In Photos: Beautiful Cactus Flowers Signal Spring Is Here
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 7 minutes
| 1386 words
| Patria Henriques
Most scientists today agree that North America has four distinct desert regions: the Great Basin, the Mojave, the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan. The subjective delineation of one from another is based primarily upon the different species of plants that can be found growing in each region. When the cacti found within these four arid lands begin to bloom in late March and April, spring has once again returned to these North American deserts.
[Read More]Men Alcoholics Can Hear the Words But Not the Emotions
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 662 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Male alcoholics appear to have a great deal of difficulty recognizing emotions in verbal language, a small European study suggests. The researchers also found that the men have a weakened ability to show empathy.
Because empathy plays a key role in interpersonal relationships, an empathy deficit might explain part of the wider relationship problems commonly seen in alcoholics, said study author Simona Amenta, a psychology researcher at the University of Milano-Bicocca.
[Read More]Polar Bears Swim Hundreds of Miles in One Go
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 388 words
| Fernande Dalal
Polar bears can swim for days, covering hundreds of miles of open water at a time, accoding to new GPS tracking data. These long swims appear to be a response to declining summer sea ice in the Arctic, the researchers suggest.
Sea ice provides crucial habitat for polar bears, which hunt for prey, primarily seals, from it. But recent years of warming temperatures have brought significant declines in sea-ice cover over Arctic waters.
[Read More]Robo-Butt Gives New Meaning to Uncanny Valley
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 550 words
| Patria Henriques
A robotic butt named SHIRI touches upon every nook and cranny of the uncanny valley, especially as a human pokes, slaps and strokes its fleshlike surface. It's downright creepy.
SHIRI is a Japanese art project that seems designed to ring all sorts of alarm bells in the human brain. "Shiri" literally means "buttocks" in Japanese, according to Kotaku editor Brian Ashcraft, and the robot, which is described in a video by its creators as a "
[Read More]Save 20% with this Garmin Forerunner 45 GPS deal
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 471 words
| Trudie Dory
Need a hand setting training goals and pushing yourself over the line? The Garmin Forerunner 45 (42mm) GPS Running Watch is now on sale at Amazon for just $159.99(opens in new tab).
The Garmin Forerunner 45 estimates heart rate, Vo2 and calories at the wrist and features accurate GPS tracking to measure your pace, distance, intervals and more. It also pairs with your smartphone for maximum convenience and comes with free training plan support that brings expert, personalized coaching right to your wrist.
[Read More]Teen Gets Hookworm from Florida Beach Sand
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 319 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A Tennessee teen's summer trip to Florida turned nightmarish after he contracted hookworms from playing in the sand at the beach, according to news reports.
The 17-year-old Michael Dumas visited south Florida in June for a church trip, and during a beach-outing, his friends buried him in sand, according to news station Local Memphis.
Soon after, the teen started feeling itchy, and he later developed blisters, scrapes and rashes on his lower body, Local Memphis reported.
[Read More]The New Mystery of Water
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 6 minutes
| 1128 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
With researchers decoding DNA and smashing open atoms, you might assume the science of everyday water, life's most basic substance, is well understood. But recent experiments probing how water molecules link together have come up with conflicting results.
Scientists now admit they don't understand the intricacies of how water works.
"The structure of water - the reason for its peculiar properties - is a major question in chemistry and physics," said Richard Saykally from University of California, Berkeley.
[Read More]The Raw Food Diet: A Raw Deal
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 5 minutes
| 879 words
| Trudie Dory
American ingenuity has found one solution to the energy crisis: food you never need to cook. There's no need for fuel when everything you eat---from salad to, well, more salad—is served up at piping room temperature.
I'm speaking of the raw food diet, for those who find the vegan lifestyle of no animal food products far too opulent. This is particularly popular in, where else, California, yet it's making its way across the country.
[Read More]Tick-borne illnesses are on the rise. Here’s how to protect yourself.
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 6 minutes
| 1150 words
| Trudie Dory
It's tick season again, North America. As the weather warms and people move outside, the chances of an encounter with one of these blood-sucking arthropods increases. In fact, tick problems today seem to be worse than they were 50 to 60 years ago, experts told Live Science.
It's worth being wary; ticks cause at least 50,000 cases of illness in the U.S. each year, and that's only the diseases that are diagnosed and reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[Read More]Why You Shouldn't Worry About the New Study Linking Cellphones to Cancer
Posted on November 27, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 811 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Concerns over whether cellphones can cause cancer have been around for years. Now, the issue is being raised yet again, as government researchers release the results of a major study that found evidence linking high levels of cellphone radiation exposure to certain types of cancer in rodents.
But you probably don't need to be too worried about these results, for one important reason: You are not a male rat.
Indeed, the only clear link between cellphone radiation and cancer was found among male rats (not female rats or male or female mice), and the researchers stressed that the findings do not apply to humans.
[Read More]