Alzheimer's Vs. Normal Aging: How to Tell the Difference
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 604 words
| Fernande Dalal
Everyone's memory gets worse with age, so how can you tell the difference between normal aging and signs of Alzheimer's disease?
There definitely is a distinction between the two, experts say. "Alzheimer's disease is not normal aging," said Heather Snyder, senior associate director of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association.
Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia, a general term for a condition in which someone develops cognitive problems as a result of changes in the brain.
[Read More]Apocalypse Now: This Family Built a Castle to Survive Doomsday
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 6 minutes
| 1184 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Atop one large foothill here deep in the Carolina woods lies a most unlikely site: a castle, replete with a drawbridge, portcullis — and an underground bunker.
The castle is the handiwork of a family aiming to protect itself from an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), which they think could take out electricity grids. So they're going medieval, training to use crossbows and building a catapult to defend themselves against marauders that might come in a doomsday scenario.
[Read More]Cutting Calories Can Lower Inflammation
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 818 words
| Patria Henriques
We often hear that certain foods or vitamins can lower inflammation in the body, but a new study suggests that there's a simple thing we can do to cut inflammation: Eat less.
The study found that people who cut their daily intake of calories by 10 to 20 percent had reduced levels of markers of chronic inflammation for two years. The weights of the study participants were either normal or they were slightly overweight at the start of the study, the researchers said.
[Read More]Famous alien-hunting telescope slashed to pieces in mysterious midnight accident
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 446 words
| Fernande Dalal
(opens in new tab)TheArecibo Observatory — a gargantuan telescope in Puerto Rico famous for scouring the cosmos for asteroids and alien life — went quiet this week, following a devastating accident that left the telescope's reflector dish in pieces.
On Monday (Aug. 10) at approximately 2:45 a.m. local time, a metal cable at the facility snapped, slashing through the radar dish and tearing open a 100-foot-long (30 meters) hole, according to a statement from the University of Central Florida, which operates the National Science Foundation-owned facility.
[Read More]How to watch SpaceX launch 60 new Starlink satellites into orbit today
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 558 words
| Trudie Dory
SpaceX(opens in new tab) will launch 60 new Starlink internet satellites(opens in new tab) into orbit on a used rocket today (April 22) and you can watch it all live online.
A veteran Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch SpaceX's Starlink 6 mission the historic Launch Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT). The rocket's first-stage booster has flown three times before.
[Read More]How Your Brain Blocks Out Unwanted Thoughts and Memories
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 658 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
If you don't want to think about a fight you had with your sister yesterday, a scary movie you watched recently or the source of that nasty smell on the subway, you're going to need some GABA.
A new, small study suggests that GABA, or gamma-Aminobutyric acid, plays a key role in suppressing unwanted thoughts and memories in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. GABA is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, that's found throughout mammals' central nervous systems.
[Read More]Is it safe to feed cats and dogs a vegetarian diet?
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 696 words
| Trudie Dory
After quitting meat for ethical, health or environmental reasons, some pet owners want their pets to join them in a plant-only diet. But is it safe to make our carnivorous felines and omnivorous pups give up meat or animal protein altogether?
The short answer is, it's a gray area: It's a possibility for some pets, but not all of them. And it's never recommended to switch your pet to a plant-based diet on your own.
[Read More]Pointer Dogs: Pups Poop Along North-South Magnetic Lines
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 606 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Dog owners have observed some odd behaviors among their pets — sniffing butts, eating garbage, giving unconditional love — but one habit has probably escaped their attention: Dogs apparently prefer to poop while aligned with the north-south axis of the Earth's magnetic field.
That's the surprising conclusion of an exhaustive study, conducted by German and Czech researchers, who spent two years watching 70 dogs while they defecated and urinated thousands of times.
[Read More]Rescued from the Cave, Thai Soccer Team Gets Quarantined: Here's Why
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 583 words
| Trudie Dory
Updated on Tuesday, July 10, at 9:25 a.m. ET.
The immense rescue operation for the Thai soccer team trapped in a cave finally concluded on Tuesday (July 10): All twelve boys and their coach have been successfully extracted. But before the rescued boys can finally go home to their families, they need to make a pit stop at the hospital, where they're being briefly quarantined to make sure they didn't pick up any diseases in the caves, according to news reports.
[Read More]Tattoo-Removal Laser Could Combat Acne Scars
Posted on March 21, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 719 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A laser that is normally used in tattoo removal can also treat facial scarring from acne, according to a new study.
In the study, researchers tested the device, called a picosecond pulse duration laser, on 17 people who had facial acne scars. Researchers applied the laser to the patients' faces a total of six times, with the sessions coming four to eight weeks apart. Each application took between 10 and 15 minutes.
[Read More]