Photos: World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals
Posted on February 20, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 891 words
| Patria Henriques
Clouded LeopardThese two male clouded leopard cubs, named Sa Ming ("brave warrior") and Ta Moon ("mischievous child"), were born in March 2009 at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The species gets its name from the shape of the cat's markings, which can look like dark clouds on a tan background. Clouded leopards are native to Southeast Asia and are listed as vulnerable to extinction due to deforestation and hunting.
[Read More]The US Lost 1 Warship in WWI. 100 Years Later, We Know What Caused the Sinking.
Posted on February 20, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 1019 words
| Patria Henriques
The only major U.S. warship lost in World War I was brought down by a German mine, new research confirms.
The USS San Diego sank about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from Fire Island, New York, on July 19, 1918. Although the ship went down rapidly — in just 28 minutes — 1,177 crewmembers survived and only six died. Naval historians had long suspected that a German submarine, U-156, was responsible for the sinking, but no one knew whether the weapon was a mine or a torpedo or if there was some other explanation, like sabotage or an accidental explosion.
[Read More]'Talking Lasers' That Beam Messages into Your Head Could Be Here in 5 Years, Pentagon Says
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 455 words
| Patria Henriques
As a part of a military initiative called the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWP), the project aims to create laser weapons that can transmit clear snippets of human speech across long distances. To accomplish this task, the weapon uses a principle called the Laser Induced Plasma Effect, which involves firing an incredibly powerful laser to create a ball of plasma, then shooting a second laser to oscillate the plasma, creating sound waves.
[Read More]Ebola May Linger in Men's Semen for More Than 2 Years
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 944 words
| Patria Henriques
Ebola may linger in men's semen for more than two years, a new study suggests.
What's more, at least one man who survived Ebola and then tested negative for the presence of the virus in his semen later tested positive, the new study found.
The findings raise questions about how long Ebola can linger in special immune hideouts in the body. However, the new findings only show some men carry RNA or genetic material from Ebola long after recovering from the disease.
[Read More]Exercise Grows New Brain Cells
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 291 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Exercise stimulates the growth of new brain cells, a new study on rats finds. The new cells could be the key to why working out relieves depression.
Previous research showed physical exercise can have antidepressant effects, but until now scientists didn’t fully understand how it worked.
Astrid Bjornebekk of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and her colleagues studied rats that had been genetically tweaked to show depressive behaviors, plus a second group of control rats.
[Read More]Far Out! Making Crystals Ripple with Light
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 770 words
| Trudie Dory
A beam of light can make waves in crystals, and those waves can be "tuned" — a phenomenon that might open up new technological possibilities, researchers say.
At the University of California, San Diego, physicists led by Dimitri Basov and Siyuan Dai fired a beam of infrared light at a tiny crystal of boron nitride. They focused the beam on the tip of an atomic force microscope. An atomic force microscope probes surfaces at the scale of atoms and molecules with a needle at the end of an arm, like that on a vinyl record player.
[Read More]How Do Athletes Get 'In the Zone' of Peak Performance?
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 414 words
| Patria Henriques
After a great performance, athletes have described a feeling of being “in the zone.” In this state, they feel invincible, as if the game slowed down, the crowd noise fell silent and they achieved an incredible focus on their mission. What is this Superman-like state and how can players enter it when they most need it?
Like the feeling of being moved down a river by the current, this positive groove has been described as a "
[Read More]How early was the novel coronavirus circulating?
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 7 minutes
| 1323 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
(opens in new tab)In late December 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported cases of an unidentified viral pneumonia, which, along with other reports, alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) to a potential new health threat that was identified as a coronavirus in January 2020 and was later named SARS-CoV-2.
But it has become clear that the virus emerged before late December 2019, possibly even months before. A joint WHO study by Chinese and international researchers identified 174 SARS-CoV-2 infections throughout December, with the earliest going back to Dec.
[Read More]Man's Unusual 'Do Not Resuscitate' Tattoo Sparks Ethics Debate
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 398 words
| Arica Deslauriers
It's not often that a sentiment expressed in a tattoo would influence a person's medical care, but that's what happened to a man in Florida who had the words "do not resuscitate" tattooed across his chest.
The 70-year-old man arrived at the hospital unconscious with an elevated blood alcohol level, according to a recent report of the case. He had a history of several chronic diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes and an irregular heartbeat.
[Read More]Most People Have Unwanted, Worrying Thoughts
Posted on February 19, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 299 words
| Trudie Dory
Anxiety-producing intrusive thoughts — considered to be a common symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD — may actually be widespread in the general population.
A new study found that more than 94 percent of people have unwanted, intrusive thoughts and impulses.
The study involved 19 researchers from 13 countries who surveyed 777 people. The participants were asked detailed questions to gauge whether they experienced intrusive thoughts, such as a feeling of contamination, an image of their house on fire or a sudden urge to hurt someone.
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