Bubbles: Sure, They Look Innocent, But They Can Be Bacteria-Spreading Menaces

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  468 words  |  Patria Henriques

Innocent-looking bubbles can serve as a launching pad to spread bacteria from water into the air, according to a new study. The study, published Nov. 15 in the journal Physical Review Letters, found that bacteria can manipulate the physics of bubbles in a way that enhances the microbes' spread. For example, bacteria-covered bubbles can last for a much longer time than clean bubbles, even though the bubble's surface thins out over time. [Read More]

Do Giraffes Get Struck by Lightning More Than Other Animals?

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  442 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Two months ago, Reddit user infernograve woke from a vivid dream. As wakefulness crept back, the dream did not recede, rather, it stuck in his mind, piquing his curiosity and prompting a burning question. He subsequently logged into Reddit's popular AskScience subreddit to share it: "Do giraffes get struck by lightning more often than other animals?" The question is now the most popular ever asked on the forum. So do giraffes get struck by lightning at higher rates? [Read More]

For Better Relationships, Just Be Yourself

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  483 words  |  Patria Henriques

When it comes to romance, the advice to "be yourself" might be right on, according to new research. The study looked at how peoples' ability to stay true to themselves — including seeing themselves clearly and objectively, acting in ways consistent with their beliefs, and interacting honestly and truthfully with others — affected their relationships. The results show that those who reported being more true to themselves also reported more positive dating relationships. [Read More]

How hand sanitizer caused a man's unusual 'hangover'

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  515 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A man's medication for alcohol dependence caused him to have a strange reaction to hand sanitizer, according to a new report of the case. The 43-year-old man was visiting his bank when he began experiencing what looked like an allergic reaction — he suddenly became flushed, nauseated and uneasy. His symptoms started after he had applied hand sanitizer to his hands when he arrived at the bank, to follow the rules that were in place for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report, published in the July issue of the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism. [Read More]

Hurricane Matthew Photos: See How the Monster Storm Evolved

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  387 words  |  Patria Henriques

A storm is bornHurricane Matthew became the fifth hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season on Sept. 29. The storm first made landfall in southwestern Haiti as, with a Category 4 hurricane, with wind speeds of 145 mph (233 km/h). This is a visible-light image of Hurricane Matthew taken at 7:45 a.m. EDT on Oct. 4, 2016. The storm made landfall on Haiti at about 7:00 a.m. EDT. Temperature checkThe Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite captured this image of Hurricane Matthew at 11:13 p. [Read More]

Ice Age Cave Art Found Under Layers of Centuries-Old Graffiti

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  507 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

For urban graffiti artists, their work is sometimes on display all too briefly before rival artists cover it up. And ice age cave art suffered a similar fate, experts have discovered. Archaeologists suspected that two caves called Grottes d'Agneux and located in eastern France might harbor artwork produced thousands of years ago by human artists. The researchers had strong suspicions that the art was there, but the cave walls were so covered with layers of more-recent graffiti (from the 16th to 19th centuries) that the ancient art had likely been hidden for hundreds of years, representatives of the University of Tübingen in Germany reported yesterday (Nov. [Read More]

Kenya's Maasai Mara: Facts About the Wildlife, Climate and Culture

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  795 words  |  Trudie Dory

In southwestern Kenya, in the Kenya Rift Valley Province, lies 583 square miles (1,510 square kilometers) of protected land known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve. It was established in 1961 and is a popular safari destination, renowned for its wildlife population, according to a 2019 study about the park published in the journal Land Use Policy. The wildlife roam freely across the boundaries of the reserve into areas with several villages, where animals and humans coexist. [Read More]

Why Women Worry So Much

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  404 words  |  Trudie Dory

Scientists have known that on the whole, females of all ages tend to worry more and have more intense worries than males. Women also tend to perceive more risk in situations and grow more anxious than men. Now we know why. Women are more likely than men to believe that past experiences accurately forecast the future, according to two new studies. The research, involving both 3- to 6-year-olds and adults of both genders, tested the extent to which participants' thought that worry can be caused by thinking that a bad event that happened in the past could happen again in the future. [Read More]

Wreck of 16th-Century Spanish Ship Found Off Florida Coast

 Posted on November 24, 2022  |  5 minutes  |  982 words  |  Patria Henriques

The third of six sunken Spanish ships that were lost in a hurricane in 1559 has been discovered off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. In the summer of 2016, the wreck of the ship, dubbed the Emanuel Point III, was found resting under the sand 7 feet (2 meters) below the ocean surface in Pensacola Bay. Archaeologists have found the ship's hull, ballast rocks and ceramic artifacts in the wreckage. [Read More]

Beauty Boils Down to a Simple Average

 Posted on November 23, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  506 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Johnny Depp may be easy on the eyes, but in reality he is just easy on the mind, a new study suggests. While eyes are the vehicles for receiving visual images, the brain decides how attractive those images are. Attractiveness appears to be related to how easy you can wrap your brain around a face. "A stimulus becomes attractive if it falls into the average of what you've seen and is therefore simple for your brain to process," [Read More]