This Week’s NOVA Next Feature Article
When birds sing, are they being creative? Or is their apparent artistry just an accident of biology? NOVA Production Assistant/NOVA Next contributor Allison Eck reports on new songbird research and what it could tell us about creativity and its role in the learning process.
In other news from NOVA and around the web:
- Astrophysicists may have arrived at the first-ever indirect evidence of dark matter . And it’s coming from the center of our galaxy.
- “A time machine is definitely the sort of thing that might let us tackle problems too hard even for a quantum computer .”
- You might not feel like a fish, but parts of your anatomy are pretty similar to one. Check out our interactive from Neil Shubin’s book, “Your Inner Fish,” and watch the PBS series airing the next two Wednesdays at 10/9c, part of PBS’ Think Wednesdays.
- Marine biologists are building an underwater biodome —off the Antarctic coast—to test how acidification affects life.
- This infographic about the ocean’s depth might terrify you.
- Your baby might like these eco-friendly diapers made from jellyfish .
Did you miss "Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius"? Stream it here—and remember, it will only be available for the next four weeks.
- Did diseases give us the world’s cultures ?
- Neglected diseases are anything but rare, and few drugs exist to treat them. Here’s what we can do to change that.
- The 1918 virus was a deadly strain. Scientists are trying to learn why so they can prevent the next one.
- Percy Julian’s birthday was Friday. Discover how Julian, the grandson of Alabama slaves, overcame adversity and found freedom in the laboratory with “Forgotten Genius,” streaming online .
- Want to boost your creativity? Try using your non-dominant hand .
- Williams Syndrome is, in some ways, the opposite of autism. Here’s what it’s like to live with it.
- We challenge you to name these cities based on their light “fingerprints.”
- What do you get when you mix DNA origami inside a cockroach? A nanobot computer .