The Daily Free Press

What Science Tuesday did on our summer vacation

By Daily Free Press Admin • May 2, 2011

As we say goodbye for the semester, here’s your summer itinerary for a ‘round-the-world tour of some of the planet’s scientifically coolest sites. Your world tour begins in the Daily Free Press...

Too much on the mind? You might have a cluttered brain.

By Daily Free Press Admin • April 26, 2011

Students are masters of multitasking: responding to texts lighting up their cell phones with the TV on, listening to music playing in the background, surfing Facebook pulled up on the computer all while writing a paper. It’s is the way the millennial generation operates. Sure, assignments become increasingly difficult when each sentence is rewarded with a glance at Facebook, but most students can find a way to get these assignments done. Yet for some, these distractions can be debilitating. This specific inability to focus, according to McGill University neuroscience and physiology professor Julio Martinez-Trujillo, is known as “brain clutter.”

A still more glorious dawn

By Daily Free Press Admin • April 18, 2011

In a few facilities around the world, scientists are working on the answer to a question that almost seems foolish to ask: are we wrong about the very foundations of how we define our world? The average...

Dislike: Can Facebook cause depression in teens?

By Daily Free Press Admin • April 11, 2011

Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has become a rat race to popularity - adding friends (and friends of friends), posting only the pictures that catch your good side, counting the number of likes on...

Dah dah dah is the new blah blah blah

By Daily Free Press Admin • April 4, 2011

The viral video of 17-month-old twins Sam and Ren McEntee chattering away and laughing at each other in the kitchen has become a Youtube sensation, attracting more than 14 million viewers and sparking...

Mythbusters

By Daily Free Press Admin • March 28, 2011

Myth: March is "in like a lion, out like a lamb." Result: BUSTED. It’s the typical weather forecast for the month of March: cold, brutal storms followed by eventual (and much appreciated) peaceful,...

Hard-hitting science

By Daily Free Press Admin • March 21, 2011

Former NHL forward Robert Probert was a tough guy. The Detroit Redwings and Chicago Blackhawks star earned fifth place all-time in the NHL for most penalty minutes acquired, and his New York Times obituary...

Planet Earth

By Daily Free Press Admin • March 7, 2011

Science Tuesday examines three of the most mind-blowing recent developments in Earth science and physics

Evacuate the Dance Floor

By Daily Free Press Admin • February 28, 2011

MDMA. E. XTC. X. Ecstasy is a drug with many names and a colorful reputation, especially on the dance floor.

Times are hard for dreamers

By Daily Free Press Admin • February 21, 2011

Dreams about fear might entail the typical standing-naked-in-front-of-a-crowd scenario or falling from great heights. But what about the dreams where real-life worries slip from daytime into sleep? A recent LA Times article suggested that recession-related dreams are on the rise among adults. But it’s not just adults who are tossing and turning: many Boston University students, faced with a tight job market and rising academic competition, reported a similar increase in dreams about academic failure or shaky job security.

Elementary, my dear Watson: IBM-engineered robot shows off its smarts on "Jeopardy!"

By Daily Free Press Admin • February 15, 2011

It’s no “Rocky IV” trailer, but IBM’s “Countdown to ‘Jeopardy!’” promotional video strikes an inspirational chord. It’s the archetypal man versus machine narrative – the only difference here is that the role of protagonist is up for debate.

SNO-M-G: The climatology behind why this winter has been like "The Day After Tomorrow"

By Daily Free Press Admin • February 7, 2011

As the winter progresses, the French Toast Alert System on Boston community news website Universal Hub seems to be stuck on "high" – meaning run, don't walk to the nearest grocery store to stock up, panic-stricken, on all the milk, eggs and bread (and cinnamon) you can carry.