Ultrasonic Frogs Croak in Secret
Posted on March 26, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 555 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A rare Chinese frog can easily talk behind other animals' backs.
Their ultrasonic croaks slice through the sound of a noisy environment without being heard by potential predators, a new study reveals. It's the first time a non-mammalian animal has been found capable of communicating in the ultrasonic range.
This study, detailed in the March 16 issue of the journal Nature, indicates that these frogs not only hear ultrahigh frequency sounds, but respond to them as well.
[Read More]Vaping Outbreak Death Toll Reaches 33
Posted on March 26, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 283 words
| Fernande Dalal
Nearly three dozen people have died from vaping-related lung illnesses as the nationwide outbreak that continues to grow.
Today (Oct. 17), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the outbreak's death toll has climbed to 33, up from 26 deaths reported last week. The outbreak victims range in age from 17 to 75, with an average age of 44, the agency said.
What's more, the total number of cases in the outbreak increased to 1,479, up from about 1,300 reported last week.
[Read More]What Causes the 'Phantom Limb' Sensation?
Posted on March 26, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 430 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Nearly all amputees feel, at some point, that their missing limb is still there. Why?
This phenomenon is called phantom limb syndrome. Most commonly, it causes pain, but occasionally someone with this syndrome will also feel as though the missing limb is still attached and functioning. They may even feel the sensation of clothing brushing against the limb.
The syndrome was first reported in the 1550s, when French surgeon Ambroise Paré noticed that his amputee patients — mostly soldiers — often complained of pain in their missing parts.
[Read More]You Have the Flu. Should You Go to the Doctor, or Wait It Out?
Posted on March 26, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 664 words
| Trudie Dory
When you have the flu, one choice looms large in front of your feverish eyes: Should you drag your aching body out in the cold to go to the doctor or hospital, or should you just wrap yourself in blankets, drink fluids and stay put?
For sick people, there's no downside to going to the hospital or seeking care from a professional, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease specialist and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
[Read More]6 Strange Facts About Choosing a New Pope
Posted on March 25, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 962 words
| Trudie Dory
Modern & MedievalLike the Catholic Church itself, the process of choosing a new pope is a blend of modernity and medieval ritual. From bug searches to red shoes, here are six strange facts about the process of choosing the next pope.
Origins of the conclaveThe conclave, which means "with a key" in Latin, got its start during the tumultuous 13th century, when the Catholic Church spent two separate periods of a few years without a pope.
[Read More]7 Weirdest Medical Conditions
Posted on March 25, 2023
| 6 minutes
| 1105 words
| Trudie Dory
IntroThere are some real health conditions that even the greatest hypochondriac couldn't dream up: Persistent, unwanted orgasms, an inability to feel fear, or strange fibers growing out of the skin.
While some are more controversial than others, here's a look at seven medical conditions that top out on the strangeness scale and make your weird zit look like child's play.
Morgellons diseaseWe've all experienced some smarmy, icky incidents that make our skin crawl.
[Read More]8,000-Year-Old Heads on Stakes Found in Mysterious Underwater Grave
Posted on March 25, 2023
| 6 minutes
| 1089 words
| Patria Henriques
The discovery of a burial containing 8,000-year-old battered human skulls, including two that still have pointed wooden stakes through them, has left archaeologists baffled, according to a new study from Sweden.
It's hard to make heads or tails of the finding: During the Stone Age, the grave would have sat at the bottom of a small lake, meaning that the skulls would have been placed underwater. Moreover, of the remains of at least 11 adults placed on top of the grave, only one had a jawbone, the researchers said.
[Read More]Ant Power: The World's Fastest Bite
Posted on March 25, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 579 words
| Trudie Dory
Scientists have discovered the fastest bite in the world, one so explosive it can be used to send the Latin American ant that performs it flying through the air to escape predators.
These powerful jaws could serve as inspirations for the propulsion systems of miniature robots, "for instance for rescue operations," researcher Andrew Suarez, an ecologist and entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told LiveScience.
Suarez and his colleagues focused on the trap-jaw ant, Odontomachus bauri.
[Read More]Beach Benefits: Oceanside Living Is Good for Health
Posted on March 25, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 569 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
WASHINGTON — The age-old wisdom that being near the seaside is good for your health may be true, studies suggest.
People often focus on the threats the ocean poses to human health, whether it's storms and floods, harmful algal blooms or pollution. But research shows that spending time by the ocean has many positive effects on health and well-being, epidemiologist Lora Fleming of the University of Exeter in England, said here on Wednesday (June 26) at a science policy conference of the American Geophysical Union.
[Read More]Can Peanut Butter Sniff Out Early Signs of Alzheimer's?
Posted on March 25, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 531 words
| Fernande Dalal
Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in its early stages has always been challenging — there is no single test that can accurately determine whether a person has Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia.
But researchers at the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste believe they may have discovered a simple test that could be used to make a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease — and it involves peanut butter.
[Read More]