Oldest-known shark attack discovered in 3,000-year-old skeleton with 800 injuries
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 599 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
About 3,000 years ago, a shark fatally mauled a man in waters near western Japan. The encounter left a map of horrific scars spread across the man's skeleton, and parts of his body were never recovered.
Analysis of the person's bones, which were excavated from a communal burial ground at the Tsukumo archaeological site in Okayama prefecture, documented 790 traumatic injuries, such as cuts, punctures, fractures from blunt force and deep, crisscrossing gouges with "
[Read More]Pocket Pets: Early Explorers Brought Guinea Pigs to Europe
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 647 words
| Patria Henriques
It may seem a prestigious post for a rodent, but the guinea pigs that are fixtures in elementary school classrooms today were once ambassadors from a new land.
The third-ever guinea pig skeleton found in a European archaeological dig confirms that these little squeakers voyaged to the Old World very shortly after Spain conquered Peru in 1532. While the guinea pigs, also known as cavies, served as food in South America, they seem to have been treated as pets in Europe.
[Read More]Pollen-starved bumblebees bite 'half-moons' into plants to make them bloom
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 872 words
| Trudie Dory
When their pollen supply runs short, bumblebees bore tiny half-moon-shaped holes in the leaves of flowering plants, causing blooms to appear weeks ahead of schedule.
Bee-bitten plants bear flowers about two weeks to a month sooner than untouched plants, according to a new study, published today (May 21) in the journal Science. Researchers attempted to recreate these bee-bite patterns using metal forceps and a razor, but even then, the damage inflicted by bees boosted flower production more effectively than the scientists could; bee-bitten plants bloomed eight to 25 days before the artificially damaged ones did, depending on the plant species.
[Read More]Smoking
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 1 minutes
| 43 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
What Makes an E-Cig Taste Good May Also Make It Toxic
By Cari Nierenberg published 27 March 18
With names like "Banana Pudding," "Blueberry Cinnamon-Streusel Muffin" and "Butter Crunch," the flavoring ingredients in electronic cigarettes sound not only harmless but immensely appealing.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rbXVnqqcoZWjsKZ6wqikaKyfpbakv46spKijmaO0bXiLZWNlZFw%3D
South Pole's First Building Blown Up After 53 Years
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 6 minutes
| 1180 words
| Fernande Dalal
Only a select few ever make it to the South Pole. Still fewer get to blow things up there. And only one man has the distinction of blowing up a piece of real estate at the South Pole that he once called home.
"It was a little sad, but the day goes on," said John Rand, a consulting engineer with the U.S. Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL).
[Read More]Sugary Drinks Kill 184,000 People Every Year
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 619 words
| Trudie Dory
Sugary drinks cause 184,000 deaths worldwide annually, including 25,000 deaths in the United States, according to a new study.
The finding — a revised estimate of numbers first presented at a scientific meeting in 2013 — represents a tally of deaths from diabetes, heart disease and cancer that scientists say can be directly attributed to the consumption of sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks and iced teas.
The numbers imply that sugary drinks can cause as many deaths annually as the flu.
[Read More]Temperatures colder than space achieved here on Earth using superconducting X-ray laser
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 771 words
| Trudie Dory
A particle accelerator that slams electrons together here on Earth has achieved temperatures colder than those of outer space.
Using the X-ray free-electron laser at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory(opens in new tab) — part of an upgrade project to the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), called LCLS II — scientists chilled liquid helium to minus 456 degrees Fahrenheit ( minus 271 degrees Celsius), or 2 kelvins.
[Read More]Weird: How Does a Baby's 'Twin' End Up Inside His Abdomen?
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 320 words
| Fernande Dalal
A baby boy in India was born with his own "twin" inside his abdomen — an extremely rare condition called "fetus in fetu." But what causes this to happen?
Doctors first noticed something was wrong when they spotted a mass inside the fetus during a routine ultrasound of the pregnant mother, according to Metro, a news outlet based in the United Kingdom. After the baby was born, doctors performed another scan, and found a partial fetus behind the baby's stomach.
[Read More]Why Is Hair Parted?
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 1 minutes
| 155 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
For all the money we spend on perms and conditioners, hair is an oddly useless human feature. It offers little protection or warmth, even in the truly rug-chested.
Body hair's main function is to enhance skin sensation. And though they may offer some shielding from sunrays, your 100,000 to 200,000 scalp hairs are mostly there to show off your reproductive health (which is why both sexes tend to find long tresses sexy).
[Read More]Young killer whale rescued after stranding on Scottish beach
Posted on March 15, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 617 words
| Fernande Dalal
A juvenile killer whale was heroically rescued this week after getting stranded on a Scottish beach.
A group of trained medics from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and helpful locals carried out the rescue Monday (Jan. 4) on Sanday, an island off the coast of Scotland.
Local residents Colin and Heather Headworth first spotted the distressed 11-foot-long (3.4 meters) orca lying in the surf. They called fellow Sanday local and BDMLR area coordinator Emma Neave-Webb, who notified two other fellow marine mammal medics on the island.
[Read More]