Trouble in Traffic: Kids with ADHD Have Difficulty Crossing Streets

 Posted on June 24, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  801 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have more trouble avoiding traffic when crossing streets than other children, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham used a computer-generated street intersection to see if 39 children, ages 7 to 10 with ADHD crossed the street less safely than 39 ADHD-free kids. Previous research has shown that children with ADHD have a greater risk for general injuries, and adults with ADHD tend to be riskier drivers. [Read More]

'Friends with Benefits' Practice Safer Sex

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  391 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

For all their emotional complications, "friends-with-benefits" relationships may offer one advantage: safer sex. The results of a new study show that people in friends-with-benefits relationships are more likely to use condoms during oral and vaginal sex compared to those in traditional romantic partnerships. The findings are based on an online survey of 376 people, most in their mid-20s. About half of the respondents said they were in a friends-with-benefits relationship, and half of said they were in a traditional romantic relationship. [Read More]

Allergic reactions to Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine are extremely rare, report finds

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  506 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine rarely causes severe allergic reactions, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between Dec. 21 and Jan. 10, more than 4.04 million people were given Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, but only 10 developed a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. That works out to be around 2.5 cases of anaphylaxis per 1 million people vaccinated, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. [Read More]

Ancient 'Loch Ness Monster' Suffered Arthritis

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  731 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Ancient creatures resembling stout-necked Loch Ness Monsters apparently developed arthritis in their monster jaws, revealing that even such lethal killers could suffer from and eventually succumb to diseases of old age, researchers find. Scientists reached that conclusion while investigating the fossil of an extinct marine reptile known as a pliosaur. The carnivore was apparently an old female extending some 26 feet (8 meters). It had a 10-foot-long (3 meters), crocodilelike head, short neck, whalelike body and four powerful flippers to propel it through water to hunt down prey. [Read More]

Biodiversity

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  1 minutes  |  46 words  |  Patria Henriques

Stunning colorized footage provides a glimpse of the last known Tasmanian tiger

By Mindy Weisberger published 9 September 21

Thylacines, once widespread in Australia, have been extinct for nearly a century, but newly colorized footage provides a glimpse of what they looked like in life.

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Cash-Back Sale for Essentials for Watching October's Meteor Showers [Deals]

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  1 minutes  |  207 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

The skies are lighting up with meteor showers this month, and if you plan on catching any of Mother Nature’s light shows, you'll need to stock up on some outdoor gear. Fortunately, our sister site ActiveJunky is offering a 15 percent cash-back bonus sale on over 30 popular outdoor, gear and sporting goods stores. Traditionally, many of these stores offer only between 1 percent to 3 percent cash back. Check out the ActiveJunky Deals and Specials >>> [Read More]

Convalescent plasma could reduce death from COVID-19, early data suggests

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1249 words  |  Trudie Dory

COVID-19 patients treated with the blood of those who have recovered from the infection die at significantly lower rates than those given standard treatments alone, according to a preliminary analysis. In their analysis, posted July 30 to the preprint database bioRxiv, the researchers looked at a dozen trials where hospitalized COVID-19 patients received convalescent plasma (CP) therapy — a treatment that involves drawing blood plasma from recovered patients and injecting the antibody-rich fluid into sick patients. [Read More]

Frog Population Decline Linked to Killer Pathogen

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  505 words  |  Trudie Dory

A virus lethal to wood frog tadpoles may be partly responsible for the alarming and widespread extinction of amphibians seen in recent decades. The study from the NSF-funded National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) showed that ranavirus, a killer pathogen that causes frogs' internal organs to bleed profusely, could lead to the extinction of isolated populations of wood frogs. "We looked at isolated populations because we wanted to know if it was at all possible that ranavirus could cause extinctions, and isolated populations were the most likely," [Read More]

How are asteroids, space weather and space debris detected before they hit Earth?

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  7 minutes  |  1481 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

The idea of threats to Earth from outer space sounds like science fiction, but at some level our planet has always been vulnerable to them — think of the giant asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs(opens in new tab) 65 million years ago.  Fortunately, such occurrences are extremely rare; but other natural phenomena, such as solar storms, can strike from space much more frequently. These have little direct effect on living things, but they can wreak havoc on electronic systems we increasingly depend on, particularly satellite-based technologies. [Read More]

Middle-Age Women Sexually Adventurous as Fertility Dwindles

 Posted on June 23, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  401 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Women in their 30s and 40s are more willing to engage in a variety of sexual activities to capitalize on their remaining childbearing years, according to a new study. The results show women ages 27 to 45 have a heightened sex drive in response to their dwindling fertility. Such "reproduction expediting" includes one-night stands and adventurous bedroom behavior, the research shows. "Our findings suggest that women don't need to necessarily go 'baby crazy' in their 30s or go around thinking they're supposed to be having a 'sexual peak,'" [Read More]