Humans are born with brains “prewired” to see words.
Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Content supplied by “ScienceDaily.com.”
Accessed on 03 November 2020, 1417 UTC.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/
Please click link or scroll down to read your selections.
Top Science News
November 3, 2020
Oct. 29, 2020 — A new study finds that people who feel enthusiastic and cheerful — what psychologists call ‘positive affect’ — are less likely to experience memory decline as they age. This result adds to a …
Latest Top Headlines
updated 9:01am EST
Oct. 22, 2020 — Humans are born with a part of the brain that is prewired to be receptive to seeing words and letters, setting the stage at birth for people to learn how to read, a new study suggests. Analyzing brain scans of newborns, researchers found that this part of the brain — called the ‘visual word form …
Health News
November 3, 2020
Oct. 16, 2020 — Researchers have identified a number of ‘silent’ mutations in the roughly 30,000 letters of the COVID-19 virus’s genetic code that helped it thrive …
Latest Health Headlines
updated 9:01am EST
COVID-19 ‘Super-Spreading’ Events Play Outsized Role in Overall Disease Transmission
Nov. 2, 2020 — Researchers find COVID-19 super-spreading events, in which one person infects more than six other people, are much more frequent than anticipated, and that they have an outsized contribution to coronavirus …
Physical/Tech News
November 3, 2020
Oct. 20, 2020 — NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm Tuesday, and in a first for the agency, briefly touched …
Latest Physical/Tech Headlines
updated 9:01am EST
Increasing the Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells
Nov. 3, 2020 — Organic solar cells are cheaper to produce and more flexible than their counterparts made of crystalline silicon, but do not offer the same level of efficiency or stability. Researchers demonstrated that increases in efficiency can be achieved using luminescent acceptor …
Environment News
November 3, 2020
Oct. 8, 2020 — The banyan fig tree Ficus microcarpa is famous for its aerial roots, which sprout from branches and eventually reach the soil. The tree also has a unique relationship with a wasp that has coevolved …
Latest Environment Headlines
updated 9:01am EST
Two Centuries of Monarch Butterflies Show Evolution of Wing Length
Nov. 2, 2020 — North America’s beloved Monarch butterflies are known for their annual, multi-generation migrations in which individual insects can fly for thousands of miles. But Monarchs have also settled in some locations where their favorite food plants grow year round, so they no longer need to migrate. A new study of specimens collected over the last two centuries shows how wing length evolves in response …
Society/Education News
November 3, 2020
Brain Circuit Damaged by Social Isolation
Sep. 10, 2020 — Early interventions were effective at stamping out coronavirus infections before they spread, according to a new study. Combining virus genomics with epidemiologic simulations and travel records, the …
Latest Society/Education Headlines
updated 9:01am EST
A.I. Tool Provides More Accurate Flu Forecasts
Nov. 2, 2020 — Scientists developed an A.I. tool using real-world state and regional data from the U.S. and Japan, then tested its forecasts against historical flu data. By incorporating location data, the A.I. system is able to outperform other state-of-the-art forecasting methods, delivering up to an 11% increase in accuracy and predicting influenza outbreaks up to 15 weeks in …