Put off by robots whose looks are close to, but not quite, human? This drop in comfort is known as the "uncanny valley," a feeling people get when exposed to robots that try to mimic humans but instead come across as creepy.
Our appetite for salt is programmed into our brains. Now scientists believe that cocaine and heroin are particularly addictive in part because they usurp that programming.
A border guard was sentenced to two years in jail for his failure to report an intrusion of a plane that dropped hundreds of teddy bears into Belarus last year. The bears were adorned with slogans supporting human rights.
Reenactments are always a source of disagreement in the documentary world, but Mr. Oppenheimer has taken that longstanding debate to a new level by encouraging the perpetrators of human rights abuses to restage their crimes.
Reenactments are always a source of disagreement in the documentary world, but Mr. Oppenheimer has taken that longstanding debate to a new level by encouraging the perpetrators of human rights abuses to restage their crimes.
Reenactments are always a source of disagreement in the documentary world, but Mr. Oppenheimer has taken that longstanding debate to a new level by encouraging the perpetrators of human rights abuses to restage their crimes.
A border guard was sentenced to two years in jail for his failure to report an intrusion of a plane that dropped hundreds of teddy bears into Belarus last year. The bears were adorned with slogans supporting human rights.
A border guard was sentenced to two years in jail for his failure to report an intrusion of a plane that dropped hundreds of teddy bears into Belarus last year. The bears were adorned with slogans supporting human rights.
A border guard was sentenced to two years in jail for his failure to report an intrusion of a plane that dropped hundreds of teddy bears into Belarus last year. The bears were adorned with slogans supporting human rights.
The jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. The committee praised Mr Liu for his long and non-violent struggle for human rights in China.
The jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. The committee praised Mr Liu for his long and non-violent struggle for human rights in China.
Though it isn't clear whether any warrants exist for his arrest, human rights groups are demanding the prosecution of former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier.
Though it isn't clear whether any warrants exist for his arrest, human rights groups are demanding the prosecution of former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier.
Oysters that eat the microplastics littering the world's oceans produce fewer and less-healthy offspring. What isn't clear is whether the microplastics that accumulate in oysters could be harmful to the humans that eat them.
Oysters that eat the microplastics littering the world's oceans produce fewer and less-healthy offspring. What isn't clear is whether the microplastics that accumulate in oysters could be harmful to the humans that eat them.
There's an intrinsic "wow" factor to human space missions that's easy to underestimate. It's an emotional desire to experience the great expanse beyond our atmosphere in a way that sending robots can't satisfy.
There's an intrinsic "wow" factor to human space missions that's easy to underestimate. It's an emotional desire to experience the great expanse beyond our atmosphere in a way that sending robots can't satisfy.
A recent study reported that toddlers will hide their knowledge of a solution around untrained peers, suggesting that the human desire to conform is inborn or at least develops at a very young age.
A recent study reported that toddlers will hide their knowledge of a solution around untrained peers, suggesting that the human desire to conform is inborn or at least develops at a very young age.
"There is no limit to the human capacity for language except for things like having time to get enough exposure to the language," says Suzanne Flynn, a psycholinguist at MIT. Harvard psycholinguist Steven Pinker agrees.
Language is known to be part of humans' unique cognitive endowment, and scientists have long studied how language abilities can be impaired by disease or trauma. But it is less clear what upper limits this endowment has.
"Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations. But the details of human prehistory and evolution in Africa remain largely obscure."
"Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations. But the details of human prehistory and evolution in Africa remain largely obscure."
Tasmanian devils went extinct on the Australian mainland 400 years ago. Humans probably contributed to their demise, by introducing the dingo for instance.
Tasmanian devils went extinct on the Australian mainland 400 years ago. Humans probably contributed to their demise, by introducing the dingo for instance.
Humans have long been fascinated by the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. Novels, films, and folk tales have encouraged curiosity and speculation about what might be 'out there' in space.
In the movie Skyline, strange lights descend on Los Angeles, drawing people outside like moths to a flame. An extra-terrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the earth.
Moche villages and/or clan groups turned on each other in a battle for scarce resources like food and land. This escalated to the point where the Moche replaced ritual battles and human sacrifices with civil war.