LONDON: Ever wondered why some people are good at mathematics while many struggle with numbers? It's because they were probably born that way, scientists say.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University inBaltimore found that mathematical talent does not appear to be linked to all-round intelligence.
The ability to work with numbers may be something that is entirely predestined - either you have it or you don't, they said.
WASHINGTON: Scientists have found components of DNA, the building blocks of life on Earth, in meteorites, a discovery they say confirms the theory that at least some of the materials needed to make early life forms came to our planet from space.
In the Nasa-funded study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists used advanced mass spectrometry instruments to scan 11 organic-rich meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites and one ureilite, a very rare meteorite with a different chemical composition . They found three nucleobases - purine, 6,8-diaminopurine and 2,6-diaminopurine - that are widely distributed in carbonaceous chondrites and which are "rare or absent in terrestrial biology" , said the researchers.
