Zolpidem tartrate, or Ambien, has been prescribed to millions of insomniacs internationally, yet those who use the drug to ensure a good night's sleep are seldom aware it also possesses the ability to normalise functioning in certain types of damaged neurons, a phenomenon called "the Ambien effect", The first awakening occurred in 1999 when a man who had spent three years in a persistent vegetativ
This summer, the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way is getting ready to feast.A gas cloud three times the size of our planet has strayed within the gravitational reach of our nearest supermassive black hole. And across the globe, telescopes are being trained on the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, some 27,000 light years from Earth, in the expectation of observing this unique cosmic spect
Nuclear propulsion offers speeds of 10% the speed of light and can make our solar system explorable as well as enhancing the unmanned satellite missions and furthering our knowledge. It is now clear to everyone that the USA only engaged in space exploration out of a despicable egocentric power struggle with the Soviet Union that only exists in the minds of the elites on all sides but not to every
This is the epic story of the stars, and how discovering their tale has transformed our own understanding of the universe.Once we thought the sun and stars were gods and giants. Now we know, in a way, our instincts were right. The stars do all have their own characters, histories and role in the cosmos. Not least, they played a vital part in creating us.There are old, bloated red giants, c
Diamonds are made out of carbon, highly organized carbon, that is. Geologists are still guessing how diamonds formed in the Earth from 1 billion to 3 billion years ago, according to a recent study in the journal Nature, but they think the recipe follows something like this:1. Bury carbon dioxide 100 miles into Earth.2. Heat to about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit.3. Squeeze under pressure of 725,0
Can you think of 100 different uses for a sock? How would you cope with glasses that turn everything upside down? What's your emotional intelligence? Can you create a work of art in ten minutes?Horizon takes seven people who are some of the highest flyers in their field - a musical prodigy, a quantum physicist, an artist, a dramatist, an RAF fighter pilot, a chess grandmaster and a Wall Street
A fascinating BBC Horizon program from 1984 looking at the greatest unsolved problems in mathematics including Fermat’s Last Theorem (since solved), The Goldback Conjecture, The Riemann hypothesis, the P=NP Problem, and more. Featuring interviews with many modern mathematicians, this documentary also looks at the history of maths and some of if it’s major players from Euclid to Bertrand Russe
It is a feeling we all know, the moment when a light goes on in your head. In a sudden flash of inspiration, a new idea is born. Today, scientists are using some unusual techniques to try to work out how these moments of creativity - whether big, small or life-changing - come about. They have devised a series of puzzles and brainteasers to draw out our creative behavior, while the very latest neur
Stephen Hawking is the most famous scientist on the planet. His popular science book A Brief History of Time was a publishing sensation, staying at the top of the bestseller lists longer than any other book in recent history. But behind the public face lies an argument that has been raging for almost 30 years.Hawking shot to fame in the world of physics when he provided a mathematical