EpiPen Alternatives Exist, and They May be Cheaper
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 590 words
| Trudie Dory
The soaring price of the EpiPen has garnered controversy recently, but there are alternatives to this well-known allergy treatment device.
The EpiPen belongs to a class of medical devices known as epinephrine auto-injectors, which allow people to quickly inject a precise dose of the drug epinephrine. The devices are used to treat anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction that can be triggered, in people who have the corresponding allergies, by foods, insect stings, medications and certain other substances.
[Read More]Found! Hidden Ocean Locked Up Deep in Earth's Mantle
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 6 minutes
| 1071 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Deep within the Earth's rocky mantle lies oceans' worth of water locked up in a type of mineral called ringwoodite, new research shows.
The results of the study will help scientists understand Earth's water cycle, and how plate tectonics moves water between the surface of the planet and interior reservoirs, researchers say.
The Earth's mantle is the hot, rocky layer between the planet's core and crust. Scientists have long suspected that the mantle's so-called transition zone, which sits between the upper and lower mantle layers 255 to 410 miles (410 to 660 kilometers) below Earth's surface, could contain water trapped in rare minerals.
[Read More]Greenland lost enough ice in last 2 decades to cover entire US in 1.5 feet of water
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 459 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet, and the toll on Greenland's massive ice sheet is becoming achingly clear.
According to new satellite data compiled by Polar Portal(opens in new tab), a collection of four Danish government research institutions, Greenland has lost more than 5,100 billion tons (4,700 billion metric tons) of ice in the past 20 years — or roughly enough to flood the entire United States in 1.
[Read More]How does the summer solstice affect animals?
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 557 words
| Fernande Dalal
The summer solstice, which marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, happens Sunday (June 20) at 11:32 p.m. EDT (Monday, June 21 at 03:32 UTC). This event happens when Earth's tilt toward the sun is at its maximum and the sun points directly over the Tropic of Cancer.
In other words, today is the day with the most amount of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere. That extended daylight might make it difficult for people in northern latitudes to know when to go to sleep if they aren't looking at a clock, but the midnight sun is no problem for many other animals.
[Read More]Image Gallery: Invasive Species
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 476 words
| Trudie Dory
The InvadersThey are aliens that use their physical or other prowess to take over other ecosystems, having profound effects or native residents and the environment as a whole. They're called invasive species, and they come in various shapes and sizes, from the giant Burmese python to the teensy West Nile virus, spanning both animal and plant worlds. Here's a look at some of these pesky invaders.
Cane toadsCane toads (Bufo marinus) were originally introduced to Australia in 1935 to control sugar cane pests.
[Read More]Key to Better Sex Revealed in New Study
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 565 words
| Trudie Dory
People who can better communicate and understand another person's emotions are more likely to have a satisfying sex life, new research finds.
Personal attributes such as self-esteem and autonomy also play a role in sexual pleasure and health, the researchers said.
"Sexual health includes sexual well-being, and sexual enjoyment is an important part [of that]," said study researcher Adena Galinsky, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "How people interact and their ability to listen to each other and take each other's perspective can really influence the sex that they have.
[Read More]More Than One Reality Exists (in Quantum Physics)
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 5 minutes
| 855 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Can two versions of reality exist at the same time? Physicists say they can — at the quantum level, that is.
Researchers recently conducted experiments to answer a decades-old theoretical physics question about dueling realities. This tricky thought experiment proposed that two individuals observing the same photon could arrive at different conclusions about that photon's state — and yet both of their observations would be correct.
For the first time, scientists have replicated conditions described in the thought experiment.
[Read More]Scientists Measure Pesticide Runoff from Golf Courses
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 384 words
| Patria Henriques
A government study that measures fertilizer and pesticide runoffs on golf courses could lead to better management of chemicals in other grassy areas such as parks and cemeteries.
According to the National Golf Courses, an industry association, there are approximately 16,000 golf courses in the United States, with between 150 to 400 new courses opening every year since 1990.
Pesticides are applied to golf courses at higher concentrations per acre than almost any other type of land, including farmland, and there are concerns that their extensive use could contaminate waterways and damage neighboring communities and wildlife.
[Read More]What Vaccines Do You Need Before College?
Posted on September 7, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 485 words
| Patria Henriques
College-bound students are about to make the transition to adulthood, but that doesn't mean that they're done with vaccines. In fact, lifestyle changes and dormitory living can put college students at higher risk for certain infections.
Here's a list of vaccines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for young adults before they go off to college:
Meningococcal conjugate vaccine: In addition to the CDC's recommendation that students get vaccinated against meningococcal disease before starting college, some states actually make the shot mandatory.
[Read More]Alligator Hunter Nabs Florida's Longest Gator
Posted on September 6, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 445 words
| Fernande Dalal
Most of us may never get the chance — or even want one — to bag a record-breaking alligator. But for alligator hunter Robert "Tres" Ammerman, the feat was the second luckiest day in his life (the first luckiest day being when he married his wife).
Ammerman has been hunting alligators in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) annual statewide alligator harvest for the past seven years. But it wasn't until the last day of this year's season that he found what he later learned was the state's longest documented alligator, breaking a 13-year record.
[Read More]