December 2011

Top Scientific Breakthroughs Of 2011

From a game-changing AIDS medication to the little Neanderthal we all carry in us, it's been a big year for science.

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ccording to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, there are ten great scientific breakthroughs this year that deserve acknowledgement. The top honor was reserved for a potentially game-changing study for HIV/AIDS patients. The study, called HPTN 052, showed the antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) not only slow the progression of the disease in patients already infected, but virtually eliminate transmission to uninfected individuals. In fact, the study was so incredibly effective that four years before it was slated to end, a third party monitoring board declared that all subjects, even the control group, were to be immediately vaccinated with the ARVs. Here, in no particular order, are a few of the highlights. John Cohen, who wrote the covers story in Science, had this to say about the findings.

New Evidence In 5,300 Year Old Ice Man's Stomach Reveals More About His Murder

Otzi, the Ice Man's, story continues to fascinate people today, and new evidence (found in his stomach) reveals more about this ancient man.

A great narrative has been woven around the mysterious death of Otzi, a man found in the upper reaches of the Swiss Alps, frozen solid in the ice. It tells of a man that had been chased for miles, perhaps tens of miles, only to fall prey to an arrow in the snow and left for dead. The story is made more interesting by the fact that Otzi is 5,300 years old, and has been incredibly well-preserved within the mummifying ice of the Alps. However, Otzi’s story may be unraveling as scientists uncover new information about the contents of his stomach, and the moments before his death.

Neuroscientists Say Human Brains Have Reached Peak Evolution

Human brains have reached an evolutionary "sweet spot", where further change would have serious trade-offs.

Despite what sci-fi writers have done with the idea that we “only use 10% of our brains”, researchers seem to point to the fact that, for now at least, we’ve maxed out our cognitive capacity. In movies like Limitless, people with enhanced brainpower are able to see into the future, remember everything they’ve ever experienced, or read other people’s minds. However, the reality is that our evolution seems to have hit a “sweet spot”, as psychologists Thomas Hill and Ralph Hertwig say, and can’t get much smarter without some significant evolutionary trade-offs.

After conducting a meta-analysis of a number of other studies on the potential for humanity increasing their brainpower, they’ve come to one significant conclusion. In order for people’s brains to evolve much beyond where they’re at now they would need to make some fairly serious genetic sacrifices. Many individuals with advanced cognitive abilities, “savants, people with photographic memories, and even genetically segregated populations of individuals with above average IQ”, they are also unusually susceptible to neural disorders like autism and synesthesia.

The Light Sleeping Gene

"Unfortunately for people with the variant, the sleep perk is offset by an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes."

Are you one of those people who can get by on only a fraction of the amount of sleep that others need? Do you stay up as late as the rest of us, yet still find it in you to bound out of bed at an early hour, entirely awake and refreshed? Turns out you may be genetically inclined to needing less sleep. I'm still jealous of you, even though I guess I can now blame my sluggish oversleeping tendencies on my DNA and not just my crippling lack of willpower. Yay?

The Science of Déjà Vu

Déjà vu!

Déjà vu is defined as a moment during which you have already seen or experienced something that, in actuality, you have never experienced. Déjà vu has happened to all of us. We are intimately familiar with a conversation with a group of friends that we’ve never had before, like we are watching ourselves talk from a place outside of our bodies. We travel to a remote Buddhist temple in Thailand and are certain that we were there before.