Bedrock in West Antarctica rising at surprisingly rapid rate
The findings, reported in the journal Science, contain positive implications for the survival of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which scientists had previously thought could be doomed because of the effects of climate change, according to study co-author Douglas Wiens of Arts & Sciences.
WashUExpert: Organic molecules on Mars
The Curiosity Rover mission found signs of organic materials on Mars dating back about 3.5 billion years, NASA announced June 7. It could be a big deal, said Raymond Arvidson, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences.
New tools reveal prelude to chaos
Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed tools that mathematically describe the kinetics in a system right before it dissolves into randomness.
The future of energy
So what does the future have in store for us in regard to energy resources, consumption and technology? Aaron Bobick, dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science, breaks down the issue in his blog, “The Observational Engineer.”
New clues on the origins of agriculture
Using a new approach, researchers from Colorado State University and Washington University have uncovered evidence that underscores one long-debated theory about the origins of agriculture.
Flavor of the moment
In a new paper in the journal Physical Review Letters, Bhupal Dev, assistant professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, describes how future accelerators could crash together charged particles in a new way to shed light on their behavior.
Fortune — and nature — favors the bold
Natural selection acts on behavioral traits, says evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos, who helped lead a replicated field experiment with anole lizards on eight small islands in the Caribbean, as reported in the June 1 issue of Science
Act fast to pay attention
Want to improve your attention? Arts & Sciences brain sciences researcher Richard Abrams at Washington University in St. Louis finds that our attention may be guided by the most recent interactions with our environment.
Self-Consciousness and ‘Split’ Brains
The Mind's I
Elizabeth Schechter argues that there are in fact two minds: subjects of experience and intentional agents inside each split-brain human being: right and left. On the other hand, each split-brain subject is nonetheless one of us. The key to reconciling these two claims is to understand the ways in which each of us is transformed […]
Defects in tissue trigger disease-like transformation of cells
Homeowners know that one little termite can lead to big problems: while termites are efficient at gnawing away at wood, they can do even more damage if the wood is already broken or has another defect. Mechanical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have found the same effect in some of the body’s tissue.
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