Category: Music

Curiositys, Drugs, Health, Media&Culture, Music, ScienceLeave a comment

Ozzy Osbourne is a genetic mutant, DNA research proves

Fernando Kaskais

Scientists have studied rocker Ozzy Osbourne’s genes, and as suspected he’s got super-boozer DNA. Alamy Stock Photo By Hailey Eber In 2010, when scientists at Knome Inc. were looking to study a remarkable human’s DNA, they didn’t ring up Steve Jobs or Beyoncé. Instead, the Cambridge, Mass.-based human genome company reached out to Ozzy Osbourne. They wanted to know what genes had kept the rocker alive through decades of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Their findings did not disappoint. They discovered a never-before-seen mutation that may explain Osbourne’s ability to consume alcohol in great quantities and several genetic variations that predisposed … Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne is a genetic mutant, DNA research proves

Curiositys, Living, Media&Culture, Music, TechnologyLeave a comment

How to Utilize Your Music Playlist to Improve Productivity

Fernando Kaskais

BY BENTEJES People love their music. With music now accessible in so many ways and in so many settings, using music as an aid to work is commonplace. PJ Kaka argued in her Pick the Brain Article can temporarily make you smarter and can reduce stress. Many folks claim their music is essential to a successful work day. How important is your playlist to achieving greater productivity? If the music you play (or don’t play) while at work helps you get things done efficiently, keep it up. Don’t mess with success. If however, you aren’t satisfied with your musical landscape during work hours, … Continue reading How to Utilize Your Music Playlist to Improve Productivity

Curiositys, Media&Culture, Music, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

Scientists Find Key to Sending Data Through Music: Van Halen

Fernando Kaskais

Ebet Roberts/Getty They say rock songs could be used to share WiFi passwords or short messages. by Shira Feder A song plays in a crowded supermarket. To some people, this is just background Muzak, stuff their cerebral cortex is barely processing as they focus on what they want to buy for dinner. But others can whip out their smartphones and discover that embedded in the music is information, maybe a wifi password or a website URL, or an alert that there’s a sale on apples in aisle three. That scenario is the vision Simon Tanner and Manuel Eichelberger, two Ph.D … Continue reading Scientists Find Key to Sending Data Through Music: Van Halen

Brain, Drugs, Living, Music, PsychologyLeave a comment

Robbie Williams says he considered suicide during a period where he was “doing a lot of coke”

Fernando Kaskais

Robbie Williams by Damian Jones The singer opened up about his previous mental health issues during a recent interview Robbie Williams has admitted that he considered taking his own life during a period when he was doing “a lot of coke”. The singer, speaking in a new interview, recalled that it happened while he was living at a “dark” house in Primrose Hill, London and thought he was experiencing paranormal activity. Speaking to Jo Wood on her Alien Nation podcast, Williams said: ”Instantly I picked up on it being weird and dark and having an energy. The first time it manifested itself as … Continue reading Robbie Williams says he considered suicide during a period where he was “doing a lot of coke”

Curiositys, Media&Culture, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Science, SpaceLeave a comment

The Jazz of Physics: Cosmologist and Saxophonist Stephon Alexander on Decoding the Song of the Universe

Fernando Kaskais

Art by Vladimir Radunsky from On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne. “It is less about music being scientific and more about the universe being musical.” BY MARIA POPOVA “All truth is comprised in music and mathematics,” Margaret Fuller wrote as she was spearheading the Transcendentalist movement and laying the groundwork for what would later be called feminism. A century and a half after Fuller, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and jazz saxophonist Stephon Alexander examines this dual seedbed of truth in The Jazz of Physics (public library) — part memoir of his improbable path to science and music, part captivating primer on modern … Continue reading The Jazz of Physics: Cosmologist and Saxophonist Stephon Alexander on Decoding the Song of the Universe

Animals, Brain, Curiositys, Living, Music, PsychologyLeave a comment

What Makes Music Special to Us?

Fernando Kaskais

Clarifying the differences between what animals and humans hear. BY HENKJAN HONING We are all born with a predisposition for music, a predisposition that develops spontaneously and is refined by listening to music. Nearly everyone possesses the musical skills essential to experiencing and appreciating music. Think of “relative pitch,”recognizing a melody separately from the exact pitch or tempo at which it is sung, and “beat perception,”hearing regularity in a varying rhythm. Even human newborns turn out to be sensitive to intonation or melody, rhythm, and the dynamics of the noise in their surroundings. Everything suggests that human biology is already … Continue reading What Makes Music Special to Us?