This week’s biggest stories
Are your pants regularly on fire? Scientists may now know why, as a new study has shown that over time lies may desensitise brain to dishonesty. And sticking with the little grey cells, though we will never know if they told whoppers to each other, the discovery of the first fossilised dinosaur brain tissue is certainly exciting. You may also have thought that the Schiaparelli Mars mission was all over ... but ESA have released new images of the catastrophic crash - fingers crossed for a much better result with the rover. Biologically there’s been some good news too, as a trial demonstrated the effectiveness of a male contraceptive jab (the first progress in male contraceptives in over 40 years!) and stand by for some interesting archaeology as conservationists examine the original rock shelf or “burial bed” on which Jesus’s body is thought to have rested.
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Straight from the lab – top picks from our experts on the blog network
Thriller: why do our brains allow us to enjoy being scared? | Brain flapping
But why do people get such a kick out of fear? Looked at one way, it makes no logical sense. Fear is an unpleasant sensation, evolved to make us wary of and able/willing to avoid dangers. This is obviously a vital survival trait, and as such it’s very deeply entrenched in the workings of our brains.
Cannabis may enhance night vision | Neurophilosophy
25 years ago, pharmacologist M. E. West of the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, noted that local fisherman who smoke cannabis or drink rum made with the leaves and stems of the plant had ‘an uncanny ability to see in the dark,’ which enabled them to navigate their boats through coral reefs. ‘It was impossible to believe that anyone could navigate a boat without compass and without light in such treacherous surroundings.’
Can urban greenspace have an effect on children’s behaviour? | Head quarters
The authors estimated that the benefits of increased greenspace was equivalent to 2 to 2.5 years of behavioural maturation. The actual individual-level difference in aggressive behaviours was relatively small, but when looked at in the aggregate the difference from a public health perspective was impressive.
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Alex Bellos’s Monday puzzle
This week Alex commemorated the life of “prince of puzzles” Martin Gardner, with two brainteasing gems. Did you solve them?
Visit Alex Bellos’s Adventures in Numberland blog for more marvellous maths
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Science Weekly podcast
With genetic technologies such as synthetic biology advancing rapidly, are we right to tinker with the book of life? This week’s podcast features bioethicists Peter Singer, Jackie Leach Scully, and Julian Savulescu.
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Eye on science – this week’s top video
New images released by the European Space Agency on Thursday show a huge crater on Mars, caused by the impact of the Schiaparelli spacecraft hitting the surface. It was a catastrophe for Schiaparelli, but hopefully the engineers will be able to learn from the experience to successfully land a rover.
