'World's Oldest Temple' May Have Been Cosmopolitan Center

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  1051 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Ancient blades made of volcanic rock that were discovered at what may be the world's oldest temple suggest that the site in Turkey was the hub of a pilgrimage  that attracted a cosmopolitan group of people some 11,000 years ago. The researchers matched up about 130 of the blades, which would have been used as tools, with their source volcanoes, finding people would have come from far and wide to congregate at the ancient temple site, Göbekli Tepe, in southern Turkey. [Read More]

300-Year Drought Was Downfall of Ancient Greece

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  591 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A 300-year drought may have caused the demise of several Mediterranean cultures, including ancient Greece, new research suggests. A sharp drop in rainfall may have led to the collapse of several eastern Mediterranean civilizations, including ancient Greece, around 3,200 years ago. The resulting famine and conflict may help explain why the entire Hittite culture, chariot-riding people who ruled most of the region of Anatolia, vanished from the planet, according to a study published today (Aug. [Read More]

Chocolate Helps with ... Math?

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  248 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Chocolate, which we write about a lot here, is no cure-all. But in small amounts, dark chocolate has many benefits: It can help keep the heart healthy and even provide some anti-cancer benefits. It can also, in moderation, work like aspirin. Now scientists say it helps with math. Sort of. In the new study reported in the British media, participants given large amounts of flavanols, which are compounds found in chocolate, did better when asked to count backwards in groups of three from a random number between 800 and 999. [Read More]

Do Computer Coding Toys for Kids Really Work?

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1111 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

From beating the best human players at chess, to flying planes, to running stock market transactions, computers are now used in virtually every facet of modern-day life. But children aren't being adequately prepared to understand and use this omnipresent technology, experts say. That's why many parents are turning to coding apps and toys to help give their kids a head start. The toys, tailored to different age groups, range from robot turtles to stripped-down, visual coding languages made just for kids. [Read More]

Doctors scramble for best practices on reusing medical masks during shortage

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  683 words  |  Trudie Dory

Very little is known about how to properly reuse medical masks to fight infectious diseases. No method is confirmed to work. Still, in a report to doctors, which has yet to be peer reviewed, some researchers are beginning to point to the best options for decontaminating used masks. Medical professionals are reusing single-use medical masks across the country right now, according to the news organization The Intercept and numerous other reports, as the COVID-19 pandemic is stressing the usual supply chains for the masks. [Read More]

Hookah Myth Debunked: They Don't Filter Out Toxic Chemicals

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  470 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

There's a common belief that smoking from a hookah is less harmful than smoking tobacco in other ways because the hookah's water-filled pipe filters out toxic chemicals. But a new study officially debunks this myth, showing that a large fraction of heavy metals in tobacco are still present in hookah smoke. In the study, researchers at German Jordanian University in Jordan analyzed four tobacco samples purchased at local markets that represented the most popular brands and flavors in the country. [Read More]

Images: Weird Deep-Sea Sharks

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  224 words  |  Patria Henriques

Big fishDuring a two-month commercial fishing expedition in early 2012, California graduate student Paul Clerkin studied the many weird sharks a massive trawler plucked from the deep sea. The ship was in the Indian Ocean, bringing up fish from a depth of about 6,500 feet (2,000 meters).The large gulper shark pictured above was one of Clerkin's favorites, he said. Newfound fishIt's likely this ghost shark is a new species. The sharks have large pectoral fins and live very deep in the ocean. [Read More]

Marriage: It's Only Going to Get Worse

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  661 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

If your spouse already bugs you now, the future is bleak. New research suggests couples view one another as even more irritating and demanding the longer they are together. The same trend was not found for relationships with children or friends.  The study results could be a consequence of accumulated contact with a spouse, such that the nitpicking or frequent demands that once triggered just a mild chafe develops into a major pain. [Read More]

Mount Vesuvius Is on Fire (Not Like That, Though)

 Posted on June 8, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  260 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A thick plume of smoke is rising from Italy's Mount Vesuvius, but don't panic. Pompeii isn't about to happen all over again. The smoke, visible in a new set of satellite images released by the European Space Agency (ESA), is coming from a series of wildfires on the mountain. According to the ESA, much of the woodlands in Vesuvia National Park, which contains the volcano and its surroundings, have been destroyed. [Read More]