Rare is the study that focus on how monks and nuns sleep. One is: “Ring the Bell for Matins: Circadian Adaptation to Split Sleep by Cloistered Monks and Nuns,” Isabelle Arnulf [pictured here], Agnès Brion, Michel Pottier and Jean-Louis Golmard, Chronobiology International, Dec., 2011, Vol. 28, No. 10 , pp. 930-41. (Thanks to investigator Yvette […]
Math Challenge: Light Bulbs Count
Today’s Nasty Mathematics Challenge: Watch this video (taken by astronauts on the International Space Station with a camera that picks up low-intensity light, and then edited by Michael König, and sped up), and estimage the number of light bulbs whose light is visible: [vimeo]32001208[/vimeo] HINT: The task is easier (but not much) if you enlarge […]
How whales can soon be like Roller Derby skaters
One day soon, if someone is willing to do the work, whales could be analyzed in a manner similar to what’s been done with roller derby skaters. E! Science News reports about preliminary work that’s been done Amy Apprill and colleagues performed with bacterial from the skin of humpback whales: Bacteria are invisible to the […]
Grills, ‘Grillz’ and dental hygiene implications
“Some celebrities have been flashing more than clean, white teeth at their fans. Under the spotlight, the glint from their mouths comes from ‘grills’ or ‘grillz,’ decorative covers often made of gold, silver or jewel-encrusted precious metals that snap over one or more of their teeth.“ The quote comes from an article in The Journal […]