Why rescuers are feeding turtles mayonnaise after a disastrous oil spill

 Posted on April 17, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  568 words  |  Fernande Dalal

While some people slather mayonnaise on their sandwiches, Israel's National Sea Turtle Rescue Center uses the condiment for a unique purpose: to treat endangered turtles after oil spills, The Associated Press (AP) reported. More than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of Israel's Meditteranean coastline became blotted with huge globs of tar last week, after an oil spill occurred about 31 miles (50 km) offshore, Live Science previously reported. Israel's Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) called the spill " [Read More]

Why the UK Just Appointed a Minister of Loneliness

 Posted on April 17, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  457 words  |  Trudie Dory

There's a new minister in the United Kingdom, and the position's theme song might as well be The Beatles' hit song "Eleanor Rigby," which implores the public to "look at all the lonely people." More than 9 million people in the United Kingdom report that they often or always feel lonely, according to a December 2017 report from the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness. This report prompted U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to appoint politician Tracey Crouch as the new minister of loneliness yesterday (Jan. [Read More]

Your Giving Brain: Are Humans 'Hardwired' for Generosity?

 Posted on April 17, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  743 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

As the year winds to a close, gifts and giving are foremost in many people's minds. And now, two new neuroscience studies suggest that our brains prompt us to act more like Santa than Scrooge. In one study, researchers scanned participants' brains to identify connections between generous behavior and brain activity. In the other, scientists dampened activity in areas of the brain associated with impulse control, to see if that would alter a person's empathetic actions. [Read More]

Zombie Worms Drill Whale Bones with Acid

 Posted on April 17, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  393 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

So-called zombie worms — and yes, they actually exist — like to munch on whale bones for dinner. The creatures also use the bones for shelter. Spread throughout the world's oceans, zombie worms are quite adept at making the bones of whales and other large marine animals look like Swiss cheese.     But these worms don't have any mouthparts with which to gnaw the holes. So how do they do it? [Read More]

'Cursed' Artifacts Returned — 20 Years Later

 Posted on April 16, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  757 words  |  Trudie Dory

Two decades after stealing antiquities from a first-century Jewish city in the Golan Heights, on the borders of Israel and Syria, a robber returned the loot to a museum's courtyard, Israeli authorities announced. The returned artifacts included two 2,000-year-old sling stones, also called ballista balls, which would've been used as weapons, and an anonymous typed noted saying, "These are two Roman ballista balls from Gamla, from a residential quarter at the foot of the summit. [Read More]

8,500-year-old stone houses are the oldest known structures in the UAE

 Posted on April 16, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  384 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest structure ever found in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — the remains of a building that may be 8,500 years old. The structure, which dates to the Neolithic period, was found by archaeologists on on the island of Ghagha off Abu Dhabi. An analysis of carbon isotopes, or versions of carbon, within charcoal fragments from the site show that the structure is 500 years older than any structures found before in the UAE, according to a February statement from the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi)(opens in new tab). [Read More]

Adults Struggle with What Used to Be Child's Blood Disorder

 Posted on April 16, 2023  |  9 minutes  |  1720 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

It's been 100 years since sickle cell disease, a hereditary blood disorder, was first discovered and described in Western society. While researchers and doctors have come a long way in terms of their understanding of the disease and providing screening and treatment for children, adults with the condition still face many challenges, including misperceptions and lack of access to proper care. As a result patients often end up in the emergency room for treatment and help with pain episodes — a hallmark of the condition. [Read More]

Animal Instincts: Main Street Seeks Revenge on Wall Street

 Posted on April 16, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1249 words  |  Fernande Dalal

The outrage expressed by many so-called Main Street folks over the proposed Wall Street bailout is based on more than a sense of injustice. It's about revenge, a basic animal instinct shared by humans, chimpanzees and even blue-footed boobies. And Washington politicians would be wise to listen up and stick some get-back-at-'em clauses into the bailout bill if they hope to get the support of the average American, says one behavioral economist who studies these things. [Read More]

Apple's New App: Can Deep Breathing Lower Stress?

 Posted on April 16, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  664 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

A new app from Apple coaches you through breathing exercises, but do these exercises really help reduce stress? This week, Apple announced a number of new features for the Apple Watch, including an app due out this fall called Breathe, which will "encourage users to take a moment in their day to do deep breathing exercises for relaxation and stress reduction," the company said in a statement(opens in new tab). [Read More]

Blood Supermoon Lunar Eclipse wows skywatchers around the world (photos)

 Posted on April 16, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  844 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

For the first time in nearly 2.5 years, skywatchers were treated to a total lunar eclipse Wednesday morning (May 26). Luckily for anyone who missed it, many of these sky-gazers snapped photos of the moon with cameras ranging from those on smartphones to those equipped with telephoto lenses. The celestial show began the Tuesday night (May 25), with the Flower Moon rising high in the night sky. May's full moon, named for the wildflowers blooming around the Northern Hemisphere, was the closest full moon to Earth of 2021, meaning it was larger and brighter than usual, or in other words, a supermoon. [Read More]