Morning Connection » Main Stories

Does Talent Matter?

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:28:49 +0000

This is an interesting article positing that talent is overrated and may not be as important as it is thought. Read it here.

The mighty learning fruitflies

admin — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:39:18 +0000

This is a very interesting article on fruitflies and their learning abilities. It is not conclusive evidence but pretty darn good suggestion… read this interesting article in the New York Times.

Can people change?

admin — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:36:38 +0000

We know humans are animals of habits… but how much can we change those habits after we have developed them? Apparently the answer seems to be habits again: focus on creating new habits instead of stopping the old ones. Read the article at the New York Times.

A Science Prodigy in an Unlikely Place

admin — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:04:50 +0000

Eric Delgado, 18, was one of the 40 finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search. Good for him, of course. But what if I told you that the experiments that made him achieve such a position were made in a closet of his high school? Check the story on the New York Times webpage.

Is the male gender endangered?

admin — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:51:27 +0000

The suspicion that males might be less needed than we thought may just be true. Although this is probably pushing it too far, it’s still an interesting curiosity to hear that a female Komodo dragon in Wichita zoo gave birth without needing a male partner. Apparently nature beat us to cloning… Read this story on the the New York Times.

The Happiest Man in the World

admin — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:11:48 +0000

Mathieu Ricard is a buddhist monk working on research on happiness. Measurements of his brain show that he has above normal activity in his left frontal cortex, a zone associated with positive emotions. He speaks at Google about happiness, and how meditation can affect positive thoughts. Although the first half may be a bit dull, in the second half he presents research results on the effect of meditation on positive thoughts. Worth a good look.

Masdar: Ecotopia?

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:56:13 +0000

This article is in the New York Times. Apparently there is a project to build a pollution-free city, without any cars. It seems a very interesting plan… but beware. After you watch the video on the dedicated NYT blog you might get a bit scared… it seems like a mix of “Utopia”, “Admirable New World” with a hint of “Blade Runner”… who knows, but maybe it will work out!

Judging on Looks

admin — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:32:52 +0000

Remember when you were told not to judge people by their appearance? Think again. A number of undergraduate students was able to accurately predict managers’ performances and traits by looking at their pictures. Get the story at the Economist.

Let’s talk about marriage (and its benefits for a change)

admin — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:56:47 +0000

This is a featured story sent to us by Shobi, a reader of our website. She points us to some articles on the web about the benefits of Marriage. The main one can be read at the Time Magazine website. It goes into the actual health benefits of a good marriage. Want more benefits? As it turns out, it appears that holding hands can also reduce stress. Finally, take a look how animals relationships resemble so many of humans’.

Unbelievable – Randy Pausch

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:13:48 +0000

I don’t have words to describe this story. But I do have images. A video in fact. It’s a brilliant ‘last lecture’ from a professor of Carnegie-Mellon, Randy Pausch, who is undergoing terminal cancer. Do yourself a favor and watch it. You can also click here for a bigger screen.