Famous Japanese 'Freak Wave' Recreated in Lab

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  654 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

It takes a perfect storm to generate a freak wave, a wall of water so unpredictable and colossal that it can easily destroy and sink ships, a new study finds. Take, for instance, the Draupner freak wave, which struck on Jan. 1, 1995, near the Draupner Oil Platform off the coast of Norway. That wave reached an incredible 84 feet (25.6 meters) tall, or about the height of four adult giraffes stacked on top of one another. [Read More]

Human Origins: How Hominids Evolved (Infographic)

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  1 minutes  |  1 words  |  Trudie Dory

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Insomnia's Surprising Effects on the Brain

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  507 words  |  Trudie Dory

Some people with insomnia may have trouble activating certain brain regions involved in short-term memory, a new study suggests. In addition, people with insomnia may have problems turning off brain regions that are typically active when the mind wanders, the study found. The findings may explain why people with insomnia often say they struggle to concentrate during the day or complete tasks. "Based on these results, it is not surprising that someone with insomnia would feel like they are working harder to do the same job as a healthy sleeper," [Read More]

James Watson, Co-Discoverer of DNA Structure, Stripped of Honors Over Racist Statements

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  304 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

James Watson co-discovered the double-helix structure of DNA back in the 1950s. Now, the famous scientist is being stripped of his honorary titles at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) because of his recent racist remarks, according to The New York Times. In an interview for a PBS documentary called "American Masters: Decoding Watson" that aired January 2, the now 90-year-old said that blacks and whites had average differences in I. [Read More]

Lab-Grown Mini Kidneys 'Go Rogue,' Sprout Brain and Muscle Cells

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  589 words  |  Trudie Dory

Miniature lab-grown kidneys have been hiding something from the scientists who grew them. Instead of developing into different varieties of kidney cells, some of the cells took a different path and became brain and muscle cells. These simple mini kidneys — also known as kidney organoids — are grown from stem cells that are encouraged to develop into clusters of specific kidney cells. But it turns out that the "recipes" that encourage the development of specialized kidney cells were also cranking out cells from other organs, according to a new study. [Read More]

Look Out Below! 8 Amazing Sinkholes

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  796 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Son Doong Up The globe is dotted with truly astounding sinkholes. No, not the holes that open on roads, occasionally swallowing cars. We're talking about gaping openings that are several hundred feet across and deep enough to hold skyscrapers. These true sinkholes were opened by years of erosion as acidic water ate through limestone, dolomite, marble or any other carbonate rock. Here we take a look at some of the most awe-inspiring of these holes around the world. [Read More]

Many Human Viruses May Have Jumped from Bats

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  608 words  |  Trudie Dory

Much of a family of viruses containing a variety of disease-causing nasties, from the mumps virus to Hendra, appears to have jumped from bats to other animals, including us,a new study suggests. To better understand the evolution of paramyxoviruses — which also causemeasles, distemper and respiratory infections as well as deadly, newlyemerging Hendra — scientists looked for them in 9,278 individual bats and rodents at sites around the world. Bats and rodents are known to carry these viruses, and both animals' habit of living in large groups makes them good reservoirs for the viruses that can spread to neighboring humans or livestock. [Read More]

Microwave pulses caused bizarre ‘Havana syndrome,’ report suggests

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  655 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A string of mysterious neurological illnesses reported by U.S. diplomats in Cuba was likely caused by directed microwave energy, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences. In late 2016, people who worked at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, started to develop unexplained symptoms including hearing loud noise accompanied by pain in one or both ears or across the head; other symptoms included ringing in the ears, vision problems, vertigo and cognitive difficulties, according to the report. [Read More]

New antiviral pill halves risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, Merck says

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  705 words  |  Fernande Dalal

In a late-stage clinical trial, a new antiviral pill halved the chance that patients diagnosed with COVID-19 would end up in the hospital or die from the disease, the drugmaker Merck announced Friday (Oct. 1). The drug, called molnupiravir, was developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and could be the first oral medication specifically approved for the treatment of COVID-19, assuming the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes its use, Stat News reported. [Read More]

Nobel Prize in Literature: 1901-Present

 Posted on February 6, 2023  |  14 minutes  |  2934 words  |  Trudie Dory

The Nobel Prize in Literature is given to "the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction," according to Alfred Nobel's will. The 18-member Swedish Academy selects the Nobel Laureates in Literature. The winners, along with the reasons given by the Swedish Academy for the award, are: 2019: Peter Handke "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience," [Read More]