cognitive science

In a development that gives Acme Labs and NIMH a run for their money, scientists in Georgia and China have collaborated to create the world's smartest rat. The genetically engineered rat, Hobbie-J, over-expresses a gene that regulates neuron communication, greatly enhancing the rat's ability to navigate mazes and remember toys.

A chef and a professor are teaming up to create a dining experience that capitalizes on synaesthetic perception that links tastes to certain sounds. Synaesthesia is the association of different sensory perceptions -- hearing shapes or seeing music.

To all the parents and potential doctoral students who worry a Ph.D in political philosophy will lead to a lifetime of waiting tables, here's a counter-argument: it could lead to jobs running your own motorcycle shop and writing about how the trades -- good old-fashioned working with your hands -- are slipping away from us.