Cancer May Leave Early Warning Signs in Cheek Cells
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 521 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Smoking may bring on changes in cells that are linked with many cancers, including breast and gynecological cancers, a new study finds. These changes could provide an early warning sign of cancer, particularly in cheek cells, the research showed.
Researchers analyzed cheek swabs from 790 women, and found those who smoked were more likely to have certain changes associated with these cancers, which people may not realize are linked with smoking.
[Read More]Chronic Pain May Stem from Pain Receptors in Hiding
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 852 words
| Fernande Dalal
You may want to run and hide from chronic pain. But pain, it seems, does its best to hide from medication taken to provide relief.
An international team of researchers has found that chronic pain can be hard to treat because pain receptors normally found on nerve cell surfaces can move, migrating into the cell, which places them out of the reach of pain medications while they continue to pump out pain signals to the brain.
[Read More]Countries With the Most and Least Car-Crash Deaths
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 267 words
| Fernande Dalal
The rate of car crash fatalities varies across different countries, and a new report highlights which nations have the deadliest roads and the safest ones.
The global average is 18 car-crash deaths per 100,000 people per year. (The United States is in the middle of the pack, ranking 97th with 14.)
The following is a list of the 25 countries with the highest car-crash fatality rates, accompanied by the number of road accident deaths per 100,000 people:
[Read More]How Geothermal Heat Pumps Could Power the Future
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 742 words
| Patria Henriques
Editor's Note: Each Wednesday LiveScience examines the viability of emerging energy technologies — the power of the future.
The term "geothermal energy" might bring to mind hot springs and billows of steam rising from the soil, but you can get energy from the ground without moving to Iceland or Yellowstone. You just need a geothermal heat pump.
"We call anything below the ground geothermal," said John Lund, director of the Geo-Heat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology.
[Read More]Indonesia's Explosive Geology Explained
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 665 words
| Trudie Dory
Indonesia is a dangerous country to call home.
Precariously located above the grinding and mashing of several tectonic plates, and ringed by a chain of fire-breathing volcanoes, the country's islands are located in one of the most volatile regions in the world. The eruption of a volcano and the shaking of a tsunami-generating earthquake this week is just one reminder of Indonesia's fiery foundation.
As the world's largest archipelago — spread across 17,500 islands — Indonesia sits between the world's most active seismic region — the notorious Pacific Ring of Fire — and the world's second most active region — the Alpide belt.
[Read More]Nuzzling T. rexes and grappling sauropods: Dinosaurs on 'Prehistoric Planet' will astonish you
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 5 minutes
| 853 words
| Fernande Dalal
What would happen if you put Sir David Attenborough and a specialist team of wildlife filmmakers in a time machine and set the dial to 66 million years ago — to the end of the Cretaceous period and the final days of the dinosaurs? An upcoming documentary series aims to provide visually stunning answers to that intriguing question.
"Prehistoric Planet" debuts on Apple TV+ on May 23, launching a five-night dinosaur extravaganza.
[Read More]Orthorexia: Causes, symptoms and treatment
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 7 minutes
| 1427 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an obsession with the perceived "purity" of food. People with orthorexia might restrict themselves to eating only unprocessed or organic foods, cut out whole food groups from their diet or restrict themselves to eating raw foods only.
The condition goes beyond a general concern with maintaining a healthy diet. For people with orthorexia, the pursuit of a "perfect" diet takes up a significant amount of time and energy, and interferes with work, school and relationships.
[Read More]Scientist: Maybe Two Snowflakes are Alike
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 644 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
The old adage that "no two snowflakes are alike" might not hold true, at least for smaller crystals, new research suggests.
Snowflakes are created when snow crystals stick together. Some contain several hundred crystals [images]. Scientists investigate how snowflakes form because of the possible influence they may have on global climate. In addition, researchers now believe ice crystals in the atmosphere, which typically are snow crystals too small to fall to the ground, play a key role in ozone depletion, possibly by acting as a catalyst to break down ozone.
[Read More]Unique Mayan mask found in Mexico
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 335 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A giant Mayan mask as tall as a person has been revealed at an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán.
The mask, which depicts the face of an unknown deity or elite person, was sculpted from the building material stucco and dates back to a period in Maya history known as the Late Preclassic (about 300 B.C. — A.D. 250), according to the news outlet Novedades Yucatán.
The discovery was made in 2017 at the archaeological site of Ucanha, near the modern-day city of Motul, and since then researchers with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have worked painstakingly to restore it.
[Read More]What happens if a president loses an election but won't leave the White House?
Posted on September 25, 2022
| 9 minutes
| 1895 words
| Fernande Dalal
President Donald Trump has suggested he would not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election if he were to lose. Let's say he does lose and he refuses to leave the White House. What then? Nothing like this has ever happened in American history, so it's difficult to know for certain. However, political scientists and historians told Live Science they're reasonably confident it wouldn't work.
In one scenario, assume that challenger Joe Biden wins by a wide enough margin in enough swing states to put the actual election results beyond doubt.
[Read More]