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What do Finding Nemo and Robocop have in common? Not much, except that they both feature characters who suffer amnesia. Amnesia is a common plot device in movies and TV shows, but how accurate are these depictions? In television and movies, memory loss caused by a knock to the head (post-traumatic amnesia) is shown as fairly common, when it is actually quite rare. Unlike in movies and television shows that feature amnesia, most knocks to the head will not produce memory loss. In reality, memory loss or amnesia is much more likely to occur as the result of a stroke, brain infection, or brain surgery. So while amnesia causes people or characters to lose memories in both film and reality, characters are usually “fixed” by taking another knock to the head. In reality, people are not cured so simply.

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What would you do if you awoke one day and discovered that you could not create new memories? You might remember everything that occurred in your life up to the point of an injury, but could not form new memories beyond that. This condition is called “anterograde amnesia,” and it is difficult to treat, but doctors and therapists recommend these steps: first, use technology to help. A cell phone with a calendar reminder can do much to offset this condition. Second, use helpers. Having people to assist with daily tasks, like paying bills, will prove quite helpful. Lastly, seek therapy. While there is no cure for anterograde amnesia, memory training may help the afflicted live a more normal life. Currently, there are no chemical medications or drugs that will alleviate this condition.

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What do you get when you cross a robot and an astronaut? A Robonaut! Robonauts are robot helpers designed to work side-by-side with astronauts. Work on the first Robonaut began in 1997, and by 2002 Robonaut B was revealed to the public. Robonaut B may have featured interchangeable lower bodies, like four-wheel mode or hydraulic legs, but scientists and engineers continued to improve Robonaut. In February of 2010, Robonaut 2 was released to the public. Robonaut 2 moved four times faster than the first Robonaut. An advanced version of Robonaut 2 was finally tested in outer space in 2011. Robonaut functioned exactly as designed.

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Automation is the use of machines to reduce the need for human labor. In other words automation is when jobs done by people become jobs done by robots. Automation can be a good thing. Because of automation, clothing, cars, and other manufactured products are available at good prices and in large supply. But automation can also be a bad thing. Because of automation, there are over 700,000 robots in America alone that do jobs once performed by humans. The way of automation may not be best for humanity, but it is the course we are taking.

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It is widely acknowledged fact that machines are stronger than people, but is it possible for them to become smarter than us too? Some scientists fear that it is, or so says the theory of technological singularity. In a nut shell, the theory of technological singularity says that when a computer becomes capable of improving its own capabilities, even in just the slightest way, it will go into an infinite loop, getting progressively smarter, which would inevitably lead to machines becoming smarter than people, or so the theory goes. Such gains in available intelligence might lead to huge improvements in science and medicine. Diseases could be cured and so forth. On the other hand, it could lead to the total domination of mankind by robots, which would be bad. I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords.

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Being a clown isn’t all fun and games. Rodeo clowns expose themselves to great danger every time they perform. When cowboys dismount or are bucked off of bulls at riding competitions, rodeo clowns jump in front of the bulls and motion wildly to get their attention. In this way rodeo clowns provide an alternate target, and in doing so protect the rider. So you see, sometimes clowning around can be serious business.

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The wolverine, a medium sized mammal weighing no more than 50 lbs., has earned its reputation for ferocity with its documented ability to kill prey many times its size. The reason why wolverines have so many conflicts with other animals (including wolves, cougars, and even bears) is probably because of the wolverine’s preferred hunting style. Rather than chasing down or tricking its prey like most hunters, the wolverine prefers to take its meals directly from other hunters. So while a polar bear or a lone wolf might be enjoying a hard earned carcass, a hungry wolverine may try to take his lunch. This keeps the wolverine in plenty of fights.

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Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a gym teacher at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He wanted a vigorous game that would keep his students moving. After rejecting a few other ideas because they were too rough or not suited for the walled-in gym, Naismith wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith’s students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn’t a part of the original game, and it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed, but this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today. Can you guess which one?

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The term “machine gun” is commonly applied to any gun that is designed to fire repeatedly and in rapid succession for as long as the trigger is held down. During the course of warfare, the trigger of some machine guns may be held down almost continuously for hours to create suppressant fire (rounds fired not necessarily to kill an enemy, but to prevent them from attacking). All of this firing can generate a lot of heat, which may cause the weapon to overheat and malfunction. But this situation has been addressed in a number of ways. For one, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, which allows air to cool the breach between bursts of fire. Additionally, some machine guns have removable barrels, which allow hot barrels to be replaced. And some advanced machine guns even have sophisticated barrel cooling systems, which maintain a functional heat level within the weapon. As you might have concluded, a lot of brain power has gone into keeping those guns firing.

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What’s that humming sound? Could it be hummingbird, the only bird capable of backward flight? Hummingbirds have many unique flight habits that distinguish them from other birds. Most birds flap their wings up and down to fly, but the hummingbird moves its wings forward and backward very rapidly in a figure eight pattern. This allows the hummingbird to hover in position, fly upside down, and move about very rapidly. And while other birds have to push off with their feet to begin flying, and work their ways up to their top speeds, the hummingbird can both start flying at maximum speed and stop flying instantaneously. After you’ve seen a hummingbird in flight, it’s unlikely that you’ll mistake them for another bird.