Full disclosure: I’m writing this because I painted my nails an amazing fluorescent orange, and it made me curious… TL;DR: It’s UV rays! Now for the science. Non-fluorescent vision When light hits an object, the object absorbs some of the light and reflects the rest. Our eyes pick up what is reflected through cone cells…
Tag: New Science
Signing Up for Dry January Significantly Improves Attempts to Abstain from Alcohol
As we wipe our bleary eyes, look around us in confusion and wonder where the hell our Christmas went, some of us may feel the pressures of the new year looming. Christmas is a time of great indulgence, and many of us may feel that employing a healthier mind-set at the beginning of the year…
The Hair Inside Your Head May Be Key for Brain Development
For decades the focus of neuroscience was on neurons, but as research techniques and technology progresses we are beginning to understand the brain as never before. The importance of neurons cannot be downplayed, and yet scientists are coming to realise that there are many other elements involved in brain development. Cilia are slender, hair-like organelles…
Neuronal Behaviour in Learning and Memory May Be Influenced by Glial Cells
Are neurons all they’re cracked up to be? For decades, we have believed the neuron to be the king of all cells. Neurons are grown at a rate of 250,000 cells per minute in utero, culminating in a fully grown brain with 100 billion neurons, and over 100 trillion neuronal connections. This is more than all…
New Hubble Image Shows Hypergiant Home, Westerlund 1
The Hubble telescope is world-famous for its beautiful images of our universe. Here at the Science Dunk we even posted a Hubble Hump-Day article to get us over the mid-week blues. This week, Hubble has turned its camera to a super-star cluster called Westerlund 1. This fantastical sounding mass is just 15,000 light years away,…
Remarkable Study Shows Immune System’s Effect On Social Interactions
Researchers from the University of Virginia’s Centre for Brain Immunology and Glia have made a remarkable discovery; the immune system has a direct and measurable impact on our social interactions. For decades scientists have believed that the brain is “immune privileged”, meaning that there is no direct connection from the brain to the immune system. In…
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