Some species do appear to practise construction skills — birds in particular — and to require some mental flexibility in starting the process. But ultimately, animals build the way they do because they are genetically programmed to do so, Hansell concludes. But evolution can lead to surprising results. Hansell notes that most of our closest primate relatives create little more than temporary sh...

In this paper we describe a system that uses patterns of eye blinks as a biometric. Each user chooses a personal blink pattern based on a song (for example “Jingle Bells”). To establish their identity, the user looks at the system’s camera and blinks to the cadence of their chosen song. Computer vision is used to detect the blinks and to compare the blinked cadence to a database of stored blink...

Previous progress towards instituting carbon emission caps in the US have been derailed by fears (voiced most prominently by the current administration) that such regulations would stifle the American economy. There has been progress, however, as exemplified by the bipartisan support for the Lieberman– Warner Climate Stewardship Act, which, while not reaching a full vote by the Senate this year...