A unique brain signal may be the key to human intelligence

Scientists exploring human neurons directly learn some remarkable things.

Image source: vitstudio/Shutterstock
  • Most research regarding human brains is performed with rodent brains on the assumption that it may also apply to us.
  • An unusual study looked at recently resected human brain tissue that turned out to contain some big surprises.
  • Human neurons' unexpected electrical signals and their behavior shed new light on human intelligence.
Keep reading
intelligence neuroscience animals cognitive science human body neuron dendrite brain

William Shatner: Empathy must be taught

What a group of orphaned elephants can teach us about emotion and learned social skills.

  • Empathy is defined as the act of recognizing, understanding, and being sensitive to the feelings and experiences of others.
  • Sharing a story about young elephants at a nature preserve, William Shatner argues that empathy is a learned skill, not an inherited trait.
  • "That has to be learned, and I don't think it's any different from a boy to a girl. You have to walk in the shoes to experience what the other person is experiencing."
Keep reading
empathy learning teaching family evolution community animals intelligence compassion friendships men women gender

Garjainia put the ‘hyper’ in ‘hypercarnivore’

A head built for meat-eating.

Image source: Foth et al/Wikimedia Commons/Petekub/Shutterstock/Big Think
  • A new analysis of fossils from the 1950s reveals an awesome predator.
  • Pre-dating the dinosaurs, the erythrosuchids were voracious "hypercarnivores."
  • Think terrifying crocodiles on steroids.
Keep reading
animals ancient world evolution biomechanics dinosaurs garjainia erythrosuchid paleontology

Consider the axolotl: Our great hope of regeneration?

The axolotl is known to regrow its lower jaw, its retinae, ovaries, kidneys, heart, rudimentary lungs, spinal cord, and large chunks of its brain.

Fairfax Media via Getty Images

It has long been understood, and by cultures too various to list, that salamanders have something of the supernatural about them.

Keep reading
biology science human body animals health marine biology

Will robots have rights in the future?

Perhaps sooner than we think, we'll need to examine the moral standing of intelligent machines.

  • If eventually we develop artificial intelligence sophisticated enough to experience emotions like joy and suffering, should we grant it moral rights just as any other sentient being?
  • Theoretical philosopher Peter Singer predicts the ethical issues that could ensue as we expand the circle of moral concern to include these machines.
  • A free download of the 10th anniversary edition of The Life You Can Save: How to Do Your Part to End World Poverty is available here.
Keep reading
ai robots emotions morality society future technology humans animals