Why are Stradivarius violins so good?

Nature magazine has an article on research by Joseph Nagyvary, professor emeritus of biochemistry at Texas A&M University. He's shown that the chemicals - not the wood itself - used to treat the wood of Stradivarius and Guarneri violins are responsible for their famous and (very) expensive sound.

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Making up for lost time

Two updates in two days? Who loves ya!

In the journal Brain and Cognition, a study shows déjà vu has been observed in someone blind, which strongly contradicts the previous leading theory of déjà vu; OPD (Optical Pathway Delay)

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I'm back! With news even

I've been on a much needed holiday for the last 3 weeks, so I apologise for the lack of updates to this blog. I have been reading the news of course and would have posted if there was something really amazing, but there hasn't been (in my opinion, which as you know is the correct one).

So anyways, ESA's gamma-ray observatory recently spotted a huge explosion of energy around a black hole in our galaxy

A study presented to the Radiological Society of North America today has found that while the best way to sit is with your body and thighs at a 135 degree angle, the worst way to sit (in terms of backache) is at a 90 degree angle.
Slouching forward is significantly better for back pain than sitting up straight.

A study done on MDMA (ecstacy) showed that even in very small amounts (less than one tablet) there was cell damage and decreased blood flow to some regions of the brain as well as a decrease in verbal memory performance. It was an 18-month study, so long-term affects weren't looked at (I consider a year and a half a long time but maybe that's just me) but they will be in a future study of long-term high-dose ecstacy users.

Aaaand a study by Tobacco Control found that cutting your number of daily cigarettes in half has no affect on your health. Quitting does and never starting does, but cutting back doesn't. Interesting.

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Human-Neanderthal mixing

Fossils of modern humans discovered in 1952 and roughly 30,000 years old have been re-examined, and closer analysis shows mixtures of modern human and neanderthal features. This adds evidence to the theory that as modern humans spread out across Europe about 35,000 years ago, some bred with neanderthals.

I've always thought this theory made a lot of sense.

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