Blue Skies Only In the Eye of the Beholder
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 714 words
| Fernande Dalal
The sky is blue -- physicists tell us -- because blue light in the Sun's rays bends more than red light. But this extra bending, or scattering, applies just as much to violet light, so it is reasonable to ask why the sky isn't purple.
The answer, explained fully for the first time in a new scientific paper, is in the eye of the beholder.
"The traditional way that people teach this subject is that sunlight is scattered -- more so for shorter wavelengths than for longer ones,"
[Read More]Damage from Hurricanes and Tsunamis Looks Strangely Alike
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 577 words
| Fernande Dalal
While Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 were fueled by very different forces, they caused damage to structures in surprisingly similar ways, a new study finds.
The study, including a photographic survey of the damage Hurricane Katrina did to the Mississippi coast, showed how the force of water—be it from a tsunami or a hurricane—can lift away buildings or snatch the soil out from under them.
[Read More]Drinking Coffee May Cut Risk of Colon Cancer
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 499 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
SAN DIEGO — Drinking just one to two cups of coffee a day may reduce the risk of colon cancer, a new study suggests.
Researchers examined coffee consumption among nearly 8,500 people in Israel, including about 5,000 who had colorectal cancer and 3,500 who did not have cancer. On average, the people in the study drank just less than two cups of coffee per day.
Overall, the odds of having colorectal cancer were about 30 percent lower for coffee drinkers than for those who did not drink coffee, the study found.
[Read More]Gallery: Eye-Catching Bioluminescent Wonders
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 923 words
| Patria Henriques
Eye-Catching Bioluminescent CreaturesAlthough bioluminescence is most commonly found in marine life, it can also be seen in animals and insects on land. Bioluminescence, or when light is produced by an organism using a chemical reaction, can serve several purposes, including communication, finding food, attracting prey and warning predators. But no matter what it's being used for, it never fails to dazzle.
Shining Sea SnailsThe marine snail Hinea brasiliana produces bright green flashes of light as an alarm when other creatures rub past its shell.
[Read More]Get 'Bionic Hearing' with New Smart Earbuds
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 563 words
| Fernande Dalal
If you've ever been on a crowded bus and found yourself stuck between a loud conversation on one side and obnoxiously loud music on the other, the idea of being able to cancel out that background noise probably sounds like bliss. Now, new earbuds can not only help boost your hearing and cancel out pesky noise, but also serve as wireless earphones for making phone calls and listening to music hands-free.
[Read More]Lonely Hearts Find Comfort in TV Characters
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 609 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Don't feel delusional for turning to favorite television characters on "Lost" or "Brothers and Sisters" for comfort – new research suggests that such illusory relationships can buffer people against loneliness or sadness.
Subjects in one study who felt down from remembering unhappy moments of social rejection soon perked up upon writing about their favorite TV shows and characters. This supports the "social surrogacy hypothesis," where technology provides a sense of social belonging when real social connections are lacking.
[Read More]Low Vitamin Levels May Be Linked with Migraines in Kids
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 5 minutes
| 892 words
| Trudie Dory
Kids who frequently get migraines may have lower levels of certain vitamins and antioxidants in their blood, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that, of the children and teens in the study who visited a headache clinic for migraine pain, relatively high percentages had mild deficiencies of vitamin D, riboflavin (a B vitamin) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) — a vitamin-like substance that is made in the body and is used to produce energy within cells — compared with kids in the general population.
[Read More]Misfit Flash: Fitness Tracker Review
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 9 minutes
| 1819 words
| Patria Henriques
This story was updated at 1:05 p.m. ET on March 25.
The Misfit Flash is an activity and sleep tracker that you can wear on your wrist, clip onto your belt or dangle from your keychain. This colorful device measures the number of steps you take in a day, as well as your distance traveled and calories burned. It also tracks how long (and how soundly) you sleep at night.
[Read More]Parkas Helped Early Humans Survive
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 605 words
| Patria Henriques
Fur clothing similar to modern-day parkas helped early modern humans survive the Ice Age, says a new study into prehistoric clothing.
Meanwhile, Neanderthals, who wore only cape-like clothing, remained exposed to the Ice Age chill.
Such clothing differences could have contributed to the demise of Neanderthals around 40,000 years ago.
To determine whether Neanderthals used clothing with the same thermal effectiveness as early modern humans, a team of researchers in Canada and Scotland investigated the bones of animals whose skins may have been used to produce clothing.
[Read More]Rare wolf spider presumed extinct turns up on British military base
Posted on February 18, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 509 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
A 2-inch-long (5 centimeters) spider thought to be extinct in Great Britain is actually alive and thriving on a British military base.
A program manager at the Surrey Wildlife Trust rediscovered the great fox-spider (Alopecosa fabrilis) on an undeveloped portion of a military installation in Surrey, England, after a two-year search. The last time the spider was seen before this in Britain was in 1993, or 27 years ago.
"It's a gorgeous spider, if you're into that kind of thing,"
[Read More]