Your pupil constricts when you covertly (without looking at it) attend to a bright, compared to a dark, stimulus. In our method, participants covertly Read more about The size of your pupil shows which letter you are reading[…]