‘If recent rumors are true, scientists have finally detected gravitational waves—shockwaves rippling through space and time itself.

Albert Einstein first proposed the existence of gravitational waves 100 years ago, and directly observing them would provide the final vindication for his masterwork: the theory of general relativity.

On Thursday, we’ll find out if Einstein is right one last time. Researchers from Caltech and MIT will convene for a press conference where they may announce that they’ve picked up the tiny wobble of gravitational waves produced by two colliding black holes…’

Source: NatGeo

Scientists to announce detection of gravitational waves. Here’s how to watch.

Source: Tech Insider

See how hard it is to detect gravitational waves by playing this maddening online game

Source: Tech Insider

‘Fourteen women and nine men were found in a cremation burial near Stonehenge. These findings help support the theory that Stonehenge functioned as a cremation cemetery for people of high status…’

Source: Tech Insider

‘Horses understand human facial expressions, and they can tell the difference between happy and angry faces, according to a new Biology Letters study published this week.

Previous work has revealed that horses are able to produce complex facial expressions and also perceive these in other members of their species. They’re also sensitive to signals from us, too. After all, the ability to read emotions across the species barrier would be especially helpful for social, domesticated species – no matter how different our faces might look from theirs.

To see if they can discern our expressions, a University of Sussex team led by Amy Smith showed photographs to 28 domestic horses (Equus caballus) aged four to 23, recruited from five stables in Sussex and Surrey in the U.K. These color photos were of two unfamiliar men smiling or frowning (pictured to the right). In order for the researchers to get spontaneous reactions, the horses received no training for this experiment. The team measured the horses’ heart rate, which is correlated to stress, and recorded their responses with camcorders.

When the horses saw photos of the men making an angry face, their heart rate increased faster than when they looked at photos of the men smiling. Additionally, many of them also moved their heads to look at the angry photo with their left eye – a behavioral response previously linked to negative stimuli perception.

The right brain hemisphere, which handles information from the left eye, is specialized for processing threatening stimuli. “It is particularly important for animals to recognize threats in their environment,” Smith explains in a statement. “In this context, recognizing angry faces may act as a warning system, allowing horses to anticipate negative human behavior such as rough handling.” This is called the left-gaze bias, and dogs do it too. Neither species showed a gaze bias towards the happy facial expressions, since these aren’t threatening cues…’

Source: IFLScience

‘John McCain is very angry about the way the Republican race is going — on the specific issue of torturing detainees suspected of terrorism.”It’s been so disappointing to see some presidential candidates engaged in loose talk on the campaign trail about reviving waterboarding and other inhumane interrogation techniques,” McCain, who was himself tortured while he was held prisoner during the Vietnam War, said during a Tuesday Senate speech. “Our enemies act without conscience. We must not.”

McCain has good reason to be angry. Several Republicans have suggested that they’d be open to torturing suspected terrorists if elected — especially New Hampshire primary winner Donald Trump. “Waterboarding is fine, and much tougher than that is fine,” Trump said at a Monday campaign event in New Hampshire. “When we’re with these animals, we can’t be soft and weak, like our politicians.” Previously, Trump promised to “bring back” types of torture “a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding” during Saturday’s Republican debate. The rest of the GOP field took a somewhat more nuanced position. Marco Rubio categorically refused to rule out any torture techniques, for fear of helping terrorists “practice how to evade us.” …’

Source: Vox

‘Famed Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates finally confessed to whom he’s supporting in the Democratic primary. It seems the MacArthur Genius Grant recipient is feeling the Bern. “I will be voting for Sen. Sanders,” Coates told host Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. Coates said he was initially avoiding the question, hoping to separate his role as a writer from his views as a private citizen, but no longer saw value in staying neutral. He said his son, who was present for the interview, convinced him to reach that point…’

Source: Vox