In English
2023-11-02 @ 19.04.40 ∈ In English
Ornithological society to rename dozens of birds—and stop naming them after people
Birds in North America will no longer be named after people, the American Ornithological Society announced Wednesday. […] Rather than review each bird named after a person individually, all such birds will be renamed, the organization announced.
2023-11-02 @ 16.56.56 ∈ In English
Water can evaporate with just light, no heat, says surprising study
Scientists at MIT have made the surprising discovery that light alone can evaporate water, and is even more efficient at it than heat. […] The team named the new phenomenon the “photomolecular effect,” and hypothesized that photons of light could potentially “cleave off” clusters of water molecules near the liquid’s surface.
2023-10-27 @ 18.01.18 ∈ In English
Bed bugs are a global problem, yet we still know little about how they spread
[A statistical model shows a significant peak in bed bug cases around August and September each year.] People assume they travel on luggage, but it's never been proven. My previous work in 2017 [proved] that they aggregate in dirty clothes in the absence of humans.
2023-10-25 @ 18.31.28 ∈ In English
2023-10-24 @ 12.26.11 ∈ In English
(Lots of rambling about experiments, but the description in the quote I picked does feel familiar, tee-he.)
Déjà vu – a window on the past and a key to human survival | Aeon Essays
Déjà vu occurs when there is a hiccup in the system, and we notice the pull on our attention; it grabs hold of our focus, allowing us to catch a quick glimpse of our memory’s operation occurring in slow motion. What would ordinarily take place quickly beneath the surface […] suddenly has a light shining on the spot where the halt occurred, where the retrieval piece was not successful, and we find ourselves in a heightened state of searching our memory, trying to find out why the situation feels so familiar.
2023-10-21 @ 10.21.28 ∈ In English
Major Study Claims to Identify The Root Cause of Obesity: Fructose
[The study] found that the metabolism of fructose in the body causes a drop in a compound called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which provides energy for your body's cellular processes. When ATP falls to a low enough level, it's a signal to your body that you need more fuel. This makes you hungry, so you eat.
2023-10-19 @ 12.27.55 ∈ In English
2023-10-19 @ 12.23.37 ∈ In English
2023-10-17 @ 17.29.45 ∈ In English
Roundup herbicide ingredient connected to epidemic levels of chronic kidney disease
A massive field study of the wells supplying drinking water to the Sri Lankan communities, conducted by researchers at Duke University, has identified a possible culprit [for incidence of kidney failure due to unclear causes, also known as CKDu:] glyphosate, the active compound in Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the world.