Bizarre 'Dark Fluid' with Negative Mass Could Dominate the Universe

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1168 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

It's embarrassing, but astrophysicists are the first to admit it. Our best theoretical model can only explain 5 percent of the universe. The remaining 95 percent is famously made up almost entirely of invisible, unknown material dubbed dark energy and dark matter. So even though there are a billion trillion stars in the observable universe, they are actually extremely rare. The two mysterious dark substances can only be inferred from gravitational effects. [Read More]

Does Higher IQ Make You Smarter?

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  828 words  |  Patria Henriques

This Fourth of July, as you gather with family to celebrate U.S. independence, let your older brother light the grill. If you're the youngest, you just might be so dumb that you set yourself on fire. According to a new study from Norway, published in the journals Science and Intelligence, oldest siblings have the highest IQ. The eldest sons had, on average, an IQ that was 2.8 points higher than the next oldest son and more than 4 points higher than the third son. [Read More]

Engineers & Eccentrics: Why Nikola Tesla Has So Many Fans

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1107 words  |  Patria Henriques

Nikola Tesla has a fan club. Many fan clubs, in fact. The Serbian-American inventor and engineer died 71 years ago. He lived his last years destitute and alone in a New York City hotel, obsessed with feeding pigeons and building a war-ending "death ray" weapon. But today (July 10), on his 158th birthday, Tesla is an object of fascination. The oddest thing about Tesla's legacy is that his fans aren't just history buffs, or scientists or some other group you'd normally expect to revere a man whose inventions made the world what it is today. [Read More]

In Photos: Ancient Tomb of a Celtic Prince Uncovered

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  436 words  |  Patria Henriques

Archaeologists with France's National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research have discovered the tomb of a Celtic prince dating to the fifth century B.C. inside of a giant funerary complex in Lavau. Here's a look at photos of the excavation process and discoveries. [Read the full story on the princely tomb] Funerary complex This aerial view shows the site in Lavau, France, where a Celtic prince's tomb was found. Here, a large trench can be seen surrounding the princely tomb, which dates to the early fifth century B. [Read More]

In Photos: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  299 words  |  Patria Henriques

Exxon Valdez The Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska on March 24, 1989, releasing nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history until the 2011 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Navy CleanupNavy and civilian personnel position hoses during oil cleanup efforts on Alaska's Smith Island on May 11, 1989. Prince William SoundSpill workers use a barge with water tanks to clean a beach along the Prince William Sound. [Read More]

Out of Thin Air: How Money is Really Made

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  851 words  |  Patria Henriques

Money may not grow on trees, but it does come from U.S. government printing presses. And the Mint can't keep up with demand. The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (whose website name perhaps says it all: moneyfactory.gov) churns out about 38 million bills of varying denominations daily, all worth $750 million in face value. Facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and Washington, D.C., use 18 tons of ink per day to keep up. [Read More]

Real-Life Barbie? Model Created Look to Spread Beliefs

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  937 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

A young Russian model who reportedly spent a half-million dollars to turn herself into a real-life Barbie doll is indeed quite real and not the result of a computer-generated image. Even so, many of the stories written about her are not the real deal. In 2012, photos of this supposed real-life Barbie named Valeria Lukyanovashocked many around the world. Thousands of photos of Lukyanova showed her porcelain face with flawless skin, glassy blue eyes, a blank stare and small waist, which were apparently the result of dozens of surgeries (including, allegedly, having ribs removed). [Read More]

Some Fungal Meningitis Patients Slowly Recovering

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  576 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The therapies used to treat patients affected by the fungal meningitis outbreak appear to be working, and some may be on the road to recovery, medical experts say. At one hospital, the Carilion Clinic -Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Virginia, most patients with fungal meningitis who were treated with the antifungal medication voriconazole are improving, albeit slowly, said Dr. Anthony Baffoe-Bonnie, an infectious disease specialist at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. [Read More]

Stephen Hawking: We Probably Won't Find Aliens Anytime Soon

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  481 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Will humanity find intelligent alien life anytime soon? Probably not, according to theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking made the prediction yesterday (April 12) during the Breakthrough Starshot announcement in New York City. At the news conference, Hawking, along with Russian billionaire investor Yuri Milner and a group of scientists, detailed a new project that aims to send a multitude of tiny, wafer-size spaceships into space to the neighboring star system Alpha Centauri. [Read More]

Successful Conversations Involve Mind Melds, Study Reveals

 Posted on January 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  713 words  |  Trudie Dory

Some people just seem to "get" what someone is saying in a way others don't, and a new study suggests why: When we connect with others in conversation, our brains, in a manner of speaking, link up as well. The results show that during successful verbal communication, brain responses of the speaker mirror those of the listener. This "coupling" occurs in more regions than just those used for simply processing sounds — extending into brain areas involved in higher thinking, such as those processing the meaning of language. [Read More]