Google making us smarter?

As explained in this short piece and the embedded video, brain research is uncovering evidence that using tech may increase cognitive functioning.

There has been a debate over whether the Internet is making us stupid, that I blogged about a year or so ago.

The science of fall colors

Discovery has a nice slide show on why some leaves turn red and others turn yellow.

Lampreys getting a bad rap?

On Boing Boing, an interesting article about the differences between native river lampreys and invasive sea lampreys in the Great Lakes region, and developments in the poisoning methods being used to control the latter in order to minimize harm to the former.

The role of cooking in evolution

In the UK’s Telegraph, Simon Ings reviews Richard Wrangham’s book Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human.

Spread of invasive snakes in the U.S.

Wired reports on the growing problem of large, non-native snake species such as the Burmese Python that have established breeding populations (or could in the near future) and threaten to spread in Florida and other warm regions.

Thought screen helmet

New headgear fashion for fall. Stylish AND practical…

And in related news, check out research into telepathy reported by Popular Science.

Surprisingly, alligators are monogamous to a large extent

As reported by Wired.

New findings on Australian megafauna extinctions

Research described in Wired Science finds that large mammals were going extinct in Eastern Australia during the period from 120,000 to 55,000 years ago, before humans arrived.  Climate change is hypothesized as the primary cause of these extinctions.

Refurbished Hubble Telescope

New images up on the Hubble site.

More on enhancement

This article in UK’s Prospect describes research likely to lead to drugs that will improve human performance and encourage socially beneficial behavior, and debates over the ethical implications. I posted on this issue some months back.