I’m sure we have all experienced the ‘cool’ sensation induced by
eating a mint at some time or another, and the reason why this happens is due to the active ingredient called menthol.
When we perceive something to be hot or cold, this is due to electrical signals from the nerves which come into contact with the hot or cold ‘thing’. Our brain then interprets these electrical signals as instructions such as – ‘that is hot, don’t ...
This is a very good question and I’m afraid it is one for which there is no satisfactory answer based on our current understanding of the brain. One thing studies have told us, though, is that dreams seem to happen more vividly and frequently during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of the sleep cycle, which tends to occur
roughly four to five times in a normal night’s sleep.
It has been reported by several studies that ...
There are over 100 physiological reasons as to what sets hiccups off,
the most common being expansion of the stomach and movement of
stomach acid into the oesophagus. After this then it could be an irritation of the thorax or the phrenic nerve (the nerve to the diaphragm). The mechanism of a hiccup usually involves a strong contraction of the diaphragm, the neck muscles and some other surrounding muscles. Just after the contraction begins we start
to inhale at which ...
UK researchers based in Surrey have designed an ingenius new device to clear the multitude of space junk orbiting around Earth. The device, named the CubeSail, will orbit Earth dragging some of the estimated 5,500 tons of man made debris out of space with a large, 25-metre-squared plastic sheet.
This dragging effect is caused as residual air molecules still present in the spacecraft's low-Earth orbit catch ...
A fast-paced video about NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory
The Solar Dynamics Observatory is the new NASA mission launched in February this year that will produce images of the Sun that are ten times greater quality than HD. Check out this energetic video that offers a sneak peek of the mission and its people.
Sim Man 3G – known as Simon to his friends – is an amazing new teaching aid
Simon is a completely wireless robot who can behave and react in the same way a sick patient would. He can bleed, cry, speak, and even have a fit – all of which has been helping medical students lucky enough to have ...
Well, it's that time again when we give you a sneaky peek at the next issue of your favourite science and technology-fest – How It Works magazine.
This issue doesn't hit the shelves until Thursday 25 March so until now only subscribers (who receive their copies well in advance of the on-sale date) and we, the magazine's tireless creators, know what lies in store in issue 6… But today we're ready to share. As well as all the regular brain-based joy ...
Leading entertainment magazine SciFiNow has been voted Best Magazine at the Fantasy Horror Awards in Orvieto, Italy. The publication was honoured during a glittering ceremony due to be broadcast to 26 countries across the world this April.
Nominated alongside the likes of successful US magazine Fangoria and Italian title Nocturno, SciFiNow became the first ever magazine to win the award, garnering acclaim from all corners of the industry. It is the first time the magazine, only launched in 2007, has won ...
In preparation for the Mars500 project which begins in May, four candidates who wish to accompany the mission at a later date (only two can go), have volunteered to be locked away in steel containers for 18 months in order to test their mental resilience for extended spaceflight.
The four who include two Frenchmen, a Belgian and a Colombian-Italian will live in the containers and even perform a simulated landing. After 250 days the team will split in two before then ...
Forget the film Gladiator, for a more accurate representation of how Rome's mighty Colosseum was built, operated and fought in, check out this documentational re-enactment of a famous gladiator's life and times from the BBC.
The mighty Colosseum of Rome was built by Emperor Vespasian between the years AD 70 and AD 80, and was origianally named the Flavian Amphitheatre. Capable of seating ...
