1. Cosmological study concludes that there should be nothing, rather than something.
2. Those with episodic amnesia are not “stuck in time“, says Carl Craver (Washington U. in St.Louis).
3. Does a simulation of time-traveling photons help resolve the grandfather paradox?
4. Biology and politics: people are more likely to vote if they have low levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.
5. Are fish smarter than we think, and does that matter?
Science News of Interest
The cosmological study is misleading. Its argument is that *if* the recent BICEP2 “observation” of B-mode polarisation is correct, *then* the universe should not exist. However, serious questions have been raised about the BICEP2 finding. In particular, it appears that the BICEP people might have seriously underestimated B-mode polarisation from ordinary cosmic dust–a fact which, if it turns out to indeed be the case (this isn’t clear yet), would render the new paper (“the universe shouldn’t exist) a red herring.