How much does language shape culture? Does English lead to more efficiency because of how precise it can be (with, by some estimates, more than twice as many words as the next verbose language)? Or does English delay learning because of its Byzantine and vermicular rules?* Is Spanish the opposite because of its relatively straightforward structure?... Continue Reading →
Soil Yourself
As visitors to the Cottage are aware, we like to get dirty. Another thing we like is the potential that crowdsourced science has to rapidly improve our knowledge. Here's an opportunity to combine the two. The Natural Products Discovery Group is offering free soil collection kits, which they will then analyze for fungal compounds that... Continue Reading →
Relative Understanding
I'm not much of an aural learner, so in college I generally didn't garner much from lectures. In physics, I made it to class about three times (five, if you count the exams), preferring to learn from the textbook. The professor was incredibly dry, but he was a smart guy. At one point, after one of the... Continue Reading →
Of Mice and Men: Penis Size Revealed
Mice have occasionally entered the Cottage (both figuratively and literally), but the current study was one in which mice were not being poked and prodded (or stretched, as the case may be).* The gist of this study (and I'm sure you've already heard about it on Facebook or The Huffington Post) is that somebody measured 15,521... Continue Reading →
Reflux Redux 2
Our heroic little fuzzy friends, mice, have taken another one for the team (our team, not theirs). Scientists recently fed mice a diet of emulsifiers commonly found in many of our processed foods. Turns out these emulsifiers may be emulsifying the mucus lining that protects our gut lining. This could be via direct action or... Continue Reading →
Reflux Redux
It appears the folks at the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee have been frequenting Poppa's Cottage, and taking our advice to heart (so to speak). Their new guidelines have finally eased some of the former restrictions on fat and cholesterol, and have more harshly implicated simple carbs and sugar (a.k.a. yayo) in our growing (literally) health... Continue Reading →
Tabula Plena
"I think we have reason to believe that the mind is equipped with a battery of emotions, drives, and faculties for reasoning and communicating, and that they have a common logic across cultures, are difficult to erase or redesign from scratch, were shaped by natural selection acting over the course of human evolution, and owe... Continue Reading →
Getting More Cows
"War, unh, Good god, y'all, What is it good for?" Well, apparently we have an answer to that question now. War is good for getting more cows, which is of course good for getting more women, which is essential to maxing out how many babies you sire. And from a woman's perspective, hooking up with... Continue Reading →
Awe-full
“Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them - the starry heavens above and the moral law within.” -Immanuel Kant Have you ever been awestruck? It's a truly palpable feeling, hence the bolt-of-lightning idiom often associated with it. Awe is often accompanied... Continue Reading →
Microbe vs. Microbe
In this Mini Post, two of our favorite subjects, microbes and dirt, come together. In a new report, researchers were able to extract a powerful new antibiotic from a bacteria found in the soil. Teixobactin is made by the soil bacteria Eleftheria terrae. The researchers are excited because they feel the way this antibiotic works... Continue Reading →
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