Science

The traditional practice of using night dreams to make major life decisions is in widespread use among modern Muslims, reveals a new study. Night dreams are being used to make choices on issues such as marriage, business, career development and politics. Research leader, Durham University anthropologist Dr Iain Edgar focused on the centuries-old practice of Istikhara, or Islamic 'dream incubation'. His study is the first comprehensive and the most contemporary academic study on Istikhara prayer...

The brain’s right hemisphere is not involved in the initial processes of reading in Arabic, due to the graphic complexity of Arabic script. Therefore reading acquisition in Arabic is much harder in comparison to English, researchers have concluded. This has been shown in a series of studies that were carried out at the Department of Psychology and the Edmond J Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities at the University of Haifa. These studies have been published in the...

Even some of the most advanced technology in medicine couldn't get Clarisse to give up all her secrets. After all, she's kept protected them for more than 50 million years. Clarisse is a snake, found in the Fossil Butte region of Wyoming, perfectly fossilised in limestone and the only one of her kind known to be in existence. Palaentologist Hussan Zaher travelled to Houston at the invitation of the Museum of Natural Science to study her. He brought the precious find to the Methodist Hospital and...

Biases in eyewitness identifications in police line-ups have been observed empirically. Now scientists would be finding out more about these biases to determine if people avoid pointing the finger at someone they like in a police line-up. Eyewitness misidentification is the biggest cause of wrongful convictions the world over. In the US alone, more than 75 percent of convictions have been overturned through DNA testing. Till now, however, no one has studied this aspect of human behaviour...

The Intermountain West in the US is renowned for the beauty of its towering mountains and high deserts, but the region’s lofty altitudes significantly influence a deadly problem: the high prevalence of suicides in this part of the country. Researchers have found that the risk for suicide increases by nearly one-third at an altitude of 2,000 metres, or approximately 6,500 feet above sea level. The Western US states have some of the highest average elevations in the nation and, according to data...