Huffpost Science

The reason our brains have that wrinkly, walnut shape may be that the rapid growth of the brain’s outer brain — the gray matter — is constrained by the white matter, a new study shows.

Researchers found that the particular pattern of the ridges and crevices of the brain’s convoluted surface, which are called gyri and sulci, depends on two simple geometric parameters: the gray matter’s growth rate and its thickness. The development of the brain’s wrinkles can be mimicked in a lab using a double-layer gel, according to the study published today (Aug. 18) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The scenes from Ferguson, Missouri, Wednesday night appeared to be right out of Iraq or Afghanistan, with heavily armed men on military vehicles and armored personnel carriers peering through night-vision goggles into a smoke-filled landscape. At least one officer knelt behind a tripod-mounted rifle, apparently at the ready to open fire if ordered to do so.

The resemblance between the near and the far was no accident, as some of the military gear and weaponry in the hands of Ferguson police likely came from the Pentagon, as did much of the materiel being used in those faraway military conflicts.

 Local law enforcement agencies around the U.S. are eligible to receive surplus military equipment through the Defense Department’s 1033 program, whose motto is “from warfighter to crimefighter.” They also can purchase similar equipment through grants from the Department of Homeland Security.

Halfway through the last school year, Leila Campbell, a young humanities teacher at a charter high school in Oakland, Calif., received the results from a recent survey of her students.

On most measures, Ms. Campbell and her fellow teachers at the Aspire Lionel Wilson Preparatory Academy were scoring at or above the average for Aspire, a charter system that runs more than a dozen schools in California and Tennessee.

But the survey, conducted by a tech start-up called Panorama Education, also indicated that her students did not believe she was connecting with them. Ninety-six percent of the students at Lionel Wilson are Hispanic, and 92 percent receive school lunch assistance.

Huffpost Business

China’s Alibaba Group is seeking to raise up to $24.3 billion in its upcoming IPO — an amount that would be the most raised by a company in a stock market debut.

The e-commerce company and its early investors are hoping to sell up to 368 million shares for $60 to $66 apiece, according to a regulatory filing late Friday that sets the stage for Alibaba Group Ltd. to make its long-awaited debut on the New York Stock Exchange later this month.

The documents didn’t spell out when trading would begin. The debut is likely to come somewhere from Sept. 18 through Sept. 26. The timing hinges on how many issues regulators raise with the IPO.

The origins of the lemon are unclear, but it is commonly thought that they originated in India, China and Burma and then entered Europe via Italy in the 1st Century AD.

But the one thing that we can all agree on, is the natural health benefits of this little yellow superstar.

Raw lemon juice is well known for its antioxidants and anti-tumor properties and has been used for centuries in order to cure many ailments. Being rich in Vitamin C, it is also essential for maintaining a fully functional immune system, aiding digestion, fighting tumors, helping wounds to heal faster and can even help to prevent heart failure.