The Browser - Science & Technology

A Man on the Moon

FiveBooks — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:06:03 +0000

By Andrew Chaikin

It’s a history of the Apollo missions, telling why we went to the moon, what happened when we got there, and why we stopped going after Apollo 17. I could not put it down

Authored by

Andrew Chaikin

Marcus Chown

Philip Plait

How Yahoo Killed Flickr And Lost The Internet | Mat Honan | Gizmodo | 15 May 2012

The Browser — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:30:08 +0000

"This is the story of a wonderful idea. Something that had never been done before, a moment of change that shaped the Internet we know today. This is the story of Flickr." A revolutionary photo sharing service, destroyed by Yahoo

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The Discovery And Naming Of The Neuron | Ferris Jabr | Scientific American | 14 May 2012

The Browser — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:23:16 +0000

Short history of the neuron. The Spaniard Santiago Ramón y Cajal first proved that the nervous system was made up of distinct building blocks in 1887. Term "neuron" coined shortly after in 1891 by German anatomist Wilhelm Waldeyer

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Paranormal Circumstances | Yudhijit Bhattacharjee | Discover | 14 May 2012

The Browser — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:00:37 +0000

Psychologist Daryl Bem has always challenged conventional beliefs. He was first to claim that people adjust their emotions after observing their own behaviour. It seemed radical, now it's widely accepted. But defending precognition?

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I’ve Got You Under My Skin | Charles Choi | Txchnologist | 02 May 2012

The Browser — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:47:45 +0000

On the possibilities for implants that augment the human body. Ready to turn yourself into a remote control, a watch, even a hard drive? "A phone would definitely be feasible, but whether it’s desirable is a different question”

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Groupon Makes First Profit, Shares Surge | Alistair Barr | Reuters | 14 May 2012

The Browser — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:49:08 +0000

36.9 million active customers. 100,000 merchants served in first quarter of 2012. Revenue of $559 million. And a profit at last. Is this the turning point for Andrew Mason's beleagured daily deals website? Watch this space

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The Future Of Facebook: Mining The Human Cloud | Reuven Cohen | Forbes | 11 May 2012

The Browser — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:43:44 +0000

"Facebook has created the largest social analytics engine on the planet. They essentially know what we’re thinking before we do." It puts them in a terrifically strong position for now. But will their star keep rising?

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A Universe From Nothing? | Sean Carroll | Cosmic Variance | 28 April 2012

The Browser — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:36:56 +0000

Physicist replies to Lawrence Krauss, and his recent claim that physics has made philosophy obselete. It hasn't. Krauss was wrong to claim it could. Here's why his argument doesn't stack up, explained with some cutting-edge physics

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What If Our Hands Had 6 Fingers? | Natalie Wolchover | Life's Little Mysteries | 10 May 2012

The Browser — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:13:41 +0000

Why do our hands only have five fingers? Polydactyly (having additional digits) is a common birth defect, but not one natural selection favoured. Truth is most of what we do can easily be accomplished with just three fingers

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Forget About It: Making The Internet More Like Our Brains | Megan Garber | Atlantic | 08 May 2012

The Browser — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:02:24 +0000

"When we disparage the digital environment as 'overwhelming', what we're also faulting it for is its lack of a narrative. The Internet moves, but it doesn't necessarily move forwards." It lacks a plot. But this may change

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