Why Are You Still Sleeping in Your Contact Lenses?
Posted on June 26, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 685 words
| Patria Henriques
Many contact lens wearers have a dirty little secret: They sometimes sleep or nap in their lenses. But — as Live Science has reported many times before — this bad habit could raise their risk of serious eye infections and even lead to vision loss.
Now, emergency room doctors are taking up the cause, in a new commentary published today (Dec. 19) in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.
"Falling asleep, or even napping, without removing your contact lenses can significantly increase the likelihood of serious health problems,"
[Read More]Bizarre Human Brain Parasite Precisely Alters Fear
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 560 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Rats usually have an innate fear of cat urine. The fear extends to rodents that have never seen a feline and those generations removed from ever meeting a cat. After they get infected with the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii, however, rats become attracted to cat pee, increasing the chance they'll become cat food.
This much researchers knew. But a new study shows the parasite, which also infects more half the world's human population, seems to target a rat's fear of cat urine with almost surgical precision, leaving other kinds of fear alone.
[Read More]Bumblebee Set to Become Officially Endangered
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 420 words
| Patria Henriques
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed listing a species of bumblebee as an endangered species, the first bee species to be granted such federal protection in the continental United States.
The rusty patched bumblebee - the workers of which can be identified by a small rust-colored mark on the middle of their second abdominal segment - was historically widespread along the east coast of North America, from Quebec down to Georgia, and across much of the midwest as far west as the Dakotas.
[Read More]Can Microbes in the Gut Influence the Brain?
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 15 minutes
| 3119 words
| Patria Henriques
Lindsay Borthwick, writer and editor for The Kavli Foundation, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body, collectively called the microbiome, are estimated to weigh two to six pounds — up to twice the weight of the average human brain. Most of them live in the gut and intestines, where they help us to digest food, synthesize vitamins and ward off infection.
[Read More]Faraway Star Is Roundest Natural Object Ever Seen
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 484 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
A star 5,000 light-years from Earth is the closest thing to a perfect sphere that has ever been observed in nature, a new study reports.
Stars, planets and other round celestial bodies bulge slightly at their equators due to centrifugal force. Generally speaking, the faster these objects spin, the greater the force, and the larger the bulge.
For example, the sun rotates once every 27 days, and an imaginary line drawn through its center at the equator is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) longer than a similar line drawn from pole to pole.
[Read More]Garmin Forerunner 920XT: GPS Watch Review
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 10 minutes
| 2020 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
The Garmin Forerunner 920XT is a GPS watch that tracks running, cycling and swimming. The watch also counts steps, tracks sleep and can be paired with a heart rate monitor that enables you to check your pulse as you exercise. The FR920XT(opens in new tab) is designed for serious athletes and provides advanced metrics for all three sports it tracks. Runners can use the watch to analyze pace, cadence (strides per minute), ground contact (the amount of time your foot stays on the ground per stride) and vertical oscillation (vertical up and down movement, or "
[Read More]Idea Gets a Toehold: Nails Hold Clue to Lung Cancer Risk
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 456 words
| Patria Henriques
Your toenails may hold clues to your risk of developing lung cancer, a new study finds.
The results show men with high levels of nicotine in their toenails were about 3.5 times more likely to develop lung cancer than those with lower levels of nicotine, regardless of their smoking histories.
The findings suggest the detrimental effects of smoking may be underestimated in studies that use only self-reported smoking history to assess lung cancer risk, the researchers said.
[Read More]Listeria Infection: Symptoms & Treatment
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 848 words
| Fernande Dalal
Listeriosis is an infection caused by eating Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Over the past few years, the bacteria have been responsible for dozens of food product recalls, numerous hospital visits and even deaths. In fact, according to the CDC, Listeria infections cause 1,600 illnesses and 260 deaths each year in the United States.
CausesA Listeria infection is typically caused by eating contaminated foods, according to the Mayo Clinic.
[Read More]Mid-life Crisis: An Outdated Myth?
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 508 words
| Fernande Dalal
The stereotype that many middle-aged people get depressed and must perk up their lives with sports cars and affairs may be an outdated myth, scientists say. In fact, these days many people often feel more fulfilled in their middle and later years, data shows.
The term "mid-life crisis" was coined 40 years ago by psychologist Elliot Jacques, who reasoned that people's quality of life generally declines after age 35 (at the time, the average lifespan was about 70 years).
[Read More]Palawan Photos: The Philippines Biodiversity Frontier
Posted on June 25, 2023
| 7 minutes
| 1334 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A biodiversity frontierThe province of Palawan pokes out to the West of the Philippine Islands like a long finger squashed between the South China Sea and Sulu Sea. Narcotic seascapes, vibrant coral reefs, dense tropical forests and rugged mountains create a complex ecosystem that serves as refuge for many threatened creatures both on land and sea. Unlike much of the Philippines, Palawan still retains more than 50 percent of its original forest cover, and contains vast stretches of old growth forest on its mountainous slopes.
[Read More]