New research on mice shows the brain processes aggressive behavior as it does other rewards. Mice sought violence, in fact, picking fights for no apparent reason other than the rewarding feeling. The mouse brain is thought to be analogous to the human brain in this study, which could shed light on our fascination with brutal sports as well as our own penchant for the classic bar brawl. In fact, the researcher say, humans seem to crave violence just like they do sex, food or drugs. Love to fight Scientists have known that mice and other animals are drawn to fights. Until now, they didn’t know how the brain was involved. The new study, detailed online this week in the journal Psychopharmacology, reveals the same clusters of brain cells involved in other rewards are also behind the craving for violence. ‘Aggression occurs among virtually all vertebrates and is necessary to get and keep important resources such as mates, territory and food,’ said study team member Craig Kennedy, professor of special education and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. ‘We have found that the reward pathway in the brain becomes engaged in response to an aggressive […]
The planet is getting skinned. While many worry about the potential consequences of atmospheric warming, a few experts are trying to call attention to another global crisis quietly taking place under our feet. Call it the thin brown line. Dirt. On average, the planet is covered with little more than 3 feet of topsoil — the shallow skin of nutrient-rich matter that sustains most of our food and appears to play a critical role in supporting life on Earth. ‘We’re losing more and more of it every day,’ said David Montgomery, a geologist at the University of Washington. ‘The estimate is that we are now losing about 1 percent of our topsoil every year to erosion, most of this caused by agriculture.’ ‘It’s just crazy,’ fumed John Aeschliman, a fifth-generation farmer who grows wheat and other grains on the Palouse near the tiny town of Almota, just west of Pullman. ‘We’re tearing up the soil and watching tons of it wash away every year,’ Aeschliman said. He’s one of a growing number of farmers trying to persuade others to adopt ‘no-till’ methods, which involve not tilling the land between plantings, leaving crop stubble to reduce […]
For 15 years, United Nations talks aimed at fixing a faltering 1992 climate treaty have provided little drama. But at the latest session last month on the Indonesian island of Bali, Kevin Conrad, a young man representing one of the world’s least influential nations, Papua New Guinea, gained a worldwide spotlight as he faced down the sole superpower, the United States. It was during the final formal plenary, which was crammed with observers, journalists and officials from more than 180 countries. The American negotiators had objected to language inserted in a document at the last minute by developing countries led by China and India. A swell of boos and jeers built. After a long sequence of polite criticisms from developing countries over the sudden diplomatic logjam at the very end of two draining weeks, it was Mr. Conrad’s turn. ‘I would ask the United States, we ask for your leadership,’ he said. ‘But if for some reason you’re not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of the way.’ The room erupted in applause, and within minutes the lead American representative, Paula J. Dobriansky, dropped the objection and said, ‘We will […]
It’s no secret culture influences your food preferences and taste in music. But now scientists say it impacts the hard-wiring of your brain. New research shows that people from different cultures use their brains differently to solve basic perceptual tasks. Neuroscientists Trey Hedden and John Gabrieli of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research asked Americans and East Asians to solve basic shape puzzles while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. They found that both groups could successfully complete the tasks, but American brains had to work harder at relative judgments, while East Asian brains found absolute judgments more challenging. Previous psychology research has shown that American culture focuses on the individual and values independence, while East Asian culture is more community-focused and emphasizes seeing people and objects in context. This study provides the first neurological evidence that these cultural differences extend to brain activity patterns. ‘It’s kind of obvious if you look at ads and movies,’ Gabrieli told LiveScience. ‘You can tell that East Asian cultures emphasize interdependence and the U.S. ads all say things like, ‘Be yourself, you’re number one, pursue your goals.’ But how deep does this go? Does it really influence […]
JERUSALEM — Israel, tiny and bereft of oil, has decided to embrace the electric car. On Monday, the Israeli government will announce its support for a broad effort to promote the use of electric cars, embracing a joint venture between an American-Israeli entrepreneur and Renault and its partner, Nissan Motor Company. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, with the active support of President Shimon Peres, intends to make Israel a laboratory to test the practicality of an environmentally clean electric car. The state will offer tax incentives to purchasers, and the new company, with a $200 million investment to start, will begin construction of facilities to recharge the cars and replace empty batteries quickly. The idea, said Shai Agassi, 39, the software entrepreneur behind the new company, is to sell electric car transportation on the model of the cellphone. Purchasers get subsidized hardware – the car – and pay a monthly fee for expected mileage, like minutes on a cellphone plan, eliminating concerns about the fluctuating price of gasoline. Mr. Agassi and his investors are convinced that the cost of running such a car will be significantly cheaper than a model using gasoline (currently $6.28 a gallon here.) […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
