Legionnaires' disease: Causes, symptoms and treatment

 Posted on November 26, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1113 words  |  Trudie Dory

Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by bacteria in the Legionella genus.  When Legionella bacteria infect the lungs, the bugs can cause two different illnesses: a milder infection known as Pontiac fever (because the condition was first described in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1968), and the more serious Legionnaires' disease, which can lead to hospitalization and kills about 1 in 10 people infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [Read More]

Near-Death Experience: Find Out if You're a Candidate

 Posted on November 26, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  664 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Experiences you have in the here and now could hint at whether you'll see a light at the end of the tunnel when you're close to the hereafter. A new study finds that people who have had near-death experiences are generally more likely to have difficulty separating sleep from wakefulness. Researchers surveyed 55 people who'd had a near-death experience (NDE) and 55 who had not. The experience was defined as a life-threatening episode such as a car accident or heart attack when the person experienced a variety of feelings, including: [Read More]

New 'Assassin Bug' Species Discovered in Arizona Cave

 Posted on November 26, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  727 words  |  Patria Henriques

A new species of "assassin bug" — a type of gutsy predatory insect that neutralizes prey using its thorny front legs and sharp, needlelike mouth — has been discovered deep in a limestone cave in Arizona. The bug, which has been christened the "labyrinth bug" (Phasmatocoris labyrinthicus), was found in Kartchner Caverns State Park, a massive cave system located in Cochise County, Ariz. The insect was first observed about 22 years ago, during studies that were conducted before the cave was developed into a state park, but at the time, researchers were unaware they had stumbled on a previously unrecognized species, said Robert Pape, an associate in the department of entomology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. [Read More]

Planet 9 probably doesn't exist, new paper argues

 Posted on November 26, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1230 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Does the solar system have a big, dark ninth planet drifting somewhere far beyond the orbit of Neptune?  Since 2016, many astronomers have said it's possible, pointing to evidence for a large gravity source in deep solar space. But a new paper argues that this gravity source is nothing more than a statistical mirage, the consequence of where in the night sky astronomers point their telescopes. The first physical(CK) hint of this hypothetical Planet Nine was a group of space rocks with similar orbits that seemed to be clustered unusually close together. [Read More]

What is a Superbug?

 Posted on November 26, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  325 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

They're not space aliens, they're not insectoid monsters roaming the streets and they're definitely not super heroes. Superbugs are drug-resistant, human-killing microbes that modern medicine struggles to combat. The term has morphed over time, however. The word "superbug" showed up in the popular press some time after 1970, according to LexisNexis news database searches, and was initially used to describe pollution-eating microbes. Since then, the word has evolved to describe hardy yet dangerous infectious diseases. [Read More]

White Wine and Beer Important Sources of Arsenic

 Posted on November 26, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  676 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

White wine, beer and Brussels sprouts can be major sources of the toxic metal arsenic in people's diets, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed the diets of 852 people in New Hampshire, and the levels of arsenic in their toenails, which show long-term exposure to the chemical. Of the 120 foods the researchers looked at, four turned out to significantly raise people's arsenic levels: beer, white wine (and to a lesser extent, red wine), Brussels sprouts and dark-meat fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines, according to the study, published last week (Nov. [Read More]

World's First Flowers May Have Bloomed Underwater

 Posted on November 26, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  542 words  |  Trudie Dory

A fluffy, frondy plant that wouldn't look out of place in a lake today was one of the oldest flowering plants on Earth, new research finds. Montsechia vidalii wouldn't have made for a great bouquet; it consisted of long shoots and small leaves, and its flowers lacked anything as elaborate as petals. But at 125 million to 130 million years old, this aquatic plant is a window into the early days of angiosperms, or plants with flowers, said David Dilcher, a paleobotanist at Indiana University. [Read More]

113 Dead Sea Turtles Washed Up on a Mexico Beach, and No One Knows Why

 Posted on November 25, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  357 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Over a period of less than three weeks, more than 100 endangered sea turtles washed up dead on an 18-mile (30 kilometers) stretch of beach on the Pacific coast of Mexico near Guatemala, and authorities aren't sure why. The mass mortality event began on July 24, when 26 dead turtles were discovered in the small tourist beach town of Puerto Arista in the state of Chiapas, Mexico's Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) reported. [Read More]

All Ears! What Human Ancestors' Hearing Was Like

 Posted on November 25, 2022  |  5 minutes  |  941 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Human ancestors that lived about 2 million years ago had hearing abilities similar to those of chimpanzees, but their ears had some slight differences that made their hearing more humanlike, a new study finds. The finding — based on virtual models of early hominin (the ancestors of modern humans), modern chimp and human ears — suggests that, unlike chimps, these now-extinct human ancestors had a remarkable sensitivity to high-frequency sounds. [Read More]

Bad Vibes? Heavy Marijuana Users Hold on to Negative Feelings

 Posted on November 25, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  762 words  |  Fernande Dalal

SAN FRANCISCO — Many people tend to look back on the past with rose-colored glasses, remembering the good times and the good feelings, while forgetting the bad. But a new study suggests that heavy marijuana users may have some trouble letting go of negative emotions tied to memories — a phenomenon that's also seen in people with depression. Earlier research has also linked marijuana use with depression. Although the new results are very preliminary, the findings, presented here Friday (May 25) at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, may offer clues about the link between marijuana use and depression. [Read More]