The “flow state” is how neuroscience researchers describe that zone you can get into when you’re doing something that you’ve become highly skilled at. It’s a zen-like place in your brain — that state where you lose track of time doing something that you enjoy doing for its own sake, and where the job of doing the task seems to become something you don’t even have to think about. You just do it, and you do it right.

The catch, of course, is that usually it takes a lot of heavy work … Read More → "Zapping the brain into “expert” mode"

Scores of animals exist in scientific laboratories for the purpose of serving as our proxies, their cortices mapped and their flu responses studied so scientists can figure out how humans work. But in many cases, there’s little agreement between their functions and ours, and scientists need to figure out how to draw useful comparisons. To get a better handle … Read More → "Monkeys watch Clint Eastwood film for the sake of science"

A team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) has produced the highest resolution map of the Milky Way’s magnetic field ever produced. The map pools over 41,000 measurements from across 26 projects. “The resulting database is equivalent to peppering the entire sky with sources separated by an angular distance of two full moons,” said Dr. Tracy Clarke of the Naval Research Laboratory.

Each of the maps 41,330 individual data points represents a measurement of Faraday depth, … Read More → "Scientists map Milky Way’s magnetic field in highest resolution yet"

An 83-year-old woman in Belgium is now the proud owner of what could be possibly the coolest lower jaw in history: a 3D printed titanium mandible replacement. The jaw was implanted successfully a few months ago by doctors at the University of Hasselt BIOMED Research Institute in Belgium to replace the woman’s seriously infected jaw bone. The replacement was 3D printed by researchers at the University of … Read More → "83-year-old woman gets the world’s first 3D printed replacement jaw"

Playgrounds are competing for kids’ time and losing. Nearly 25 percent of children ages 9 through 13 have no free time for physical activity, and a child is six times as likely to play a videogame as to ride a bike. The playgrounds of tomorrow must offer something that even the most enticing virtual offerings cannot: real spaces that … Read More → "The world’s most amazing playgrounds"

The chip industry grew a scant 0.4 percent in 2011, but that was enough to push it to a record $299.5 billion for the year. That wasn’t a bad performance given a weak global economy and disasters in Japan and Thailand.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the chip industry’s trade group, said the sales for 2011 compared to $298.3 billion a year earlier. Growth in chips is critical for the economy since semiconductor chips are the backbone of everything electronic.
via Read More → "With just 0.4 percent growth, the chip industry reaches record $299.5B in 2011"

If you need me to explain why you should spend 1:26 watching a man wielding an iron guitar in a Faraday suit playing Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” on MIDI-compatible Tesla coils, you are in the wrong place, pal.
via Boing Boing

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… Read More → "Playing Black Sabbath on Tesla coils with an iron guitar, standing in a Faraday suit"

“A Wrinkle in Time” turns 50 years old this year. That would make its heroine, Meg Murry, 63 years old, and her daughter, Polly O’Keefe (heroine of “An Acceptable Time”) probably near 40, since Meg had her first child young (in the style of many fictional heroines, whose romantic fate was often decided in their first book appearance).

Meg Murry, old enough to be my mother? Never.

“A Wrinkle in … Read More → "‘A Wrinkle in Time’ turns 50"

Indie movie makers can be a strange bunch, pushing the envelope of their craft and often losing us along the way. In any case, if you’re going to produce something unintelligible anyway, why not let a computer do it? Eve Sussmam and the Rufus Corporation did just that. She and lead actor Jeff Wood traveled to the Kazakhstan border of … Read More → "Computer algorithm used to make movie for Sundance Film Festival"

This is Parazynski’s second consecutive season on Everest. Last year, he was in striking distance of he summit when a back injury forced him to turn back and hobble down the mountain. Thanks to some surgery and a rigorous exercise regimen, he is in great physical shape to achieve his lifelong goal this year.

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