Science and Culture correspondent
Science
Hormones are chemical messengers that coordinate different functions in the body. The endocrine system, which is made up of all the body's different hormones, regulates all biological processes in the body, from growth and metabolism to conception and brain development. Hormones, produced by glands, regulate long-term ongoing processes
Science
Introduction to the Nervous System The first principle of the biological approach to behaviour is that behaviour is the product of physiology. The term physiology is an umbrella term that encapsulates the structure and function of the nervous and endocrine systems. However, to fully understand this principle, one has to
Science
Introduction to Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change by modifying synaptic connections between neurons typically caused by genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors refers to the normal pre-programmed development of the brain, while environmental factors include injury, brain damage or acquiring new skills. Naturally, there are
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Localization of function is an idea that explores the connection between patterns of behaviour and parts of the brain. This idea has a long history, dating back to ancient times when scholars like Hippocrates speculated about the brain's role in behaviour. However, it was not until the 19th
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The Little Albert experiment was a famous psychology experiment conducted by John B. Watson and graduate student Rosalie Rayner, in the mid-20th century. Inspired by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, who conducted experiments demonstrating the conditioning process in dogs, Watson wanted to take the research a step further by demonstrating that
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What is Temperament? Temperament is the way children respond to the world, influencing the way they handle emotions, regulate behaviour, feel around new people and adapt to new environments. These individual characteristics are assumed to have a biological basis, appear early in development and play a role in subsequent social
Science
Katherine Johnson has been noted as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist. Her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, NACA, is exemplary as she mastered complex calculations and pioneered the use of computers in her field. In fact, the success of the first
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Hypatia was one of the last great thinkers of ancient Alexandria as well as one of the first women to study and teach mathematics, astronomy and philosophy. Though remembered more for her brutal death on the streets of Alexandria in the year 415, her life was an interesting and dramatic
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Mae Carol Jemison, born October 17, 1956, is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She is known for being the first African-American woman to travel into space, serving as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during which it visited the Earth for nearly eight days on
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Marie Curie, a Polish-French physicist and chemist, was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, as well as the only woman to be awarded the prize in two different fields. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics together with her husband, Pierre Curie, in 1903. And in 1911
Culture
Frédéric Chopin was a Polish French composer and pianist of the Romantic period and is best known for his solo pieces for piano; particularly, the twenty-one nocturnes that he wrote between the years 1827 and 1846, which are considered among the finest short solo works for the piano. Chopin’s
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The Origins of Zeno's Paradoxes The origins of paradoxes and how Zeno of Elea contributed to their development. The Origins of Paradoxes The term paradox comes from the Greek para ("contrary to") and doxa ("opinion). The exact definition of the word has evolved over time.
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Criminal profiling describes the method use to make inferences about the physical, habitual, emotional and psychological characteristics of suspected criminals. This is used to identify likely suspects and even predict future offences and victims. The Roots of Criminal Profiling Criminal profiling dates back to the late nineteenth century when two
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Trigonometry is the branch of mathematics that deals with the study of the relationship between the sides and angles of a right-angle triangle. Thus, it helps in finding the measure of unknown dimensions of a right-angled triangle using trigonometric formulas, functions, or trigonometric identities. There are six functions of an
Culture
Early Life Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa on 27 October 1782 to Antonio and Teresa Paganini. Though an unsuccessful ship chandler, his father, Antonio, made a humble living as a musician. At five years old, Paganini started learning the mandolin from his father, however, he switched to the violin
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It is safe to assume that many of us are familiar with the quadratic formula, which allows one to find the root(s) of quadratic equations in the form of ax²+bx+c=0. A quadratic equation is a polynomial equation in which the highest power of x is exactly