What Makes the Google Pixel Different from Other Smartphones?

 Posted on June 12, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  529 words  |  Patria Henriques

Google debuted its first smartphone this week, dubbed "Pixel," signaling the company's move into an industry long dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung. And considering Google is already the developer of the Android mobile operating system, what will make the Pixel different from other smartphones already on the market? Google unveiled the Pixel Oct. 4, saying it will provide the best experience "by bringing hardware and software design together under one roof. [Read More]

World's Happiest Country Is ... (Hint: It Has a Canal)

 Posted on June 12, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  809 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Panama may be the happiest country in the world, racking up the highest score in the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index for 2013. In contrast, conflict-afflicted countries such as Syria and Afghanistan showed the lowest scores in this survey of 135 countries. The United States came in at number 14 in the poll. The Global Well-Being Index aims to gauge people's perceptions of their well-being, by looking at financial status as well as four other factors that contribute to well-being: social well-being, which means having supportive relationships and love in life; community well-being, which is about liking one's place of residence; having purpose and goals; and physical health. [Read More]

1,000-Foot-Long Spider Web Is Just a Summer Orgy, Expert Says

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  394 words  |  Trudie Dory

The tranquil beaches of Greece are an ideal destination for a summer fling, especially if you are a hungry, web-flinging spider. Residents of Aitoliko, an island village perched between two bridges in western Greece, recently woke up to see their local beaches overtaken by such amorous arachnid action — and the results are far more Halloween than Valentine's Day. In an eerie video posted yesterday (Sept. 18) by YouTube user Giannis Giannakopoulos, you can see the strange fruits of the Grecian spider love-fest take the form of a massive, 1,000-foot-long (300 meters) network of webs stretched over the coast. [Read More]

7 Ways to Short-Circuit Kids' Mobile Addiction

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  781 words  |  Fernande Dalal

IntroductionWhether it's the 7-year-old who likes to buy new moves in Bubble Witch Saga or the 10-year-old who won't stop playing Minecraft with his friends, more and more children are gaming on iPads and smartphones. But how much mobile gaming is too much? And once parents recognize a problem, how do they wean their little ones off the crack that is Candy Crush Saga? If kids are whining about having to go outside instead of playing video games, or if they're slacking off in school or can't sit still in a restaurant without an iPad in front of them, there might be a problem, said Patrick Markey, a psychology professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. [Read More]

Album: Finding Elephant Tracks in the Desert

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  1 minutes  |  210 words  |  Patria Henriques

Earliest Elephant HerdA reconstruction of the Stegotetrabelodon syrticus herd that likely made the tracks in the Arabian Desert. [Read full story] Kite PhotographerNathan Craig preparing a kite for low-altitude photography of the elephant trackway site. The researchers mounted a pocket digital camera onto the kite, stitching the hundreds of pictures it took into a single large mosaic image that gave a broad overview of the site. Footprint MosaicClose-up of the kite aerial photomosaic with color mapping of the trackways. [Read More]

Amber Tomb Trapped Ancient, Termite-Loving Beetles

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  425 words  |  Trudie Dory

Scientists recently discovered tiny beetles resembling horseshoe crabs that were trapped in amber dating back to the Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago. This type of beetle belongs to a group known as termitophiles, or termite lovers, which are known for burrowing into termite mounds to live alongside the industrious insects and benefit from their resources. Prior to the discovery of these amber-entombed fossils, the earliest-known termitophiles were from 19 million years ago. [Read More]

Did Da Vinci and Rembrandt's Creative Genius Lie in The Way They Saw Themselves?

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  820 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Famous painters da Vinci and Rembrandt, though from different centuries, had one oddity in common: The way the artists saw themselves in the mirror was likely a bit different than how others saw them, according to new findings. The Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci and the 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn painted themselves in a peculiar way — with one eye turned outward. That has led a number of scholars to suggest that these famous painters actually had crossed eyes, a medical condition called " [Read More]

Fat Can Be Healthy: Some Obese People Live Long Lives

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  698 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Not everyone who is obese needs to lose weight — it's possible to carry extra pounds and still be healthy, a new study says. Although obesity brings an increased risk of many health complications, the new study shows that people who are obese but do not have such complications might live as long as normal weight individuals. "This illustrates that you can't have one sweeping brush to categorize all obese individuals," [Read More]

Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage the Brain

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  676 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Heavy marijuana use over a long period of time may severely damage the brain, according to a new review of previous research. In the review, the researchers also described the case of a 52-year-old man who died after using marijuana. The man, who had previously had depression, died from injuries he sustained when he jumped in front of a car after smoking pot and losing touch with reality. An analysis of the man's brain revealed severe damage that doctors attributed to the man's heavy marijuana use over the two decades prior to his death. [Read More]

If Aliens Visit, Don't Expect a Hollywood Ending, Ridley Scott Warns

 Posted on June 11, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  885 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Film director Ridley Scott, who delights in terrifying moviegoers with his cinematic blend of horror and science fiction, suggested in a recent interview that the scary prospect of belligerent invading aliens might transcend the realm of sci-fi. According to Scott, hundreds of alien species are "out there" on distant worlds, and Earth's inhabitants should prepare for the worst if they ever decide to visit our planet. One scientist, though, says that Scott's information about such hostile, and abundant, aliens is off-base and unsupported. [Read More]