The Map Of Mathematics

The entire field of mathematics summarised in a single map! This shows how pure mathematics and applied mathematics relate to each other and all of the sub-topics they are made from.



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Why Do We Feel Hot And Cold As Pain

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On the face of things, a hot waffle iron wouldn't seem to have all that much in common with a block of ice. But the two objects share the same capacity to inflict pain. Extreme heat and extreme cold are both able to deliver a nasty blow to human skin, and it turns out that the brain monitors these thermal extremes in similar ways.

Secrets Of The Centenarians

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If you make it to the ripe old age of 100, hardly a day will go by that someone won't ask you what's the secret of living to such a ripe old age.

There's only about a 1 in 1,000 chance that a 100-year-old person will become a 'supercentenarian' - live to see their 110th birthday. So how did these folks make it that far?

2,000-Year-Old Maya Superhighways Discovered In The Jungle Of Guatemala

image credit: Dennis Jarvis

Few ancient civilizations have left us evidence of the roads they built to maintain effective communication and transportation within their sphere of influence. Until recently, the model for effective road creation and maintenance was ancient Rome.

However, the recent discovery of a system of superhighways that once connected pyramidal complexes in Guatemala, means that the Maya civilization may now rival the Romans. The finding was made last month by researchers of the Mirador Basin (Archaeological) Project.

There Is One Animal That Seems To Survive Without Oxygen

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It is microscopic, looks a bit like a jellyfish, and survives in a place that would kill every other known animal species. In 2010, at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, a research team found evidence of an animal able to live its entire life without oxygen.

The tiny Mediterranean animals belong to a group called the loriciferans. Loriciferans are about the size of a large amoeba. They live in muddy sediments at the bottom of the seas. But supposedly, that mud should contain some oxygen to allow the animals to breathe. The mud in the L'Atalante basin at the bottom of the Mediterranean does not.

(thanks Paul-René)

25 Animals That Scientists Want To Bring Back From Extinction

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Over the millennia, animals have gone extinct on Earth for many different reasons. Sometimes it's because of a dramatic climate shift. Other times it was because of human intervention.

Advances in science, specifically biotechnology, could enable scientists to bring some of these animals 'back' from extinction, and there are a few already on the list.

The Claim That Hot Water Freezes Faster Than Cold Water Just Got Even Weirder

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Despite sounding like the most egregious contradiction in physics, hot water appears to freeze faster than cold water under certain circumstances. After centuries of experiments demonstrating this phenomenon, no one's been able to explain it.

Now physicists from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas and Nanjing University in China are pointing to strange properties of hydrogen bonds as the solution to one of the oldest mysteries in physics.

Archaeologists Still Can't Explain What They Found In This Cave

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One of the great things about our world is that there is still so much mystery left in it. Archaeologists are constantly digging up new artifacts and structures whose purposes have been lost to history. You won't believe some of these finds and the theories about their origins.

11 Common Misconceptions About Robots

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Robots are omnipresent in pop culture. Since the term was coined nearly a century ago, robots have played the role of sidekick, villain, and protagonist in some of the greatest science fiction works of all time.

But there's a lot that books and movies get wrong about our mechanical companions.
Here are 11 myths about robots that your favorite TV shows and films have helped spread.

What's A Leap Second?

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Timekeepers have announced that a leap second will be added to official timekeeping on December 31, 2016. That means your day and year - and everyone’s day and year - will officially be one second longer.

Every now and then a leap second is added to Coordinated Universal Time in order to synchronize clocks worldwide with the Earth's ever slowing rotation.

The World's Smallest Snowman

A truly teeny tiny snowman has been created using three 0.9 micron silica spheres, a face carved with an ion beam, and with arms and a nose made of platinum. The image was created at Western University in Ontario, Canada using electron beam lithography.

The Science Behind David Bowie's Eyes

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David Bowie had a pair of striking eyes that had an otherworldly look about them - and it turns out there's a scientific reason for that. Some people assumed that Bowie had a case of heterochromia, a condition where a person's iris's are two different pigments.

Bowie's case is a lot different, considering his change in pupil circumference in his left eye happened long after birth and was the result of the many woes of teenage love.

Scientists Have Identified That Mysterious, Metallic Sound Coming From The Mariana Trench

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The Mariana Trench is the deepest known part of the world's oceans. After months of speculation, scientists have finally identified the most likely source of a creepy audio recording from the deepest part of the ocean.

According to a new study, the eerie 3.5-second recording that was picked up by an autonomous vehicle deep in the Mariana Trench is a new type of baleen whale call that no one has ever heard before.

10 Mysteries Of The Human Microbiome Revealed

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You may think of your body as home to only one organism: you. But you actually host trillions of microbes, mainly bacteria, fungi and viruses, comprising their own individual microbiomes - ecosystems - too small to be seen with the naked eye.

These living colonies in your body work in synergy with you to keep you healthy. Your microbiome is so unique to you, it could one day replace the fingerprint ID. And when artists interpret this amazing world, the results can be simply beautiful. Here are 10 mysteries revealed about the human microbiome.

Your Blue Eyes Are Actually Brown

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Turns out, everyone has brown eyes. You can blame melanin. You might have known that melanin determines our hair and skin color, but miniature melanin cells, called melanocytes, are found in the iris as well.

There's really only one 'shade' of melanin - and it's brown. The more melanocytes in your iris, the darker your eye color. Light is also a factor: Melanin absorbs light, so the more melanin there is, the less light will be absorbed. Brown-eyed people have more melanin, less light.

15 Incredible Discoveries That Were Hiding In Plain Sight

Whether it's a lost purse or an entire galaxy, the thing you're looking for is almost always the last place you look. Here are some amazing finds that were right under our noses the whole time.

Why We Become Happier As We Get Older

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It seems our lives do become happier as we age. Ironically, regardless of our age, when people are asked about the happiest times of their lives, they usually point to their 20s, wrongly predicting that feelings of contentment will reduce as they get older.

In fact, it would be a good idea to relax and let nature take its course. Because with things actually improving with age, the uplifting truth is that we all have an ever-increasing chanceof living happily ever after.

The Real Reason Why We Walk On Two Legs, And Not Four

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There is fossil evidence that suggests our ancestors have been walking upright for at least six million years. The question is, why did they take up the iconic stance?

13 Habits Science Shows Will Help You Fall Asleep Faster And Sleep Better

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Sleep is hard, especially in a world where people spend their time busy and stressed. But not sleeping, in addition to making you less efficient and more stressed, is terrible for your health.

Fatigue leads to short and long term problems with mental and physical health. Here's what the best research out there has to say about what you can do to help yourself fall asleep.

First Dinosaur Tail Found Preserved In Amber

The tail of a 99-million-year-old dinosaur, including bones, soft tissue, and even feathers, has been found preserved in amber.

While individual dinosaur-era feathers have been found in amber, and evidence for feathered dinosaurs is captured in fossil impressions, this is the first time that scientists are able to clearly associate well-preserved feathers with a dinosaur, and in turn gain a better understanding of the evolution and structure of dinosaur feathers.