The Dangers of Going Gluten-Free (Op-Ed)
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 841 words
| Fernande Dalal
Katherine Tallmadge is a registered dietitian; president of Personalized Nutrition; noted motivational and wellness speaker; author of "Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations(opens in new tab)"; (LifeLine Press, 2011) and a regular contributor to Live Science. This article is an exclusive for Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
A whopping 21 percent of Americans are currently making an active attempt to eat gluten-free, according to a Gallup poll published July 23. That percentage dwarfs the 1 percent of the U.
[Read More]The New Dying: How Human-Caused Extinction Affects the Planet (Infographic)
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 1 minutes
| 200 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Even using the most conservative estimates, animals are going extinct more than a hundred times faster today than the average background rate. The species lost in just the past hundred years would have taken up to 11,400 years to be lost, if not for human activity.
FIVE EXTINCTIONS
1. Ordovician-Silurian extinction: between 447 million to 443 million years ago. Two pulses of extinction occurred, 4 million years apart, wiping out 60 to 70 percent of all species.
[Read More]This Woman Broke a Bone in Her Eye Socket by Blowing Her Nose Too Hard
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 738 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A British woman who blew her nose a bit too hard didn't just end up with a snot-filled tissue — she also fractured a bone in her left eye socket, according to a new report of her case.
That's right — the sheer force of blowing her nose led to an "orbital blowout fracture," or a break in the thin bone that forms the floor of the eye socket.
The incident took place when the 36-year-old woman was at work, according to the case report, which was published online June 28 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.
[Read More]Too Much Tech Tied to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 823 words
| Trudie Dory
College students who are glued to their devices may show early signs of developing the painful condition carpal tunnel syndrome, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that young adults who spent an average of 9 hours a day using mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles and computers reported more pain in their wrists and hands than their peers who spent less time each day using electronic devices. The findings were published online Wednesday (June 21) in the journal Muscle & Nerve.
[Read More]UK Shudders as Venomous Spider Creeps Across Britain
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 588 words
| Arica Deslauriers
There aren't many things that can bring a quiver to a Briton's stiff upper lip, but a venomous arachnid named the "false widow spider" seems to be giving the entire country a case of the heebie-jeebies.
The BBC reports that an amateur soccer player named Steve Harris has been sidelined indefinitely due to a bite from a false widow. The Daily Mail described in lurid detail how a healthy 31-year-old man collapsed on the floor of a Toys "
[Read More]What Is the Fifth Amendment?
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 681 words
| Arica Deslauriers
"You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Those familiar words, part of an accused's Miranda rights (and a staple of police dramas), came into play in a grand fashion this week as Bridget Anne Kelly, a former aide to embattled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, chose to remain silent about her role in the now-infamous lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in September 2013.
[Read More]Why Doesn't Evolution Discourage Suicide?
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 638 words
| Fernande Dalal
Suicide is ubiquitous.
Around the world, in just about every culture, some people decide to take their own lives. It happens far more often than most people realize, making news only in prominent cases, as with Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the "D.C. Madam," who apparently chose to kill herself last week rather than face up to 55 years in prison.
More interesting, just about everyone can imagine the urge to end it all, although most of us never get remotely close to acting on that thought.
[Read More]Why Earth's Magnetic Field Flip-Flops
Posted on May 8, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 767 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Every so often, Earth's magnetic field flips on its head, turning the magnetic North Pole into the South Pole and vice versa.
It last happened 780,000 years ago, and is predicted to occur again in about 1,500 years ... maybe. The overall frequency is hard to predict — there was one period in Earth's history when the field didn't reverse for 30 million years.
Why these flip-flops happen at all is a great riddle, but a new hypothesis on the origins of the magnetic field could shed light on the reason.
[Read More]Acra at Last? Site of Ancient Jewish Revolt Unearthed
Posted on May 7, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 742 words
| Trudie Dory
Archaeologists in Jerusalem may have just solved one of the city's greatest geographical mysteries.
Excavators recently unearthed what they think are the ruins of the Acra, a fortress constructed more than 2,000 years ago by the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 B.C.). At one time mercenary soldiers and Hellenized Jews controlled the ancient fortress, enforcing a brutal rule over Jerusalem's residents.
The Acra's existence is recorded in historical documents, but archaeologists and historians have debated its location.
[Read More]Ancient Texas Reef Holds Clues to Sea Changes
Posted on May 7, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 311 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Clues about changes in sea level rise have been found in an unlikely place: the mountains of Texas.
Rocks from the fossil Permian Reef in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas reveal secrets about changes in sea level and marine life 265 million years ago, according to a new study.
Improved understanding of this ancient reef could shed light on the effects of environmental change on living systems, a concern for coral reefs in today's warming world.
[Read More]