Speeding up brain network might boost IQ

Biology:
So you want to get smarter?
"For decades scientists have tried, mostly in vain, to explain where intelligence resides in our brains. The answer, a new study suggests, is everywhere.
After analysing the brain as an incredibly dense network of interconnected points, a team of Dutch scientists has found that the most efficiently wired brains tend to belong to the most intelligent people.
And improving this efficiency with drugs offers a tantalising – though still unproven – means of boosting intelligence, say researchers.
The concept of a networked brain isn't so different from the transportation grids used by cars and planes, says Martijn van den Heuvel, a neuroscientist at Utrecht University Medical Center who led the new study.
"If you're flying from New York to Amsterdam, you can do it in a direct flight. It's much more effective than going from New York, then to Washington, and then to Amsterdam. It's exactly the same idea in the brain," he says."

"Speeding up brain networks might boost IQ." New Scientist
Brain Networks and Higher IQ

Environment:
Mount St. Helens has blown once before in recent memory. Is a much larger explosion coming?
"IS A supervolcano brewing beneath Mount St Helens? Peering under the volcano has revealed what may be an extraordinarily large zone of semi-molten rock, which would be capable of feeding a giant eruption."

"Supervolcano may be brewing beneath Mount St. Helens." New Scientist
Supervolcano Mount St. Helens

Astronomy:
Scientists have observed that a star about 600 light years away from Earth is shrinking and showing signs that it will go supernova. Of course what we're observing in the sky right now is 600 year old history, since it takes that long for the light from that star to reach us. So the star in present time could already have exploded.

"Nearby Star May Be Getting Ready To Explode." Fox News
Nearby Star May Go Supernova

Chemistry:
New element added to the periodic table, element 112.

"New Chemical Element In The Periodic Table." Science Daily
New Element 112

Element 118, one of the superheavies also discovered.

"Livermore Scientists Team With Russia To Discover Element 118." Science Daily
New Element 118