Modern legends say that Viking funerals involved setting the deceased onto a boat filled with treasure and pushing the boat out to sea. As the mourners watch it glide away, an archer shoots a flaming arrow that ignites the boats and cremates the body. One can imagine this solemn but enchantingly beautiful affair. However, this ritual...
It’s tricky to find perfectly ripe bananas. They seem to stay green for a while, but then you blink, and they are suddenly brown. That’s fine for baking, but most people prefer eating perfectly ripe bananas that are “underripe” enough to be firm, but “overripe” enough to be sweet. But if you put aside flavor...
Researcher He Jiankui, 35, was sentenced to three years in prison for conducting “illegal medical practices” after he announced that he had genetically edited babies. The court in Shenzhen, China, found the doctor guilty of forging approval documents from ethics review boards in order to manipulate couples, where the man had HIV and his partner...
With the current pandemic, it’s hard not to be a little on edge when someone mentions viruses. So we apologize if this adds to the anxiety, but in January researchers discovered an ice cap filled with over 30 previously unknown viruses. An ice cap is a type glacier. This one is located in Central Asia,...
As the spooky season ends, the holiday season begins. For people on top of their game, that means they start of gift shopping. If you’re shopping for kids or a parent in general, this new report from the American Association of Pediatricians (AAP) will help your decision on what present is most beneficial for the...
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the area around it are filled with fascinating discoveries. But none can quite compete with the landscape of carbonate towers, walls, and columns near the tip of an underwater mountain. No, it isn’t Atlantis. It’s the ‘Lost City’ Hydrothermal Field, and scientists have found nothing else like it on Earth. The...
When we are younger, we tend to consider every playmate and classmate our friend. Birthday parties in elementary school are large affairs with friends crowded around the table. As we grow older, this crowd diminishes. We begin to notice different kinds of friends, including those who are just casual acquaintances. We end up losing friends. Some friends...
Yogurt is typically made of milk and a “starter”. This is usually a blend of bacteria that consumes lactose and transforms it into lactic acid. However, this is far from the only way to ferment milk into yogurt. In fact, traditional Bulgarian and Turkish recipes use ants as a starter. For the first time, researchers...
The classic American family is no longer “a mother, a father, two kids, and a dog” as the divorce rates have skyrocketed in recent years. According to the Bureau of Census, one out of every marriage ends in divorce, with the average American marriage lasting for only seven years. Out of all of these separated...
A mom is that person who immerses the entirety of herself into another human being – her child. Science says that some of a baby’s DNA cells never leave the mother’s body, a phenomenon known as fetomaternal microchimerism. Some of the fetus’s cells escape from the uterus through the placenta and will be transported by...
In 2019, there were about 57 million cases of people with dementia all over the world. According to research by University College London, there will be over 153 million cases by 2050. However, individuals can remove themselves from this statistic. In July 2024, the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care reported that 45%...
Paper straws are touted as more environmentally friendly than plastic ones. However, this may not be the case. In a recent study, Belgian researchers tested 39 brands of straws, including plastic, paper, bamboo, glass, and stainless steel. They found that the majority of the paper straws contained synthetic chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” because...
