In both ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, reflected images were thought to hold mysterious powers. Damaging a mirror was believed to invite the wrath of the gods.
A person’s resting metabolism is very sensitive to temperature, and offices are often too cold for people.
Steelcase/Wikimedia Commons
Kenneth McLeod, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Going back to work at an office? An expert explains how the relatively cool temperature many offices are kept at may affect your body – and your health.
It’s disconcerting to think the way two people perceive the world might be totally different.
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Neuroscientists tackling the age-old question of whether perceptions of color hold from one person to the next are coming up with some interesting answers.
Just 20 amino acids for chains in various combinations to create the thousands of varieties of proteins in our body.
David Goodsell/ProteinDatabase
An electrical engineer explains how smoke detectors work, and how to reduce the chances of a false positive.
Getting the job done. A female Asian water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) produced a daughter (left) without the assistance of a male.
Skip Brown/Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Mercedes Burns, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Parthenogenesis, a form of reproduction in which an egg develops into an embryo without being fertilized by sperm, might be more common than you realized.
The older you get, the more slowly you heal, and there are a number of reasons why.
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Healing is a complicated process. As people age, higher rates of disease and the fact that old cells lose the ability to divide slow this process down.
It’s hard to beat a good laugh with a friend.
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Hindu philosophy believes the soul to be immortal. Death is considered to be the end of only physical incarnation, as the soul continues its journey of multiple births until its final liberation.
Mosaic in San Vitale Basilica, Ravenna, Italy.
nimu1956/Collection E+ via Getty images