Life

Well-timed exercise might improve learning

  (Reuters Health) – Aerobic exercise four hours after a memorization task, but not exercise right afterwards, was linked to improved recall in a series of Dutch experiments. Newly-learned information turns into long-term knowledge through a process of stabilization and integration of memories, the study team writes in Current Biology. This requires certain brain chemicals that are also released during physical exercise, including dopamine, noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and a growth factor called BDNF, they explain. “The […]

Artist Christo’s latest installation, ‘Floating Piers’, set to open on Italy’s Lake Iseo

SULZANO, Italy (Reuters) — After under two years of planning but a personal cost of 15 million euros ($17 million), Bulgarian-born artist Christo, is set to inaugurate his latest art installation, this time in Italy. The project is entitled ‘The Floating Piers’, and it will allow people to literally walk on water. With a bird’s-eye view from the mountains overlooking Lake Iseo, 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Milan, the concept of the 81-year-old’s latest […]

Ten rolls of toilet paper make up this year’s winning wedding dress look

NEW YORK CITY, New York (Reuters ) — Shopping for a wedding dress can be both challenging and time consuming, but the 12th annual Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest spawned a more creative twist to bridal attire with ten contestants flushed with excitement. The competition, held by Cheap Chic Weddings and six-year sponsor Charmin, featured 10 out of the 1,500 designer candidates who applied. Contestants were only allowed to use toilet paper, glue, tape, and […]

Newly discovered Van Gogh sketchbook to be published

PARIS, France (AFP) — A sketchbook of drawings by Dutch post-Impressionist master Vincent Van Gogh has been discovered and will be published in November, the French publisher Seuil announced Thursday. “This sketchbook was known only to the owners, myself and the publisher,” Seuil official Bernard Comment told AFP, calling the discovery “stunning, dazzling”. The artwork will be released under the title “Vincent Van Gogh, Le Brouillard d’Arles” (The Fog of Arles), he said. The prolific […]

Desert telescope stakes out supermassive black hole

by Laurence COUSTAL Mariëtte Le Roux PARIS, France (AFP) — First postulated more than 230 years ago, black holes have been extensively researched, frequently depicted, even featured in sci-fi films. We’ve all seen the artists’ impressions and read of their ravenous star-gobbling feasts. But here’s the thing… science is still not 100 percent sure what they look like, how they behave or even that they exist. Telescopes have never seen a black hole, and the […]

Olli, a 3D printed, self-driving minibus, to hit the road in US

by Rob Lever NATIONAL, HARBOR, United States (AFP) — A new maker of self-driving vehicles burst onto the scene Thursday in partnership with IBM’s supercomputer platform Watson, and it’s ready to roll right now. The vehicle — a 3D-printed minibus called “Olli” capable of carrying 12 people — was unveiled by Arizona-based startup Local Motors outside the US capital city Washington. Olli was designed as an on-demand transportation solution that passengers can summon with a […]

Video game makers finding their way in virtual worlds

LOS ANGELES , United States (AFP) — Wizards duel and players transform into tribal warriors and fierce jaguars — welcome to the world of virtual reality at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game industry gathering. Virtual reality games got very real at E3 this year as studios show off titles tailored for Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, and Galaxy Gear VR headsets. “It feels like VR is everywhere and dominating the industry right […]

Uberpool launched in the Philippines

App-based ride-hailing service Uber on Wednesday launched its carpool version, Uberpool with the intention to ease traffic in Metro Manila by taking more cars off the road. Uber Philippines general manager Laurence Cua during Uberpool’s soft launch said that the service can accommodate up to three passengers who happen to ride along a similar route at the same time thus sharing fare. Uberpool is also 25 percent cheaper than its cheapest service UberX, whether passengers […]

Desert telescope stakes out supermassive black hole

by Laurence COUSTAL Mariëtte Le Roux PARIS, France (AFP) — First postulated more than 230 years ago, black holes have been extensively researched, frequently depicted, even featured in sci-fi films. We’ve all seen the artists’ impressions and read of their ravenous star-gobbling feasts. But here’s the thing… science is still not 100 percent sure what they look like, how they behave or even that they exist. Telescopes have never seen a black hole, and the […]

Disney CEO says China represents ‘incredible potential’

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — The Magic Kingdom comes to the Middle Kingdom this week when Disney opens its first theme park in mainland China, betting the growing middle class will spend big on leisure despite a slowing economy. The $5.5 billion resort, which opens Thursday, features the world’s biggest Disney castle, its blue-topped spires rising above land once occupied by farms and small factories on the outskirts of commercial hub Shanghai. Disney is seeking to […]

Researchers detect gravitational waves for a second time

by Jean-Louis SANTINI WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A team of international scientists said Wednesday that they had detected gravitational waves — ripples in space and time, which Albert Einstein predicted a century ago — for the second time. Einstein predicted the existence of the waves in his theory of relativity a century ago, and scientists have been able to detect them with an instrument known as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO. The […]

Nintendo focuses on Zelda for E3 success

E3 is all about making a lot of exciting announcements but Japanese company Nintendo, which is one of the oldest video gaming companies, decided to focus on just one. The company dedicated a large area nicknamed the ‘Nintendo Treehouse: Live’ solely to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’. Reggie Fils-Amie is the president and chief operating officer (COO) of Nintendo of America, who oversaw the company’s presence at E3. “So the Legend of […]