Science 2.0
Humans Have A “Natural” Lifespan Of 38 Years
Humans have a “natural” lifespan of around 38 years, according to a new method we have developed for estimating the lifespans of different species by analyzing their DNA.
Extrapolating from genetic studies of species with known lifespans, we found that the extinct woolly mammoth probably lived around 60 years and bowhead whales can expect to enjoy more than two and a half centuries of life.
Our research, in Scientific Reports, looked at how DNA changes as an animal ages – and found that it varies from species to species and is related to how long the animal is likely to live.
Cancel Culture: Two Arguments To Help Decide
While definitions vary, to “cancel” in today’s lingo means to remove people and cultural products from consumption and popular conversation. This is done in light of actions that make them unworthy of praise or critique.
A Happy 150th Birthday To Mendeleev’s Periodic Table Of The Elements, Courtesy Of NYU
In March of 1869, the chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev made a presentation to the Russian Chemical Society and outlined patterns in elements that led him to postulate his periodic table of the existing 63 elements. Since a new one was being discovered about once per year, he also made sure to leave room for additions and even hypothesized a few more.
Chemistry was the future, understanding elements was key, he and others believed, and they turned out to be right. If you are reading this article on a cell phone, notes New York University, you're holding at least 30 different naturally-occurring elements, including lithium.
Grinch Science: Mistletoe Is A Tree-Plundering Parasite
Christmas and mistletoe: have you ever simply asked yourself … why? I have studied plant parasites like mistletoe for almost ten years, and I’m here to tell you that the answer is absolutely fascinating.
In Norse mythology, Baldur (younger brother to magic-hammer-wielding Thor), was the subject of a premonition from his mother Frigg, who could see the future: he would be killed. Frigg tackled this head on, extracting an oath from every object on Earth, to avoid harming her son. This was agreeable to all … except mistletoe, which was overlooked.
Sometimes It Is Lupus - And Here Is What Cancer Scientists Just Discovered
Now researchers have flipped this script and found that, when impaired, a molecularly similar regulator can cause the damaging immune system attacks on skin and organs that are the hallmark of the autoimmune disease lupus. Though still just in the exploratory stage, mice are not little people so this does not translate to humans, the work suggests a way to restore function of this inhibitor which could one day provide new therapy to treat the disease.
Jamming 'Health' Food Stores Into So-Called Food Deserts Doesn't Change Buying Habits
Holidays Are Prime Time For Elder Abuse And Scams. Here's How To Prevent It
The holiday season brings up memories and emotions for people of all ages, but elders are often overlooked. This time of year also can provide an opportunity to become more alert to signs of elder abuse, aware of how to help and available to begin sincere conversations with older adults about their perceptions of abuse and the remedies they recommend.
Lyme Disease Claim Lines On Medical Forms Up 117% Since 2007
Astrological Bloodletting - Medieval Physicians Used Star Alignments For Phlebotomy Insight
Medieval doctors had to acquire a range of skills including an ability to read Latin texts, a working knowledge of the bodily “humours” and an understanding of the rudiments of blood circulation. Their diagnostic techniques were largely limited to examining a patient’s urine: they could match the colour of the urine to that on a chart, such as one now in the Bodleian Library, which offers an alarming spectrum of hues. After diagnosis, one of the most important treatments was bloodletting, for which physicians used detailed astrological charts.
The Fake News Source Is ... You
That means the source of fake news is often not malevolent organizations manipulating social media, it is people convinced they are correct.
The Origin And Evolution Of The Homunculus
Some answers derive from assessing Penfield's archives at the Osler Library of McGill University, as well as the only known copy from which the beginnings of the homunculus may be traced--Edwin Boldrey's 1936 McGill master's degree thesis supervised by Penfield.
Just The Tip: How Maristem Biotech Could Lead To Higher Food Yields
A roadmap of the genes which drive plant architecture in maize will help, because plants grow throughout their entire life, controlled by a small structure at the tip of the plant’s shoots, known as the meristem.
How Injuries Related To Cell Phone Use Changed Over 20 Years
But that may not be meaningful in a relative risk way. The sample was just over 2,500 cases from 1998 through 2017. Media will trumpet 300 percent since 2007 but that doesn't make injuries common. It just means that as phones changed from phones to messagers to full-on portable televisions and computers people are able to walk and be distracted more.
Limitations Of Cross-Sectional Epidemiology Studies And What That Means For Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
Although I’m a trained and credentialed epidemiologist, and an
ardent supporter of the professional discipline as a foundational science that
underlies legitimate public health efforts, several of my past blogs (Bond
2016 and Bond
2017) have remarked on the many limitations of observational
epidemiology1 research for establishing disease causation.
Art And Science In Venice
North Korea’s “Christmas Gift” - Door Open For Talks - Maybe Alternative Is A Geostationary Satellite? No WWIII Risk Ever
First whatever happens - Kim might do something dramatic maybe but his aim would be to get the talks back on track. It would not lead to war no matter what. Neither side has any benefit from a war. They are trading threats again, but they are empty bluffs.
The US can't invade North Korea because it would lead to impossible levels of casualties in South Korea.
Meanwhile, North Korea only wants to defend itself against invasion and doesn't want to attack anyone. There is absolutely no point in them shooting bombs at the US or South Korea or Japan or anyone. That would be a disaster for North Korea. Tests yes, actually attacking anyone, no way.
Biofuels Are A Negative For The Climate And We Can Thank Environmentalists For That
Neanderthals Were Dumb, Camels Store Water In Their Humps, and 15 Other Science Facts No Longer True
Even on more terrestrial topics, as our understanding gets greater the facts change. We once weren't sure what set off the dinosaur extinction, now that is known, but there are still lots of mysteries. And Darwin's evolution led to an Upright Man understanding of homo sapiens, where Neanderthals had underdeveloped brains and Cro-Magnon was us, the next step, but now science has shown that evolution is a lot more random and fickle than that, just like it should be.
Congratulations To Radiolab Host Robert Krulwich On His Retirement
Not many people graduate from Columbia Law School and then immediately quit to cover the Watergate hearings as a journalist but Krulwich has lived his life the way he approaches science. At an obtuse angle, searching for a better way.
How A Social Media Lie Avoids Condemnation - Repeat Offending Early And Often
How does that happen? Four experiments, with participants such as from Prolific Academic and Amazon Mechanical Turk, published in Psychological Science provide some insight. The quicker a lie can be made to "go viral" the less blowback due to being unethical it will receive. Seeing a fake-news claim times reduced how unethical participants thought it was and even to share that headline when they saw it again—even if it was clearly labeled as false and they disbelieved it.