Cows producing low-fat, skim and allergy free milk? Bees producing colorful honey? Reality as the blind see it? All these stories and more are in our picks this week.
From studying slices of his brilliant brain to probing profound physics theories, scientists and enthusiasts alike have long been spellbound by Albert Einstein. Now, an auction is offering the world a peek at Einstein's thoughts on what may be humanity's most profound question: the existence of God. <br><br> The private letter written by Einstein expressing his views on God and religion will go up for auction Monday (Oct. 8) on eBay. In the letter, he calls belief in religion and God "pretty childish" and ridicules the idea that the Jews are a chosen people. <br><br> "This is the most historic and significant piece we have listed on eBay," Eric Gazin, president of Auction Cause, the agency managing the sale, told LiveScience in an email. "We are excited to offer a person or organization an opportunity to own perhaps one of the most intriguing 20th-century documents in existence. This personal letter from Einstein represents the nexus of science, theology, reason and culture."<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23758-einstein-god-letter-auction.html>Einstein's Letter Questioning God Goes Up for Auction</a>]
Hives of candy-crazy bees in France are reportedly producing honey colored blue and green.<br><br> But honey-lovers hoping for something strange to put on their English muffins are likely to be disappointed: The oddly colored honey is not for sale, according to France24.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23754-candy-bees-colored-honey.html>M&M-Loving Bees Make Colorful Honey</a>]
Last night's (Oct. 3) presidential debate may not have been about words. The candidates' physical behavior, including their gestures and expressions, made the impression that will last, according to anthropologist David Givens.<br><br> "If you turn off the sound, you will feel or see what most Americans are feeling or seeing. If you turn the sound back on, the words get in the way of the nonverbal," Givens said. "You can't identify what the cues are." <br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23733-body-language-presidential-debates.html>Contrast in Body Language Defined Presidential Debate</a>]
An Austrian daredevil is gearing up to make the world's highest skydive on Monday (Oct. 8), a high-flying leap from 23 miles above Earth that promises to break more than one record if all goes according to plan.<br><br> Veteran skydiver Felix Baumgartner, 43, will make the jump, thereby becoming the first person ever to freefall faster than the speed of sound. His skydive will also be the highest ever, superceding a record set in 1960 by U.S. Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger by more than 3 miles (5 kilometers).<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23710-physics-supersonic-skydive.html>The Physics of the First-Ever Supersonic Skydive</a>]
Paul Gabias has never seen a table. He was born prematurely and went blind shortly thereafter, most likely because of overexposure to oxygen in his incubator. And yet, Gabias, 60, has no trouble perceiving the table next to him. "My image of the table is exactly the same as a table," he said. "It has height, depth, width, texture; I can picture the whole thing all at once. It just has no color."<br><br> If you have trouble constructing a mental picture of a table that has no color — not even black or white — that's probably because you're blinded by your ability to see. Sighted people visualize the surrounding world by detecting borders between areas rich in different wavelengths of light, which we see as different colors. Gabias, like many blind people, builds pictures using his sense of touch, and by listening to the echoes of clicks of his tongue and taps of his cane as these sounds bounce off objects in his surroundings, a technique called echolocation.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23709-blind-people-picture-reality.html>How Do Blind People Picture Reality?</a>]
A recent expedition to the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia turned up some trippy species: bioluminescent mushrooms, stalk-eyed flies, jumping spiders and a pitcher plant that doubles as a toilet for small animals.<br><br> "It has been a successful expedition," team leader Menno Schilthuizen, of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, said in a statement. "A lot of material has been collected … Now the next phase will start, namely DNA research into the relationships."<br><br> The team of Dutch and Malaysian researchers aimed to investigate the biodiversity around Mount Kinabalu, Borneo's highest point, and they say they've collected some 3,500 DNA samples of more than 1,400 species of plants, fungi and animals. Of these, they've identified about 160 species previously unknown to science, inlcuding spiders, mushrooms, beetles, snails, damselflies, ferns, termites and possibly a frog.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23696-borneo-species.html>Glowing Mushrooms, Stalk-Eyed Bugs & Plant Toilet Found in Borneo</a>]
Archaeologists say they've discovered what could be the tomb of one of the greatest Mayan rulers, the seventh-century warrior queen Lady K'abel.<br><br> The tomb was revealed during digging at the ancient Maya city of El Perú-Waka' in the rain forest of northern Guatemala. Alongside the body, excavators found a white jar shaped like a conch shell with the head and arm of a woman carved at the opening. The artifact had four hieroglyphs that suggest it belonged to K'abel.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23680-tomb-mayan-queen.html>Mayan Tomb May Belong to Warrior Queen</a>]
Fragments of a 1.5-million-year-old skull from a child recently found in Tanzania suggest early hominids weren't just occasional carnivores but regular meat eaters, researchers say.<br><br> The finding helps build the case that meat-eating helped the human lineage evolve large brains, scientists added.<br><br> "I know this will sound awful to vegetarians, but meat made us human," said researcher Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, an archaeologist at Complutense University in Madrid. <br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23671-eating-meat-made-us-human.html>Eating Meat Made Us Human, Suggests New Skull Fossil</a>]
Spanish archaeologists have discovered an impressive structure with 4,200-year-old outer walls and six pyramid-shaped towers, representing the most architecturally advanced Bronze Age fortress.<br><br> Called La Bastida, the Spanish fortification system stood in the sierras of Totana, in the southeastern Murcia region. It was built with large stones and lime mortar and consisted of 10-foot-thick walls that were once 22 feet high and imposing pyramid-based towers. <br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23652-ancient-fortress-found-in-spain.html>Ancient Fortress Found in Spain</a>]
For the first time, scientists have peered down to the level of a single electron and observed quantum states that had only been theorized before.<br><br> Researchers imaged the magnetic orbits of electrons called Landau levels, which were predicted in 1930 by Nobel Prize winner Lev Landau. These orbits represent the curved paths electrons travel when exposed to very strong magnetic fields.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23639-electron-quantum-landau-levels-imaged.html>Electrons' Elusive Hideouts Imaged for First Time</a>]
People allergic to whey may be able to drink newly engineered milk without the unpleasant digestive consequences, according to research released today (Oct. 1).<br><br> A team of New Zealand researchers genetically engineered a cow named Daisy to produce milk free of β-lactoglobulin protein that can cause allergic skin, digestive and respiratory reactions predominantly in infants.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/23615-transgenic-cow-hypoallergenic-milk-whey.html>Holy Cow! 'Daisy' Makes Hypoallergenic Milk</a>]
