"Do you remember the 'tipping point' (i.e. the temperature rise that would cause irreversible effects on Earth)?" asks guest blogger Ioannis Zabetakis of the University of Athens. Scientists had suggested few years ago that this tipping point would be a rise of 2 oC on the average temperature of our planet. Since then, a lot of research has been carried out along with some “sexing up” of data (Sexing up climate data). The questions though about the strength of the data that have been used in order to ... Read on...

In order to evaluate the most risky limiting factors for food production worldwide, we need to take into consideration the availability of raw ingredients for agriculture and aquaculture. In the previous food security post from Ioannis Zabetakis the value of oils and the need to identify novel lipid sources was discussed. With this post, the issue of phosphorus availability is highlighted. Bio-essential elements Phosphorus (P) is one of the bio-essential elements. This term stands for those elements that are indispensably involved in the metabolism of any organism and/or ... Read on...

Why can't the most complex object in the universe, the human brain, render simple optical illusions? Our brains have really only evolved to cope with natural stimuli. At TEDYouth, Mark Changizi explains how the brain approaches optical illusions and why they work... Interestingly, there was a discussion earlier about how optical illusions don't always work for some people in some parts of the world as discussed in Adam Alter’s new book Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave.