Even Diet Sodas Are Tied to an Increased Risk of Early Death

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  705 words  |  Patria Henriques

Consuming too many soft drinks — even diet drinks — may increase your risk of early death, a new study suggests. The study, which included data from nearly half a million people in Europe, is the largest of its kind, the authors said. People who consumed two or more glasses of soda per day — either regular or diet — were 17% more likely to die during the nearly two-decade study, compared with people who consumed less than one glass of soda per month, the study found. [Read More]

How to Avoid a Nasty Virus on a Cruise Ship

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  659 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Sharing a cabin with a sick person and not practicing good hygiene largely contributed to the spread of a diarrhea virus on a cruise ship in 2009, according to a new report. Called norovirus, it is a common scourge of cruise ships, hospitals and nursing homes and causes severe diarrhea and vomiting. The virus can spread in food, water and from touching infected surfaces or people, the researchers said. On this particular cruise, norovirus caused acute gastroenteritis in at least 15 percent of the passengers on the ship, said researcher Mary Wikswo, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Read More]

If You Suck at Dating, It's Not You — It's Evolution

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  657 words  |  Fernande Dalal

All animals reproduce, but only humans swipe left. For many people, rejection and disappointment are necessary evils of dating. These feelings can be discouraging, but a new study suggests that the emotions may be far more common than they seem on those loneliest of nights. In the study, the researchers found that roughly 50 percent of people have trouble finding or keeping a romantic partner. And if this characterization applies to your life, the study authors offer a glimmer of encouragement: It's not you — it's evolution. [Read More]

Killer Chemistry: The Chemical Weapons of World War I (Photos)

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  251 words  |  Trudie Dory

Simple gas maskWorld War One (WWI), known as the “chemists’ war,” was the first time that chemical weapons were used for killing thousands of people on the battlefield at a time. By the war’s end, world leaders mobilized to contain the horrific and deadly agents of mass destruction. A very simple "gas mask used during WWI by the allies in the campaign in France, circa 1915. Sound the alarmA German signal alarm warned when their gas was being released. [Read More]

Ligers and Tigons, Oh My! Cat Lineage Littered with Interbreeding

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  794 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Modern-day felines may be the ultimate mutts. Different species of cats mated with each other at several points in history, a new genetic study of felines reveals. These ancient cat hybrids may have shaped the course of feline evolution, researchers said. The new cat family tree could also help explain many of the mysteries of cat evolution that have emerged in recent years, scientists added. [Real or Fake: 8 Bizarre Hybrid Animals] [Read More]

London Bridge Replica Crowned World's Largest Lego Sculpture

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  269 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

To launch its New Discovery car, automaker Land Rover set a new world record with the largest Lego sculpture: a replica of London's iconic Tower Bridge. Using 5,805,846 individual pieces, the 43-foot-high (13 meters) Lego construction beat the previous record by 470,646 bricks, according to Guinness World Records. In fact, the bricks used to build the Tower Bridge replica would stretch almost 200 miles (320 kilometers) if laid end to end — a distance that's equivalent to going from Tower Bridge in London to Paris. [Read More]

Macho Men May Not Have Survival Advantage in War

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  891 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Despite a known link between a masculine-looking face and aggression in men, macho-faced soldiers didn't survive Finland's World War II Winter War in greater numbers than recruits with less masculine faces. The macho-looking men did, however, have more children in their lifetimes than thinner-faced guys, suggesting that face shape is a sign of evolutionary fitness. The new findings, published today (May 7) in the journal Biology Letters, reveal nuances in how hormones, genetics and societal structures might work together to influence evolution. [Read More]

New In-Car Device Warns Speeding Drivers

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  547 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

An Australian company has developed a system that lets drivers know when they're speeding. When the technology becomes commercially available, it could help lead-footed drivers avoid tickets and also save lives. It could even be used by parents to monitor teen driving. The product, called SpeedAlert, links real-time location data and speed obtained with the help of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to a database of posted speed limits stored in a driver's PDA or programmable mobile phone. [Read More]

Ocean Temperatures Have Reached a Record-Breaking High

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  607 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Our planet's oceans are warmer than they've ever been in recorded human history. And ocean temperatures are not only increasing, they are heating up at an accelerating rate, according to a new analysis.  In 2019, the ocean temperature was about 0.135 degrees Fahrenheit (0.075 degrees Celsius) higher than the average between 1981 and 2010, an international group of researchers reported on Jan. 13 in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences(opens in new tab). [Read More]

Old Age More Miserable for Women

 Posted on February 20, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  464 words  |  Patria Henriques

Women live longer than men, on average, but its no secret that age takes its toll. A new study finds that largely owing to obesity and arthritis, which take root during early and middle age, old age can be miserable for many women — even when comparing men and women of the same age. A 2005 study that found that women suffer more pain than men, in part because of perceptions of pain related to differing hormone levels. [Read More]