If You Have Heart Disease, Too Much 'Good' Cholesterol May Be Harmful

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  751 words  |  Trudie Dory

When it comes to so-called good cholesterol, a new study suggests there could be truth to the phrase "too much of a good thing." The study, from a team of researchers in Atlanta, found that, in people with cardiovascular disease, very high levels of "good" cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, are associated with a considerably higher risk of heart attack and death from cardiovascular causes. In fact, the scientists found that people with very high levels of HDL cholesterol in their blood have as high a risk of heart attack and death from cardiovascular disease as those with very low levels. [Read More]

Mighty T. Rex Began As Cute, Deer-Size Dino

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  483 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex was an enormous dinosaur. However, this giant carnivore had very humble beginnings, according to a new fossil discovery. Paleontologists recently discovered an early ancestor to T. rex that was positively puny, about the size of a small deer. The scientists found fossilized leg bones and teeth of T. rex's predecessor at a dig site in central Utah known as the Cliffs of Insanity. These fossils came from a previously unknown tyrannosaur species and filled a 70-million-year gap in the family tree of North American tyrannosaurs, researchers reported in a new study. [Read More]

Rare wispy ice formations streak across the sea near Antarctica in beautiful satellite images

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  540 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

(opens in new tab)Strong winds and unusual ocean currents helped paint a breathtaking icescape on the surface of the ocean near Antarctica, and the rare phenomenon was recently captured in a stunning satellite image.  The incredible image was taken on Nov. 20 by the Operational Land Imager onboard Landsat 8, a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, and was released on Dec. 8 by NASA's Earth Observatory. The picture focuses on a channel of water about 3. [Read More]

SpaceX's Dragon docks at ISS in time for astronaut's birthday

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  566 words  |  Fernande Dalal

SpaceX's latest Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) Monday (Aug. 30) to deliver an experimental robotic arm and a wealth of other research equipment and supplies just in time for one astronaut's birthday. "Congratulations to NASA and SpaceX teams and many thanks. No one's ever sent me a spaceship for my birthday before," NASA astronaut Megan McArthur radioed Mission Control just after docking. It's her 50th birthday today. [Read More]

Tiny Fossils May Be Oldest Evidence of Life on Earth

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  5 minutes  |  1020 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Ancient, preserved microbes that are too small to be seen with the naked eye, dating to billions of years ago, may represent the oldest known evidence of life on Earth, according to a new study. First unearthed in western Australia in 1982 and described in 1993, these microfossils are so tiny that eight of them lined up one after another would span the width of a human hair. The researchers who discovered the fossils initially identified them as biological, but other scientists argued that it was impossible to say for sure, proposing that the so-called " [Read More]

Ukraine should destroy 'high-threat' pathogens, WHO says

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  648 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that Ukrainian public health labs that handle infectious agents destroy any "high-threat pathogens" to prevent potential spills during the ongoing Russian invasion, the agency told Reuters(opens in new tab) on Thursday (March 10).  The WHO previously worked with Ukrainian public health labs to establish security protocols aimed at preventing the "accidental or deliberate" release of such pathogens, the agency told Reuters in an email. " [Read More]

Vanishing ice is warping Earth's crust

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  651 words  |  Fernande Dalal

(opens in new tab)The melting of Earth's polar ice is warping the planet's crust.  This shape change is subtle, but it occurs many hundreds of miles away from the ice sheets. Researchers may be able to monitor the shift as part of research to understand how climate change will affect sea level; understanding the warping is also important, because scientists need to be able to correct for this ground motion when measuring other types of geological processes, the study authors wrote in the August issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters. [Read More]

Volvo's Scary-Looking Front Car Seat Is Probably Safe

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  798 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Volvo recently unveiled a new concept for a car with a change that may scare some parents: The front passenger seat is a baby car seat that swivels and then locks in place to face the rear of the car.  The seat is fixed on a platform in Volvo's XC90, and the arrangement allows a person sitting in the backseat to look at and entertain a strapped-in youngster sitting in the front. [Read More]

Withings Smart Body Analyzer Review

 Posted on December 21, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1235 words  |  Trudie Dory

The Withings Smart Body Analyzer is a smart scale that not only measures weight, but also calculates your body mass index (BMI) and fat mass, and registers heart rate and indoor air quality/air temperature. But at $150, it's on the high end of the market for a scale, even a smart one. So are the extra features worth the price? I tested the scale to find out. Withings Smart Body Analyzer(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)$249. [Read More]

1800's Shipwreck Rediscovered Near Golden Gate Bridge

 Posted on December 20, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  617 words  |  Trudie Dory

The lost shipwreck of a passenger steamer that went down near the Golden Gate in San Francisco has been rediscovered. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced the discovery of the remains of the SS City of Chester today (April 23). NOAA's Coast Survey Navigational Response Team 6 discovered the wreck last year during a sonar survey of the San Francisco Bay. The City of Chester was built in 1875 and sank in 1888. [Read More]