Fish Use UV Light to Distinguish Faces
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 394 words
| Trudie Dory
While we might use eye color and hairstyle to tell people apart, some fish species rely on ultraviolet light patterns of faces to distinguish one species from another, a new study finds.
Scientists have long known some animals have UV vision, with the ability to see those wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum that are shorter than visible light. But they hadn't realized just how savvy some of these ultraviolet peepers were.
[Read More]Happy Pi Day! Fun Facts About Our Favorite Irrational Number
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 582 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Math lovers celebrate today (3/14) as Pi Day, in honor of the irrational number pi.
Pi, or π, is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is an irrational number, meaning it cannot be written as a simple fraction. Instead, it can be expressed as an infinite, nonrepeating decimal (3.14159…) or approximated as the fraction 22/7.
Here are some nerdy facts about the irrational number, to impress your friends as you celebrate Pi Day (which is also Albert Einstein's birthday).
[Read More]Life's Extremes: Outgoing vs. Shy
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 1060 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
In this weekly series, LiveScience examines the psychology and sociology of opposite human behaviors and personality types.
We all know them: The exuberant, outgoing glad-handers who relish a social gathering, and the reserved, shy wallflowers who might not attend the event at all.
On a given day, of course, any one of us might want to throw a spontaneous party or have some quiet alone time. But in terms of overall sociability, most of us fall within a middle range somewhere between gregarious and shy.
[Read More]Mammoth Mystery: What Killed Off the Woolly Beast?
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 638 words
| Arica Deslauriers
The culprits behind the extinctions of a number of ice age giants have now been identified — woolly rhinos were apparently done in by climate change, while ancient bison were downed by both climate and human influences.
However, whatever drove woolly mammoths extinct remains elusive.
Giant mammals such as saber-toothed cats and cave bears once dominated the world. However, starting about 50,000 years ago, Eurasia lost approximately 36 percent of these "
[Read More]Mitt Romney's Prostate Cancer: What's a Good Prognosis?
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 402 words
| Fernande Dalal
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was treated for prostate cancer last summer, according to news reports.
Romney, who is 70, had surgery over the summer, according to a statement provided to ABC News. His treatment was successful, and "his prognosis is good," the statement said.
What does it mean to have a good prognosis for prostate cancer? [5 Things You Should Know About Prostate Cancer]
Though prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death related to cancer in men in the U.
[Read More]Oh, You Deer: Newborn Mini Fawn Is Seriously Cute
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 611 words
| Patria Henriques
What's cuter than a baby deer? A baby deer you can hold in one hand, of course.
Just 6 inches (15 centimeters) tall at birth and weighing less than 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms), the remarkably tiny animal was born at the Wildlife Conservation Society Queens Zoo in Flushing, New York, last month. Belonging to one of the world's smallest deer species, this southern pudu deer (Pudu puda) will grow to be just 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) tall at the shoulder, according to zoo officials.
[Read More]Ritual monument discovered in Scotland dates to the time of Stonehenge
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 504 words
| Trudie Dory
A massive "cursus" monument, a site for ancient rituals, that was built around the same time as Stonehenge, has been discovered on the Scottish Isle of Arran.
Cursus monuments, which were constructed during the Neolithic period (4000 B.C. to 2500 B.C.) are long rectangular earthwork enclosures, meaning that they are built by modifying the land. The long enclosures were often outlined by timber posts and were used for ceremonial processions, possibly to honor the dead or worship ancestors.
[Read More]Sudden Infant Deaths Linked to Elevation
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 996 words
| Trudie Dory
Babies who live at high elevations, those above 8,000 feet (2,438 meters), may face a slightly increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, new research finds.
But researchers urge parents not to panic about the new findings.
"The absolute risk [of SIDS] remains very low, and … this is in no way a call to abandon residence [in] or visits to high-altitude" locations, said study researcher Dr. David Katz, a cardiologist at the University of Colorado Denver.
[Read More]Two extremely venomous snakes found mating in home drainpipe, yanked out by tails
Posted on March 8, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 463 words
| Trudie Dory
Some of the world's deadliest snakes were caught in the act of mating in a home's drainpipe and had to be yanked out by their tails, according to news reports.
Two Eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis), which are native to Australia and New Guinea, had crawled into a drainpipe at a home in Nambour, Queensland, in Australia and were only halfway into their mating session when snake catchers interrupted their tryst.
[Read More]5 Things That Will Make You Happier
Posted on March 7, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 487 words
| Fernande Dalal
SAN DIEGO – The pursuit of happiness is sometimes easier said than done.
Some scientists have argued that happiness is largely determined by genetics, health and other factors mostly outside of our control. But recent research suggests people actually can take charge of their own happiness and boost it through certain practices.
"The billion-dollar question is, is it possible to become happier?" said psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside.
[Read More]