Tiny Slowdown in Earth's Rotation Could Unleash Major Earthquakes

 Posted on November 8, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  624 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A tiny slowdown in Earth's rotation next year could trigger more earthquakes than usual, new research suggests. Past periods of slow rotation over the last 100 years have coincided with more earthquakes than average, according to research presented last month at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. "The numbers of earthquakes that have occurred each year in the past century are well known. The changes in Earth's rotation rate are also well known," [Read More]

True to Their Name, Vampire Squid May Have Long Lives

 Posted on November 8, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  519 words  |  Fernande Dalal

No one has ever seen vampire squid mate in the wild. But new research hints that the deep-sea creatures have a reproductive strategy that sets them apart from other cephalopods. While most female squid and octopuses have just one reproductive cycle before they die, vampire squid go through dozens of egg-making cycles in their lifetimes, scientists have found. The discovery suggests vampire squid may live several years longer than coastal squid and octopuses. [Read More]

Want to Live Longer? Optimal Amount of Exercise Revealed

 Posted on November 8, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  772 words  |  Patria Henriques

Doing a few hours of exercise every week will probably help you live longer, but doing a whole lot more exercise doesn't provide much extra benefit, according to a new study on physical activity and longevity. Still, doing as much as 10 times the recommended amount of exercise was not linked with an increased risk of dying during the study period. That's good news for marathon runners and triathletes who may have been concerned about the long-term health effects of such high levels of activity. [Read More]

'Holy Grail of Civil War Swords' Found in Massachusetts Attic

 Posted on November 7, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  733 words  |  Trudie Dory

In March, Anne Bentley, curator of art and artifacts at the Massachusetts Historical Society, received a pivotal text from her boss: "The sword is in the house." Bentley rushed to the table where the weapon was laid out, but she didn't need to look closely. From even about 5 feet (1.5 meters) away, she said to her boss, "'Brenda, this is the sword.' It's got an aura," Bentley told Live Science. [Read More]

30% of Girls' Clothing Is Sexualized in Major Sales Trend

 Posted on November 7, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  755 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Almost a third of girls' clothing for sale at 15 major retailers has sexualizing characteristics, a new study finds, a trend that psychologists say can encourage girls to view themselves as sex objects at an early age. The majority of sexualized clothes also had childlike characteristics, such as polka dots, the research found. Nonetheless, adults in the study rated these childish but sexualizing clothes as just as sexy as clothes with only sexualizing features. [Read More]

49 million-year-old beetle looks like it was squashed yesterday

 Posted on November 7, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  502 words  |  Fernande Dalal

A beetle that lived about 49 million years ago is so well-preserved that the insect looks like it could spread its strikingly patterned wing coverings and fly away. That is, if it weren't squashed and fossilized.  Wing cases, or elytra, are one of the sturdiest parts of a beetle's exoskeleton, but even so, this level of color contrast and clarity in a fossil is exceptionally rare, scientists recently reported.  [Read More]

Cats and Lizards and Monkeys, Oh My! 9IslandsRuled byAnimals

 Posted on November 7, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1271 words  |  Trudie Dory

Animals Rule!An island of cuddly bunnies! A cay populated by swimming pigs! An isle of diseased monkeys! Okay, maybe that last one isn't so appealing. Islands are like evolutionary bubbles. Animals and plants on islands can't easily hop to another home, so they remain isolated, splitting into separate species to fill ecological niches. It's probably no coincidence that Charles Darwin's ideas about the evolution of species crystallized on islands (the wildly diverse Galapagos, to be exact). [Read More]

Feral Children: Lore of the Wild Child

 Posted on November 7, 2022  |  5 minutes  |  911 words  |  Patria Henriques

The feral child — a child raised by wild animals — is common in myth and folklore. Feral children are typically thought of as having been raised without human parental contact. A boy or girl raised by wolves — or bears or apes — is the original "wild child," often having little or no language ability or manners. Because feral children lack socialization, they are sometimes considered to represent a pure natural human state. [Read More]

Grapefruit Antioxidant Breaks Down Fat, Study Shows

 Posted on November 7, 2022  |  1 minutes  |  207 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The antioxidant responsible for grapefruits' bitter taste may cause the liver to break down fat and increase body cells' sensitivity to insulin, according to a new study. Naringenin, a chemical found in grapefruit and in other citrus fruits, activates proteins called nuclear receptors that cause the liver to break down fatty acids, study researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said in a statement. These same changes can occur naturally when fasting for long periods of time, according to the researchers. [Read More]