Arts & Entertainment, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 30, 2007

The Blurry World of Claude Monet Recreated

Claude Monet's paintings diffuse into nothing more than a fuzzy riot of color when viewed too closely. Ironically, the impressionist's vision got cloudy late in life, and his whole world blurred like, well, like a Monet. Now scientists have recreated the world as Monet saw it. The new perspective reveals...

Dec 31, 2006

Amateur Historian Claims He's Found Mona Lisa's Resting Place

ROME (AP)—The world's most famously enigmatic woman may have shed some of her mystery. An amateur historian said Friday that he has found the final resting place of the woman some believe inspired Leonardo da Vinci's most renowned painting, the Mona Lisa.'' A death certificate shows that Lisa Gherardini—the Renaissance...

Sep 30, 2008

'Stayin' Alive' Sets Perfect Beat for CPR

CHICAGO (AP) — Stayin' Alive might be more true to its name than the Bee Gees ever could have guessed: At 103 beats per minute, the old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help jump-start a stopped heart. And in a small but intriguing study from the University...

Sep 30, 2008

Top 10 Scariest Movies Ever

That's Scary! Researchers have found that closing your eyes can make creepy music feel creepier. (Image credit: Stockexpert)Some films have it all, that is, all the goods to make for a frightening, must-leave-the-lights-on, lots of gore and splatter, flick. Here are 10 of the scariest movies ever made. They are...

Mar 31, 2008

Magician Breaks World Record for Holding One's Breath

CHICAGO (AP) — Magician David Blaine set a new world record Wednesday for breath-holding: 17 minutes and 4 seconds. The feat was broadcast live during “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and the studio audience cheered as divers pulled Blaine from a water-filled sphere. He looked relaxed afterward and said the record...

Dec 31, 2007

Secrets Behind Oscar Nominations Revealed

Movie star Cate Blanchett’s recent stirring performances may not have been the only reason she got two Oscar nods this week. Academy Award nominations tend to go to performers in dramas, who are female, who have been nominated in the past and who command a high rank in the movie-credit...

Jun 30, 2009

Fiber Fabric Could Create Whole-Body Cameras

Flexible translucent fibers woven into a fabric can capture light and turn it into images without a camera lens, researchers announced this week. Scientists say the optoelectronic fiber could lead to bizarre new imaging products like a wall-sized, all-seeing camera or a soldier's uniform that captures 360-degree views. Fabric composed...

Mar 31, 2009

Let's Fantasize: Could You Be Batman?

One of the endearing qualities of Batman is that, unlike all other mainstream superheroes, he possesses no supernatural powers. He had no brush with radioactivity to endow him with amazing strength and agility instead of thyroid cancer. The source to his power does not lie within a special ring or...

Feb 28, 2009

DVD Habits Reveal Your Character

If you buy a movie on a DVD instead of renting it, you probably have a higher level of education, value your independence, have a greater interest in the cinema in general, and are a more selective consumer. In a recent article in Applied Economics, researchers at the universities of...

Nov 30, 2010

Are the Newly Found Picasso Paintings Real?

An elderly French couple has come forward with 271 paintings and sketches by Pablo Picasso that they claim the artist gave them as a present. But are they the real thing? The collection of watercolors, lithographs, portraits, cubist collages and sketches have been authenticated and their combined valued is set...

Jun 30, 2010

What's Pitch?

American Idol's judges, such as Randy Jackson, never seem to get tired of bantering those less-gifted singers with phrases like, that's a little pitchy. It turns out that it means exactly what you may have guessed: Pitchy means out of tune, said Elizabeth Marvin, professor of music theory at the...

Jun 30, 2010

What's the Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold?

As the old adage goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that beauty can go for quite a pretty penny. The most expensive painting ever sold is Jackson Pollock's No. 5 (1948), which sold for $140 million, according to an article published in The New York Times....

Apr 30, 2010

What Was the Most Expensive Art Heist in History?

Last week's theft from the Paris Museum of Modern Art saw criminals make off with more than $1 million in paintings, according to news reports. But although works by Picasso and Matisse disappeared in the Paris robbery, that heist doesn't even compare to the Gardner Museum and Mona Lisa jobs....

Feb 28, 2010

James Cameron Says 3-D Coming to Mobile Devices Sans Glasses

Las Vegas – 3-D will come to mobile faster than anyone has anticipated, and without the need for awkward glasses, Avatar director James Cameron told an audience today at the CTIA Wireless conference. When the screen is small as on mobile phones, viewers won't need the glasses any more to...

Jan 31, 2010

iTunes Sells 10 Billionth Song

Apple's iTunes music store marked its 10 billionth song download today – the same day that Apple CEO Steve Jobs turns 55. As predicted, the countdown meter on the iTunes Web site hit 10 billion just before 5 p.m. ET today. The person who downloaded the 10 billionth song will...