Report: A Host Of Common Chemicals Endanger Child Brain Development

Watch: Bill Nye calls out CNN for employing a climate change denier right on CNN

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How Learning A New Language Changes Your Brain And Your Perception

Learning a foreign language opens us up to new experiences, work opportunities, and allows us to meet people we may never have otherwise. More than that, research has shown learning a language can also physically change brain structure and adjust perception.

When we learn a language, we create new neural pathways in our brain, which can lead to noticeable changes. The left hemisphere is generally believed to be the logical part of the brain and is where many of our language skills originate. However, a 2012 Swiss study observed that learning a foreign language later in life is associated with thickening of the cerebral cortex — a layer of neurons specifically responsible for memory, thought, consciousness and, of course, language. This increased thickness can lead to better memory and sharper thinking later in life.

Learning a new language doesn’t just change the physical makeup of the brain. Based on a theory known as linguistic relativity, learning a new language can also change the way we see the world. This is specifically true in relation to our color perception. For example, Japanese speakers have far more words to describe the color blue, and as a result are generally able to see more shades of blue than English speakers. On the other side of the spectrum, the Himba tribe of Namibia in Southern Africa have only five words to describe all the colors in the world. Researchers have observed that, without a word for the color blue, the Himba struggle to tell it apart from green — an easy feat for English speakers.

Infographic by the team at Sunbelt Staffing

The geniuses at MIT have created a Wi-Fi network so high-tech it doesn’t need a password

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology want to change how we connect to Wi-Fi. To avoid the cumbersome network login process, a team has come up with a way to grant computers access to a Wi-Fi network based on their proximity to a router. But what about security?

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Can You Tell if Your Therapist Has Empathy?

New software developed by researchers detects a person’s ability to understand or share feelings in therapy sessions.

The research is in PLOS ONE. (full open access)

4 Fun Facts Animated by Teachers

Last week, the TED-Ed Animation Team facilitated animation workshops with TED-Ed Innovative Educators. We introduced them to basic stop-motion tricks and techniques in hopes that they would begin to incorporate animation into their classroom projects - and based on the results, we think they are up to the challenge!

Earlier this fall, we sourced some fun facts from the educators themselves, and then tasked them with visualizing that very information. We used tablets with #istopmotion to shoot the animation, and basic household objects and school supplies as props and materials. We dare say that you, too, can do this from home!

1. When an object’s mass doubles, its kinetic energy also doubles, but when an object’s SPEED doubles, its kinetic energy quadruples.

2. If a male sperm was the size of a human being, it would swim the 100 metre freestyle in half of the world record time.

3. Approximately one word is added to the English language every two hours.

4. If you condensed the Earth’s history into 24 hours, humans wouldn’t exist until 11:58pm.

Is A Coincidence Ever JUST A Coincidence? The New Science Of Synchronicity

Mind Body Green writes:

Occasionally, two or three events in your life will intersect in a way that surprises you. One may be a thought or a feeling (internal) and the other happens in your environment (external). The two events have no apparent causal connection, but the surprise captures your attention and causes your mind to search for meaning. You wonder if it’s a coincidence or if it means something for you or for your life.

These moments appear in all parts of our finances, work, family, romance, health, ideas, and spirituality, as well as in movies, books, and the news. Like sex, they help make the world go round.

According to one Weird Coincidence Survey the most frequent coincidence is:

“I think of an idea and hear or see it on the radio, TV, or Internet.”

Just below that on the list are:

“I think of calling someone only to have that person unexpectedly call me.”

“I think of a question only to have it answered by external media (i.e., radio, TV, people) before I can ask it.”

“I advance in my work/career/education through being in the right place at the right time.”

Carl Jung introduced the idea of meaningful coincidences to the Western world with the term “synchronicity.”

The purpose of synchronicity, according to Jungians, is to further psychological growth and change—the process of individuation—of becoming who you truly are.

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7 Technologies Super Soldiers Will Be Using in Future Warfare

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http://futurism.com/images/7-technologies-super-soldiers-will-be-using-in-future-warfare/

Artificial Intelligence Program Passes Entrance Exam, Can Be Accepted Into University

The National Institute of Informatics has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) program that was able to achieve an above-average score on a college entrance exam for the first time ever. The test covered five subjects including Math, Physics, and English.

Ultimately, the Institute is attempting to develop an AI that could perform well enough on Japan’s standardized college entrance exam to be accepted into the University of Tokyo, Japan’s highest-ranked university. And they hope to complete their task by 2021.

To date, the AI received a top score of 511 points out of 950, which is above the national average of 416 points.

According to the institute, the AI has at least an 80% chance of being accepted to 441 private universities and 33 national universities with that score, odds that would make any aspiring student quite happy.

Find out more at: http://futurism.com/links/artificial-intelligence-program-passes-entrance-exam-can-be-accepted-into-university/

‘Gene drive’ mosquitoes could end malaria once and for all