Neuroscience and Free Will

post from Top stories on 08 December 2011 10:34:26 PM. © Top stories

Do we have free will, or is it an illusion? This video explores the work of Benjamin Libet, whose groundbreaking work placed the notion of free will into doubt.

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http://machineslikeus.com/videos/neuroscience-and-free-will

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Decision making in bee swarms mimic neurons in
human brains

post from Top stories on 08 December 2011 10:23:54 PM. © Top stories

Swarms of bees and brains made up of neurons make decisions using strikingly similar mechanisms, says a new study in the Dec. 9 issue of Science.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/decision-making-bee-swarms-mimic-neurons-human-bra
ins

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Study shows species can change

post from Top stories on 08 December 2011 10:06:54 PM. © Top stories

A study of South American songbirds completed by the Department of Biology at Queen's University and the Argentine Museum of Natural History, has discovered these birds differ dramatically in colour and song yet show very little genetic differences which indicates they are on the road to becoming

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/study-shows-species-can-change

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Rodents show empathy-driven behavior

post from Top stories on 08 December 2011 09:58:03 PM. © Top stories

The first evidence of empathy-driven helping behavior in rodents has been observed in laboratory rats that repeatedly free companions from a restraint, according to a new study by University of Chicago neuroscientists.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/rodents-show-empathy-driven-behavior

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Sound and vision work hand in hand

post from Top stories on 08 December 2011 09:54:50 PM. © Top stories

Our senses of sight and hearing work closely together, perhaps more than people realize, a new UCLA psychology study shows.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/sound-and-vision-work-hand-hand

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Scientists capture single cancer molecules at
work

post from Top stories on 08 December 2011 09:48:43 PM. © Top stories

Researchers have revealed how a molecule called telomerase contributes to the control of the integrity of our genetic code, and when it is involved in the deregulation of the code, its important role in the development of cancer.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/scientists-capture-single-cancer-molecules-work

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Moral blind spot about passive harm

post from Top stories on 08 December 2011 09:43:54 PM. © Top stories

Individuals and courts deal more harshly with people who actively commit harm than with people who allow harm to occur. This moral distinction may be automatic, according to a new study based on brain scans.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/moral-blind-spot-about-passive-harm

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NCBI ROFL: A scientifically optimized bubble
bath.

Optimisation of the formulation of a bubble bath by a chemometric approach market segmentation and optimisation.

“The optimisation of the formulation of a commercial bubble bath was performed by chemometric analysis of Panel Tests results. A first Panel Test was performed to choose the best essence, among four proposed to the consumers; the best essence chosen was used in the revised commercial bubble bath. Afterwards, the effect of changing the amount of four components (the amount of primary surfactant, the essence, the hydratant and the colouring agent) of the bubble bath was studied by a fractional factorial design. The segmentation of the bubble bath market was performed by a second Panel Test, in which the consumers were requested to evaluate the samples coming from the experimental design. The results were then treated by Principal Component Analysis. The market had two segments: people preferring a product with a rich formulation and people preferring a poor product. The final target, i.e. the optimisation of the formulation for each segment, was obtained by the calculation of regression models relating the subjective evaluations given by the Panel and the compositions of the samples. The regression models allowed to identify ...

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NcbiRofl/~3/bK5WZkjjeCc/

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Breakthrough in regulating fat metabolism

Scientists at Warwick Medical School have made an important discovery about the mechanism controlling the body's 'fat switch', shedding new light on our understanding of how proteins regulate appetite control and insulin secretion.

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http://machineslikeus.com/news/breakthrough-regulating-fat-metabolism

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W.M. Keck Observatory Lecture

By Mat Kaplan The webcast of "Oodles of Exoplanets: The Search for other Habitable Worlds" will be available here at 9:00pm PST. Dr. Greg Laughlin of the University of California, Santa Cruz will come to us live from the Kahilu Theater in Hawaii, courtesy of the Keck. Live video by Ustream ....

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http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003294/

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