Exorcisms Enter 21st Century with Cellphone-Enabled Demon Busting

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  535 words  |  Trudie Dory

This might make your head spin — officials of the Roman Catholic Church are offering a week-long course in exorcism, and dozens of Catholic priests have flocked to Rome to partake of the Holy See's demon-banishing tips and strategies. Titled Exorcism and Prayer of Liberation, the course is now in its 13th year, and is presented at The Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, a Catholic educational institution in Rome, in collaboration with the Group for Socio-religious Research and Information (GRIS), according to the course's website. [Read More]

Feline Memories Found to be Fleeting

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  467 words  |  Trudie Dory

A new study has measured just how long cats can remember certain kinds of information—10 minutes. The research was designed primarily to compare cats' working memory of their recent movements with their visual memories, and found that cats remember better with their bodies than their eyes when they have encountered an object placed in their path by say, an annoying owner or experimenter. When a cat steps over a stray toy or shoe left on the floor on the way to its food dish, it has to coordinate the stepping action of its front legs with its hind legs. [Read More]

Head and Heart: Migraines Linked to Heart Disease Risk

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  641 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

People who experience migraines may be more likely to develop cardiovascular problems, a new study from Denmark finds. These headaches were associated with an increased risk for several heart problems, including heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation (a type of irregular heart rhythm) and blood clots that start in a person's veins, according to the study, which was published today (Jan. 31) in the journal The BMJ. Migraines are primarily considered a headache disorder (as opposed to a heart issue), with symptoms such as an intense pulsing or throbbing pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. [Read More]

Humans Blamed for Extinction of Mammoths, Mastodons & Giant Sloths

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  901 words  |  Fernande Dalal

The latest volley in a long-running debate over why woolly mammoths, giant sloths, mastodons and cave lions died out worldwide suggests that humans are to blame. A new global look at the extinctions of large mammals over the past 130,000 years finds that the loss of species correlates more closely with the arrival of humans than with changes in climate, which some studies have cited as a possible culprit. Nonetheless, the paper is unlikely to settle the debate over what really caused the Quaternary extinction, a die-off of large mammals worldwide at the end of the Pleistocene epoch about 12,000 years ago. [Read More]

Hurricane Sandy Could Outdo 'Perfect Storm'

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  817 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

A frightening collision of weather systems is brewing and could create a tempest even worse than 1991's "Perfect Storm." This "Frankenstorm," as some are calling it, is set to strike the Northeast on or near the 21st anniversary of that historic squall.  On the one hand you have Hurricane Sandy barreling north, expected to hit somewhere on the U.S. East Coast in the middle of next week. At the same time, a cold front is moving across the middle of the country, bringing cold temperatures and snow. [Read More]

Incantation bowls covered with 'magic' spells recovered by police in Jerusalem

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1222 words  |  Trudie Dory

Hundreds of artifacts, including crafted ivory and three "incantation bowls" decorated with ancient magical spells, have been recovered by police in Jerusalem.  However, it's unclear whether all of the artifacts are authentic. Live Science talked with a number of scholars, who provided insight into the artifacts and cautioned that some of them may be forgeries.  Police suspect that the artifacts were looted from sites in the Middle East or stolen from museums, according to a March 7 statement from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). [Read More]

New App Lets You Track Great White Sharks

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  886 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Want to travel the oceans alongside great white sharks, but your busy schedule and fear of death always seem to get in the way? There's an app for that. Now anyone with an iPhone or an iPad (and $3.99 to spare) can follow along in near-real time with a dozen of the world's most iconic predators with the app Expedition White Shark. "We're hoping it raises public awareness about white sharks, which helps our conservation efforts," [Read More]

Skeletons of twin infant Vikings discovered in Sweden

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  491 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Seven Viking tombs holding well-preserved skeletons, including possible twin infants, have been discovered in the Swedish town of Sigtuna.  The archaeologists discovered the 1,000-year-old remains of eight people — four adults and four children — inside the tombs; they were likely Vikings who had converted to Christianity. "The Christian character of the now-excavated graves is obvious because of how the tombs were laid out," said Johan Runer, a project manager with Uppdrag arkeologi, a cultural resource management company, which led excavations of the site. [Read More]

Sunscreen Can Damage Skin if Applied Infrequently

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  367 words  |  Patria Henriques

When used properly, sunscreens are proven to prevent skin damage. But if not applied often enough, a sunscreen can actually enhance skin damage, according to a new study. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is absorbed by skin molecules and generates reactive oxygen species, or ROS molecules, which cause visible signs of aging by damaging cell walls and the DNA inside them. Too much sun, especially in childhood, increases the risk of skin cancer. [Read More]

Tumor Full of 232 'Toothlets': What's an Odontoma?

 Posted on April 9, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  527 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

A team of oral surgeons reportedly removed 232 teeth from the mouth of a 17-year-old boy in India on July 21. The boy was diagnosed with a condition called complex composite odontoma, a rare type of tumor that affects the jaw or gums, his doctors said. Ashik Gavai was admitted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai with swelling in his right jaw, Dr. Sunanda Dhiware, head of the hospital's dental department, told BBC News. [Read More]