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Cara Santa Maria
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Entries by Cara Santa Maria

Brontosaurus Not Real? Dino Is Actually Apatosaurus & Other Misconceptions Continue (VIDEO)

(643) Comments | Posted April 15, 2013 | 7:46 AM

What happened to the Brontosaurus? The beloved dinosaur has been a part of numerous museum exhibits and a big part of pop culture. But did you know there's no such thing as a Brontosaurus?

I had a chance to sit down with Brian Switek, a dinosaur...

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Top Five HuffPost Science Stories This Week, April 7-12

(94) Comments | Posted April 13, 2013 | 7:38 AM

Human evolution, solar flares, and the Big Bang all made headlines this week. But did you miss the news?

Don't worry -- I was able to count down the week's top five HuffPost Science stories with HuffPost Live host/producer Jacob Soboroff. Check...

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Human Evolution & Migration: National Geographic's Genographic Project Tells Our Story (VIDEO)

(977) Comments | Posted April 8, 2013 | 7:45 AM

Our human lineage is not actually linear. In fact, it's more of a branching tree, telling the story of our origins in Africa and our migrations throughout the world. National Geographic's not-for-profit Genographic Project aims to trace and connect each of our individuals branches to answer questions about...

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Top Five HuffPost Science Stories This Week, March 31-April 5

(2) Comments | Posted April 6, 2013 | 4:03 PM

From the lightest material on Earth to elusive dark matter, many fascinating science stories made headlines this week.

I was able to count down the top five stories with HuffPost Live host/producer Jacob Soboroff. Check out a 30-second rundown of this week's science...

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Snake Venom: Healing Medicine & Toxic Menace (VIDEO)

(178) Comments | Posted April 1, 2013 | 7:45 AM

Venom in the animal kingdom often is used for hunting -- it slows down prey, changes its scent for easier tracking, and essentially digests it alive. But in the world of biomedical science, researchers are finding that venom toxins not only have the potential to harm, but also...

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Top Five HuffPost Science Stories This Week, March 24-29

(38) Comments | Posted March 30, 2013 | 10:37 AM

From body hacking to a two-headed bull shark, I recently had the chance to reveal some of the hottest science news that made headlines this week.

I counted down the top five stories with HuffPost Live host/producer Jacob Soboroff, and he gave me only...

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Body Hacking: Sensory Perception & Technology As Art (VIDEO)

(106) Comments | Posted March 25, 2013 | 8:03 AM

For thousands of years, people have been modifying their bodies. But have you ever thought about extending your senses beyond the limits of human nature? That's what body hackers do. And Madeline Schwartzman, professor at Barnard College and Parsons, has written a book featuring...

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Cryonic Preservation After Death: What Does The Science Say? (VIDEO)

(840) Comments | Posted March 18, 2013 | 7:46 AM

It's been said that nothing in this world is certain, except death and taxes. But what if you could freeze your body immediately after death and be revived in the distant future, when medical science has found a cure for your injuries or illness? You'd be able to cheat death...

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Asteroids, Meteors Explained: Phil Plait Talks Space Rocks, Impact Risks (VIDEO)

(174) Comments | Posted March 11, 2013 | 7:50 AM

The recent meteor strike over Chelyabinsk, Russia is reminding all of us just how vulnerable we are to attacks from above. So I reached out to Phil Plait, who writes the Bad Astronomy column at Slate magazine. Because who better to talk to about...

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Top Five HuffPost Science Stories This Week, March 3-8

(15) Comments | Posted March 8, 2013 | 10:28 AM

From one of the oldest-known preserved human dissections, to a "knot" tied with water, the week was filled with interesting science stories.

I had a chance to count down the top five with HuffPost Live host/producer Jacob Soboroff, and he gave me only 30...

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Animal Facts & Myths Debunked By Wildlife Experts (VIDEO)

(132) Comments | Posted March 4, 2013 | 6:46 AM

There are many misleading animal myths out there (case in point: "blind as a bat") -- but did you know that some are actually based in truth? For instance, "crocodile tears" are kind of a real thing.

To separate animal facts from fiction, I visited the Wildlife Learning...

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Top Five Stories On HuffPost Science This Week, Feb. 24-March 1 (VIDEO)

(39) Comments | Posted March 2, 2013 | 4:50 AM

A supermassive black hole's speed of rotation, the jaw of a prehistoric predator, and brain-to-brain communication are just a few of the top science stories this week.

I had a chance to recap the week's news with HuffPost Live host/producer Jacob...

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'Directed Evolution' Pioneer Frances Arnold Opens Up About Sustainable Biofuels (VIDEO)

(404) Comments | Posted February 25, 2013 | 6:47 AM

"Directed evolution" may save our polluted planet. At least, chemical engineer Dr. Frances Arnold sees it that way.

The recent National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient is credited with pioneering the technique of directed evolution, a method used to engineer proteins or evolve certain...

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Obama's Brain Activity Map Could Be The Future Of Neuroscience Research (VIDEO)

(357) Comments | Posted February 23, 2013 | 7:01 PM

In his state of the union address on February 12, 2013, President Obama said:

"Now, if we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in the best ideas. Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy -- every...

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Top Five Stories On HuffPost Science This Week, Feb. 17-22 (VIDEO)

(12) Comments | Posted February 23, 2013 | 10:05 AM

From monsters living in our bodies to real-life "zombie" cells, this week's science news has a peculiar sci-fi/horror twist to it. Monsters? Zombies? Fun!

I sat down with HuffPost Live producer Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani to make sense of it all and count down the top...

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Human Parasites: Nematodes, Flatworms & Protozoa Explained (VIDEO)

(329) Comments | Posted February 18, 2013 | 6:16 AM

Did you know that only one in ten of the cells in your body is actually human? That's right. A whopping 90 percent of your cells are bacterial, viral, or parasitic in nature.

The NIH's Human Microbiome Project is ambitiously aiming to characterize the microbial communities living...

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Darwin Day 2013: What You May Not Know About Charles Darwin, Father Of Evolution (VIDEO)

(274) Comments | Posted February 12, 2013 | 7:13 AM

Happy Darwin Day! February 12th marks the anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. In celebration, I managed to dig up some little known details about his life.

I spoke with David Quammen, author of "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making...

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Crying Science: Why Do We Shed Tears When We're Sad? (VIDEO)

(207) Comments | Posted February 4, 2013 | 6:43 AM

We're all too familiar with tears welling up in our eyes--brought on by stress, sadness, or even laughter. But why exactly does feeling things make liquid come out of our eyes? And why is that uniquely human? After all, we're the only species that sheds emotional tears.

To unravel the...

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Gun Violence & Adam Lanza's DNA: Is There A Gene For Murder? (VIDEO)

(942) Comments | Posted January 28, 2013 | 6:48 AM

As America mourned the loss of 20 innocent school children and six staff members in the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, we all had one question in mind: Why did this happen?

This may have been the most harrowing mass shooting in recent history, but it's not...

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HuffPost Science's Top Five Stories Of The Week, Jan. 20-25 (VIDEO)

(13) Comments | Posted January 26, 2013 | 8:33 AM

From four-stranded DNA to radioactive fish to a disco clam, I had a chance to count down the top five science stories of the week with HuffPost Live producer/host Alyona Minkovski.

She gave me 30 seconds to recap the news--see for yourself...

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