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“When we fall under the spell of a charismatic figure, areas of the brain responsible for scepticism and vigilance become less active. That’s the finding of a study which looked at people’s response to prayers spoken by someone purportedly possessing divine healing powers.” (New Scientist via miguel)
‘Stephen Hawking, a self-described “physicist, cosmologist and something of a dreamer,” offers instructions on how to build a time machine in an article for the Daily Mail. “All you need is a wormhole, the Large Hadron Collider or a rocket that goes really, really fast,” the article promises.’
‘A Brooklyn attorney hopes to break new ground this week when he offers a brain scan as evidence that a key witness in a civil trial is telling the truth, Wired.com has learned.
If the fMRI scan is admitted, it would be a legal first in the United States and could have major consequences for the future of neuroscience in court.’ (Wired Science)
‘A Russian MP has asked President Dmitry Medvedev to investigate claims by a regional president that he has met aliens on board a spaceship.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the leader of the southern region of Kalmykia, made his claim in a television interview.
MP Andre Lebedev is not just asking whether Mr Ilyumzhinov is fit to govern.
He is also concerned that, if he was abducted, he may have revealed details about his job and state secrets.’ (BBC News)
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