The Daily brief: August 22, 2011

Aug. 22, 2011, 11:35 p.m.

Open Access | Two more computer science classes join the Artificial Intelligence class in opening its doors to the public after tens of thousands of people have signed up. Since the announcement, almost 25,000 students each have signed up for Machine Learning and Introduction to Databases, the two additional classes being offered.

Sleepy Flu? | Falling asleep in class? Blame it on the flu —  according to a study by professor Emmanual Mignot, the autoimmune reaction that occurs when the body fights the flu can kill brain cells that regulate sleep, leading to feelings of lethargy, or even narcolepsy. Mignot came to this conclusion after studying a number of Chinese patients affected by the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

Neanderthal Lovin’ | Interbreeding with Neanderthals likely contributed to human dominance that occurred soon after, according to a new Stanford study. The new genes instilled “hybrid vigor,” which introduced stonger traits that evolution would have taken longer to do on its own.

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