Do Fish Feel Pain? The Debate Continues

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  430 words  |  Trudie Dory

Do fish feel pain? The question is as old as angling itself, but it has never been answered definitively. A recent study now concludes that fish lack the necessary pain receptors in their brains to experience pain the way humans and other animals do. While fish have nociceptors — sensory receptors that respond to physically damaging objects and events by sending warning signals to the brain — these receptors don't function in the same way in fish as they do in humans, according to the study's authors. [Read More]

First proof of donkey polo in ancient China found in noblewoman's tomb

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  739 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Scientists recently found the first evidence that nobles in imperial China played donkey polo, in the tomb of a wealthy, important woman who died in Xi'an more than 2,000 years ago. The woman, named Cui Shi, was buried with donkeys, possibly so she could keep playing donkey polo in the afterlife, researchers reported in a new study.  Cui Shi's tomb had been ransacked before its discovery, and looters stripped it of most of the burial artifacts. [Read More]

Full Moon Baby Boom? Cow Births Increase During Certain Moon Phases

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  446 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Does a full moon really induce labor? Scientists have examined this popular old wives' tale, but have found conflicting evidence about whether the moon affects the timing of human births. A new study, however, has shown there may be some truth to this bit of folklore — for dairy cows, at least. A team of researchers analyzed the birth timing of more than 400 dairy cows from a breed known as Holstein Friesian. [Read More]

Helmet-headed Cambrian sea monster sucked up prey like a Roomba

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  660 words  |  Patria Henriques

A creature with a massive head shield, sand-raking claws and a circular tooth-filled mouth swept across the ocean bottom half-a-billion years ago, hoovering up prey like a living Roomba.  Measuring nearly 2 feet (50 centimeters) long, Titanokorys gainesi — a newfound genus and species — had a flattened body and a broad head that made up approximately two-thirds of its total length, researchers reported in a new study. Titanokorys was one of the biggest ocean predators of the Cambrian period (543 million to 490 million years ago) and is the largest-known Cambrian seafloor predator, according to a new study. [Read More]

iPhone Will Track Your Sex Life: Is That Helpful?

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  607 words  |  Patria Henriques

An update to Apple's Health app that is set for release this fall will let users track their sex lives, but experts say this tracking feature alone has little value for people's health. Rather, it's only when information on sexual activity is integrated with other measures — such as the date of a woman's last menstrual period — that such tracking becomes useful, experts said. The sexual-activity tracking feature will be included as part of a new " [Read More]

Man Burned in Yellowstone Hot Spring: Why These Geysers Are So Dangerous

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  494 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Editor's Note: This article was updated at 3:30 p.m. E.T. on Friday, June 16 A man was severely burned when he fell into a hot spring earlier this week in Yellowstone National Park, the National Park Service reported. The man, 21-year-old Gervais Dylan Gatete, fell into the Lower Geyser Basin just north of Old Faithful on Tuesday (June 13), sometime before midnight. Gatete was an employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a company that provides food services and hospitality in the park, and he was with a group of seven other people. [Read More]

Marijuana Addiction Linked to Genetics

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  555 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

People with certain genetic markers may be at higher risk for marijuana dependence, a new study suggests. Researchers found a link between three genetic markers and symptoms of marijuana dependence, a condition in which people can't stop using the drug even though it interferes with many aspects of their lives, such as their relationships or their jobs. What's more, the study showed some overlap between the genetic risk factors for marijuana dependence and the genetic risk factors for depression, suggesting a possible reason why these two conditions often occur together, the researchers said. [Read More]

Metal detectorist finds 2,000-year-old dagger wielded by Roman soldier in battle with Rhaetians

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1184 words  |  Fernande Dalal

(opens in new tab)An amateur archaeologist in Switzerland has discovered an ornate dagger wielded by a Roman soldier 2,000 years ago. That discovery, found using a metal detector, led a team of archaeologists to the site, who then uncovered hundreds of artifacts from a "lost" battlefield where Roman legionaries fought Rhaetian warriors as Imperial Rome sought to consolidate power in the area. Archaeologists think one of those legionaries may have buried the newfound dagger intentionally after the battle as a token of thanks for a victory. [Read More]

Powerful Ideas: Chicken Feathers Could Store Fuel

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  684 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Editor's Note: This occasional series looks at powerful ideas — some existing, some futuristic — for fueling and electrifying modern life. Chicken feathers may help cars use hydrogen fuel in the future. The feathers would not be the fuel, but they could help store it, new research reveals. Hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, has long been touted as a clean and ample energy alternative to fossil fuels. When hydrogen reacts with oxygen, instead of yielding pollutants as fossil fuels do, it simply generates water. [Read More]

Q&A: The Bladder Infection Superbug, Explained by the Doctor Who Discovered Its Spread

 Posted on April 19, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  1041 words  |  Patria Henriques

Super-charged bacterial infections that are resistant to antibiotics, and can take people's limbs or even lives, have been all over the news lately. First there was the threat of the superbug MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) that causes skin staph infections, then came C. difficile (bacteria that can cause diarrhea and life-threatening colon inflammation). Now signs point to the rise of the next superbug, a strain of E. coli called ST131. [Read More]