Woman sleeping, possible losing weight?Jupiterimages
A roundup of some of the week's science headlines:
He's just dreamy: Scientists in Japan say they have discovered a way to "read" dreams using MRI scans. The researchers used the scans to find the active parts of the brain when participants first fell asleep, news agency Agence France-Presse reported Friday. Then they asked the study's participants to describe their dreams, and compared their responses to data from the brain scans to build a database. That database was used to predict the images found in dreams a 60 per cent accuracy rate. That level of accuracy jumped to more than 70 per cent with some specific items including men, words and books. Next goals include predicting smells, colours, and even entire dream plotlines. The study was published in the journal Science. – Aleysha Haniff
Shine a light on the dark: Scientists said on Wednesday they may be close to tracking down the mysterious "dark matter," a substance that makes up more than a quarter of the universe but has never been seen. A final identification of what makes up the enigmatic material would open up whole new areas of research including the possibility of multiple universes and other dimensions, said physicists. An international team at Geneva's CERN research centre said it had picked up what might be the first physical trace left by dark matter while studying cosmic rays recorded on board the International Space Station over the past 18 months. They had found a surge of positron particles which may have been created by decaying dark matter – a substance so central to the universe it sets the position of planets and stars. – Reuters
(For the Globe's take on dark matter, read science reporter Ivan Semeniuk's article here.)
Big brain: A military museum in Maryland is exhibiting what it calls the first three-dimensional image of Albert Einstein's brain. The image is based on photographs made by pathologist Thomas Harvey before he sliced the brain into microscopically thin sections for scientific study after the famed physicist died in 1955. Visitors to the museum can use a touch screen to view the brain from different angles. The exhibit at the National Museum of Health and Medicine is on display through May. – The Associated Press