Weird Finding: Smoking Causes Knee Pain

 Posted on June 28, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  370 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The dangers of smoking are well document and widely known nowadays. But here's one you probably didn't expect: Men with osteoarthritis in the knee experience more severe pain and more loss of cartilage if they smoke. "This is a novel finding," said Dr. Shreyasee Amin, a rheumatologist at the Mayo Clinic lead researcher in a new study that will be published online this week in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. [Read More]

'Schizophrenia Gene' Discovery Sheds Light on Possible Cause

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  634 words  |  Trudie Dory

Researchers have identified a gene that increases the risk of schizophrenia, and they say they have a plausible theory as to how this gene may cause the devastating mental illness. After conducting studies in both humans and mice, the researchers said this new schizophrenia risk gene, called C4, appears to be involved in eliminating the connections between neurons — a process called "synaptic pruning," which, in humans, happens naturally in the teen years. [Read More]

4th-Grade 'Paleontologists' Discover 11,500-Year-Old Mastodon Hair

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  928 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Earlier this year, Linda Azaroff's fourth-grade class received a 2.2-pound (1-kilogram) box containing what one student described as a "clump of dirt." But this wasn't just any dirt — it was sediment, or matrix, collected from a backyard in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 2000, where a project to deepen a backyard pond uncovered the remains of a mastodon — an extinct elephantlike animal. Working under a deadline, but not wanting to miss any important pieces, excavators carted away about 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of matrix from around the bones, more than they could realistically sort through in the years to come. [Read More]

Arizona Woman Wakes Up with British Accent

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  333 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

An Arizona woman woke up speaking with a British accent, even though she's lived in the U.S. all her life, according to news reports. The woman, Michelle Myers, said that in 2015, she went to bed with a "blinding headache" and woke up sounding British, according to ABC affiliate KNXV. Her across-the-pond accent has remained for the past two years. "Everybody only sees or hears Mary Poppins" when they listen to her speak, Myers told KNXV. [Read More]

Barren Desert 'Fairy Circles' Caused by … Rain?

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  591 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Unusual bare circles in the grasslands of Australia and the Namib Desert called "fairy circles" aren't the work of termites, new research suggests. Fairy circles are a long-standing mystery. Some scientists have argued that they mark termite nests or are the result of plants competing for scarce resources. Some say that a combination of termite and plant activity resulted in the odd splotches. But now, a new study suggests that the circles aren't the result of anything living. [Read More]

COVID-19 vaccines are on the fast-track to approval. How will we know they're safe?

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  10 minutes  |  2048 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

More than 30 candidate vaccines for COVID-19 have reached human trials since the pandemic began only months ago. But given that most vaccines take years to develop, how will we know that the first coronavirus vaccine to earn approval is safe and effective enough for widespread use?   Experts told Live Science that all candidate COVID-19 vaccines must pass through the same phases of clinical trials before earning approval from the U. [Read More]

Different Drums: Male and Female Hearts Don't Age the Same

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  615 words  |  Patria Henriques

Men and women will always have their differences, but a new analysis finds that these differences extend to heart anatomy. The "hearty" differences became apparent only after researchers studied nearly 3,000 adults for about 10 years. By the end of the study, published online today (Oct. 20) in the journal Radiology, the researchers found that male and female hearts grow differently over time. The study focused on one heart chamber, the left ventricle, which pumps oxygenated blood out of the heart into the body. [Read More]

DIY Nightmare: Why Stripping Wallpaper Is a Mess

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  389 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

You grip. You tug. It rips. Will that blasted piece of wallpaper ever come off cleanly? New research shows the do-it-yourself crowd may just be out of luck when it comes to removing any sticky sheet such as tape or wallpaper. In fact, pulling evenly on an adhesive film pretty much guarantees it will end, frustratingly, in a triangular point, scientists say. "There's basically no way to get around it," Pedro Reis, an applied mathematician at MIT, told LiveScience. [Read More]

Fierce Fighters: 7 Secrets of Viking Seamen

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  605 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Crazy facts about VikingsFor more than three centuries, a shout of "Vikings!" struck fear in the hearts of Medieval Europeans. But the ancient Norsemen were more than bloody raiders — they also established elaborate trade routes and settled in many of the lands they plundered. From their "magic" navigational tools to their sexy fashion sense, here are seven wild facts about the Scandinavian warriors. Skilled Seamenp> It's no secret that the Vikings were amazing sailors. [Read More]

Flight 370 Mystery: How Can a Jetliner Drop Off the Radar?

 Posted on June 27, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  923 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

The mystery surrounding a missing commercial airliner raises a fundamental question: How can a big jet full of people just vanish into thin air in this day and age? Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took off from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Friday afternoon (March 7) U.S. Eastern time, headed for Beijing. But air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane less than an hour later as it was flying over the Gulf of Thailand — it just disappeared from the radar. [Read More]