First, the scientists noticed that the yogurt-eating mice were incredibly shiny. Using both traditional histology techniques and cosmetic rating scales, the researchers showed that these animals had 10 times the active follicle density of other mice, resulting in luxuriantly silky fur.

On measuring the males, they found that the testicles of the yogurt consumers were about 5 percent heavier than those of mice fed typical diets alone and around 15 percent heavier than those of junk-eating males.

About the growing trend of amateur chemists perfecting their own drugs (both recreation and fitness) thanks to the proliferation of information on the internet.

Great article on brainstorming and a substory about Building 20 at MIT. Brainstorming is most effective when done alone and then later on with debate. Collaboration is essential, but brainstorming itself is actually detrimental.

Building 20 was a haphazard structure built temporarily for lab experiments during WWII and gave birth to radar. The lack of finish actually lent itself to being the "magic incubator" of ideas as people were forced to collaborate and felt inhibited, often modifying their surroundings to their own specifications.

Details the experiments and findings of split-brain patients, people who had surgery to fix seizures by slicing through her corpus callosum, the bundle of neuronal fibres connecting the two sides of her brain.

Solazyme was a company focused on finding renewable applications for algae, mostly to make oil. By feeding sugars to algae, oil is created and has been utilized in multiple applications including cosmetics. Food made with the algae flour is also much healthier and apparently tastes the same.

192kHz audio extends to 400% of the audible limit.192kHz digital music files offer no benefits. They're not quite neutral either; practical fidelity is slightly worse. The ultrasonics are a liability during playback.

All signal content under the Nyquist frequency (half the sampling rate) is captured perfectly and completely by sampling; infinity is not required. The sampled signal contains all of the information in the original analog signal, and the analog signal can be reconstructed losslessly. Sampling does not affect frequency response. Sampling is also completely phase neutral.

None of that is relevant to playback; here 24 bit audio is as useless as 192kHz sampling. The good news is that at least 24 bit depth doesn't harm fidelity. It just doesn't help, and also wastes space.

Empirical evidence from listening tests backs up the assertion that 44.1kHz/16 bit provides highest-possible fidelity playback

The easiest fix isn't digital. The most dramatic possible fidelty improvement comes from a good pair of headphones

Harvard economist empirically studying children and education.
- paying kids to get good grades has no effect on grades
- Five common elements to higher test scores: increased instructional time, data-driven instruction, feedback for teachers, tutoring (especially so), culture of high expectations
- emphasizes quick testing to keep results relevant

At Google X, a clandestine lab that many employees do not know exists, engineers and robotics experts are tackling a list of 100 shoot-for-the-stars ideas that eventually might not seem so far-fetched.