Category: Science

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Some People Believe Corona Beer Has Something to Do with the Coronavirus

Yes, that’s right, the Mexican-style beer Corona. With a lime or without, I couldn’t say, but I can promise you here and now that alcohol makes viruses and other icky junk disappear, not the other way around.

In general, I mean, not as a treatment protocol – don’t drink beer if you feel sick.

The coronavirus in the news is a new respiratory-type illness that started in Wuhan, China. It’s now infected around 40,000 people, mostly in China, and the death toll is nearly at 1000 (also mostly in China).

People are scared, because this is a new illness without a treatment protocol, but the truth is that 80,000 people died from the regular flu in the United States in 2017. So that’s just something to keep this all in perspective.

Right now, scientists aren’t sure how the coronavirus outbreak began, but they’re reasonably sure that the virus jumped from an animal species into humans, probably at one of the open-air bushmeat markets so popular in China.

We can say for sure, though, that it’s not caused by drinking Corona beer.

A lot of people seemed determined to prove the movie Idiocracy (and Aldous Huxley) right by believing that they’re safe if they don’t drink Corona beer, though.

Search engines are getting tons of requests for “beer virus,” “corona beer virus,” and the like – so many people were searching, in fact, that Corona issued an official statement denying any involvement.

Really.

The internet is largely having fun at these people’s expense, and I’m not really mad about it – I just don’t know how we got to this place as a species, or how to go back.

Because this way lies madness and monsters, and for sure the end of the world.

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Food Poisoning May Not Be Because of the Last Thing You Ate

There are two different kinds of food-borne intestinal distress, the first of which sets in a few hours after a meal and may leave you nauseous (or even running for the bathroom). This one, believe it or not, is actually the milder case, and your body typically finds relief after evacuating the offending meal.

The other sort of food poisoning – what I like to refer to as “real” food poisoning – doesn’t arrive until between 12-24 hours (at the earliest) after the bad food passed your lips, and it could leave you praying for death on your bathroom floor for up to 24 hours after that.

Yeah. Did it once, do not ever wish to repeat.

The CDC lists four common culprits of food-borne illness: norovirus, Salmonella enterica, Clostridium perfringens, and Campylobacter jejuni. The time from ingestion to symptoms varies from (at least) 6 hours with Salmonella to up to 2 days with Campylobacter.

So, even if your last meal is the one coming up (and the one your mind will associate with the terribleness for years to come), it’s probably not the culprit in the worst cases of food-borne nastiness.

Sadly, there’s nothing much to do besides cry, call your mom, and camp out in the bathroom until its over. You should try to keep down liquids (ha!) and call a doctor if you haven’t been able to for over 24 hours.

There’s not a whole lot you can do to prevent nasty microbes from arriving with your dinner in a restaurant (or a hotdog at a ballpark, in my case), but at home, make sure to wash your hands and prep surfaces regularly, avoid contamination between raw and cooked foods, cook to recommended internal temperatures, and yeah, did I mention washing your hands?

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#MaxFact: After four outbreaks in less than two years where likely contaminated romaine lettuce contained deadly E. coli O157: H7, the Food and Drug Administration is turning to microbial testing for clues for the next year to try to figure out what’s happening. ⠀ .⠀ The FDA reports it is now “conducting a small, focused assignment to collect samples of the raw agricultural commodity (RAC) romaine lettuce to test for salmonella app and pathogenic Escherichia coli…” ⠀ .⠀ The year-long testing program will run through November 2020. Testing for Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli or STECS includes the microbial hazards associated with romaine lettuce consumption. The FDA will collect raw lettuce that is trimmed or washed in its natural form before processing. ⠀ .⠀ The four E. coli outbreaks infected a total of 320 people and were notable for their high hospitalization rates. Five outbreak patients died. [source: freshplaza.com]

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Take extra care with foods like shellfish, red meat, poultry, eggs, and fresh fruits and vegetables, as these are at the highest risk for carrying pathogens.

Wash your lettuce and berries, people. Trust me (and the CDC) on this one.

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It Might Be Healthier For Men To Pee Sitting Down, According to Science

Even from the youngest of age, sitting down to pee when you could do it standing up is apparently something people with penises resist.

I get that it’s probably way more fun to aim, or pee in circles, or whatever, but listen up males: it turns out there are actual health reasons to sit down on the pot.

Urologist and professor Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt says that goes double for older men who might be beginning to experience prostate issues. In fact, sitting can help men empty their bladders more effectively if their prostates are large and they need to help relax the pelvic muscles in an effort to help push the urine out.

Being able to fully empty your bladder can reduce the risks  of cysts and other health complications associated with enlarged prostates.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Doctors and scientists aren’t totally sure what causes the prostate to enlarge in aging males, though since men without testicles rarely experience the phenomenon, it’s likely connected in some way to hormone levels.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at an elevated risk for prostate cancer, but the enlarged prostate on its own can cause medical issues. But here’s the thing… most, if not all of those issues, can be relieved by sitting down to pee. Yeah, it can be THAT simple.

And if you’re young (under 50), there are other reasons to start sitting – mostly hygienic.

Physicists (yes, they actually studied this) have found that peeing standing up significantly increases the velocity of the stream and potential for splatter, which leads to truly disgusting, bacteria-filled bathrooms.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Dr. Brahmbhatt adds his two cents on the matter,

“There are men that have bad aim and can soak the toilet with splatters of urine.

Sitting and urinating on the toilet does increase your odds of making sure the urine is actually going down the drain.”

I mean, why not just go ahead and start practicing for the big transition on your 50th birthday now?

Your wife, and your bathroom floors, would be delighted.

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Here’s How to Tell the Difference Between Allergies and a Cold

From a runny nose to overall fatigue, the symptoms of allergies can be frustratingly similar to those of a cold – so how do know how you should try and recuperate?

If you find yourself sidelined and under the weather, here are a few fool-proof ways to figure out if you’re allergies are flaring up or if you’ve caught a common cold.

Skin Rash: Allergies

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Can’t seem to scratch that itch away? This is a tell-tale sign of an allergic reaction.

According to Arizona-based allergist Amy Shah, “Itchy eyes, nose, ear, or throat are associated with allergies because of the compound histamine, which is what the body releases when allergy cells are activated and cause an itch.”

If you have a cold, this wouldn’t be a typical symptom. You may need to utilize topical creams or medication to help alleviate that persistent itch.

Sore Throat: Cold

Waking up with a sore throat is just a bad start to the day. Even mouth-breathers know the difference between a bad night’s sleep and the early warning signs of sickness.

A sore throat signals an oncoming cold (or one that has already arrived to the party) and can be pesky to deal with. According to Dr. Ian Tong, the chief medical officer at Doctor On Demand, “Colds are viruses that affect the upper airway. The virus can spread to the entire respiratory system including the throat, causing soreness.”

You can treat a sore throat with different home remedies, including tea and honey. Just don’t expect to join in on Friday night karaoke this week.

Fever: Cold

While some symptoms of an allergic reaction can mirror those of a cold, having a fever is not one of them. If you start to feel overheated, it means you’ve caught a cold or some other illness.

According to Dr. Matthew Mintz, “When you contract a viral infection, one of the primary ways the body helps to fight the infection is by increasing the body’s temperature to kill the virus.”

Watery Eyes: Allergies

If you’re constantly dealing with itchy and watery eyes, your allergies are the likely culprit. Dr. Shah recommends that you rinse your eyes with water and use allergy drops to keep your eyes clear.

Green Snot: Cold

Blow your nose and check what just came out (gross, I know). If you find Hulk-like green snot, you may have a cold. According to Dr. Mintz, “In general, the nasal discharge in allergies is clear and watery. While a cold can also cause clear nasal discharge, it can often become yellow or even green.”

No matter what you’ve got going on, best stock up on tissues, my friends.

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Patagonia’s CEO Donated Company’s $10 Million Tax Cut to Fight Climate Change

As much as some people (and organizations) out there would like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend climate change doesn’t exist, it is very real, and its effects are growing more drastic.

Because of the 2018 rewrite of America’s tax laws – a tax code revision that greatly benefited corporations by lowering the corporate tax rate by almost a third for most companies – Patagonia paid $10 million less in taxes that year than it had anticipated. So the company’s CEO, Rose Marcario, decided to donate the $10 million to non-profit groups that are working to fight climate change and help the environment.

Marcario believed the corporate tax cut was not a good thing, and she wrote, “Based on last year’s irresponsible tax cut, Patagonia will owe less in taxes this year—$10 million less, in fact. Instead of putting the money back into our business, we’re responding by putting $10 million back into the planet. Our home planet needs it more than we do.”

Speaking about climate change deniers, including many in government, Marcario wrote, “Far too many have suffered the consequences of global warming in recent months, and the political response has so far been woefully inadequate—and the denial is just evil.”

Patagonia has been a friend of the environment for many years now and their website says the company has donated more than $89 million to environmental groups to fight climate change.

Let’s hope that more corporations and individuals make their voices heard about the extreme consequences of climate change that are occurring around us every day. This isn’t something that might happen in the future, this is taking place right now.

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These Memes are for People With Anxiety Who Need a Laugh Today

What’s the point of life if you don’t have a sense of humor? It helps us deal with the truly awful stuff.

Anxiety is definitely one of those tough things that basically everybody has to deal with, but isn’t that unifying?! Yeah it is!

These 12 memes will make you laugh and give you at least a moment’s break from your anxiousness.

1. Oh yeah. I forgot about those…

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

2. Works every time!!

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

3. If only…

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

4. I’m pretty sure they don’t hate me THAT much, right?

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

5. Ahhh… just like always!

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

6. Somebody actually got this!

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

7. They grow up so fast!

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

8. You know what anxiety? You need to SHUT UP!

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

9. Yep, checks out!

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

10. Every. Single. Day.

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

11. Do I have to use it all at once, or…

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

12. You’re gonna make me care, aren’t you???

Photo Credit: Pizza Bottle

Feeling less anxious? No? Me neither, but… I’m laughing. And maybe I’ll be able to live with myself tomorrow.

Probably not. We’ll see.

Which of these are your faves? Let us know in the comments!

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This Is What Happens to Mosquitoes in the Winter

The greatest thing about winter is the lack of bugs. No pesky mosquitoes making you itch every time you go outside at night! It’s such a relief — but, like, what even happens to mosquitoes in winter? Do they fly south, like birds?

Not quite, according to Mental Floss.

Mosquitoes have difficulty surviving in any temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but their strategy depends on their sex. Males simply die off, though not directly due to the cold — instead, the winter just happens to coincide with the end of their life cycle, when they’ve already finished mating. They actually only live for about 10 days anyway.

Females, on the other hand, enter what is called diapause, a rested state similar to hibernation. They find a hollow log to burrow into, slow their metabolism, and hunker down until the cold is over. Females can stay in diapause for up to six months, thanks to the large reserves of energy that they hoard beforehand — they eat up to 10 times their normal body weight in blood to prepare for this stage.

Photo Credit: iStock

After warm weather returns, females leave their burrow and return to their normal metabolism. Then they must search for more food (blood) to nourish their eggs, and the whole dreadful cycle starts all over again.

Photo Credit: iStock

Unfortunately, there are some exceptions to all this. Some types of mosquitoes can actually breed underground in the winter and forego food, allowing them to stay alive all throughout the cold months. A species called Culex pipiens molestus invaded a poor Manhattan neighborhood in exactly this manner.

Bummer.

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The Coronavirus Can Be Tracked on Johns Hopkins’ Website

The coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, has spread throughout mainland China and beyond. The virus makes daily headlines, though reports about this new respiratory disease are constantly changing, which makes monitoring it a challenge for everyday people.

However, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University has provided a way for those outside the medical community to see how widespread coronavirus is with an online dashboard tracking the outbreak as information is confirmed.

Photo Credit: Johns Hopkins University

Users can see hard data regarding numbers of confirmed cases and their locations, as well as recoveries and deaths. Clicking through the various figures and graphs will expand the information further.

For those who like to see the hard facts without the grabbing verbiage of online news outlets, this website will prove to be revealing, if not fascinating. Use it to become informed, but be wary if you live in an area with confirmed cases. You don’t want to scare yourself unnecessarily.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

So far, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the cases found in the U.S. are people who had recent and close contact with travelers from Wuhan – or were travelers themselves. They state the virus is not spreading throughout communities.

While they call the coronavirus a “very serious public health threat,” it’s also unclear how the threat will affect the U.S. at this time. As of right now, the threat-level to citizens in the U.S. who are not actively treating or being exposed to coronavirus patients in a medical setting is low.

Photo Credit: Edwards AFB

In the meantime, wash your hands, keep yourself healthy and check out that factual dashboard if your concerned or even curious about the coronavirus spread stateside.

And maybe buy a few medical masks, just in case.

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Science Has Brought a 3,000-Year-Old Mummy’s Voice Back to Life

In the vast pile of cool things offered to us by science, a talking 3,000-year-old mummy has got to come out somewhere near the top.

Laypeople, historians, archaeologists, and scientists alike have all been fascinated with the legacy of Ancient Egypt since we first discovered the remains of their society. Since they were remarkably advanced in many areas, we’ve gotten to know them better than most bygone civilizations – and now, because of the careful way they had of preserving their dead, we can also hear one of their voices.

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#nesyamun

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A team of UK scientists was able to reconstruct the vocal tract of one mummy using CT scans, 3D printing, and an electronic larynx. The project has been going on since 2013, and to make it come to life, experts from the areas of clinical science, archaeology, Egyptology, museum curation, and electrical engineering had to come together for the good of all.

Ok. Here it is:

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(You’ll want your sound on.) A replica of a 3,000-year-old mummy’s vocal tract has revealed how that mummy might sound if he rose from the dead. Using CT scans of the mummified Egyptian priest Nesyamun (his inner coffin lid is shown), researchers mapped the exact shape of the mummy’s vocal tract — which governs the unique sound of a person’s voice. When connected to an artificial voice box, a 3-D printed mold of the mummy’s vocal tract produces a sound somewhere between the vowels in “bed” and “bad,” researchers report. But Nesyamun’s undead utterance doesn’t quite mimic his original voice, because the mummy’s tongue, which affects the shape of the vocal tract, is dried up and flattened out. Rather, “we’ve created the sound that he would make if he was to speak as he currently lies in his sarcophagus,” electronic engineer David Howard says. The plastic mold of the priest’s vocal tract cannot say full words, but using a computer simulation of the vocal tract with a jaw and tongue that move, “we could make him speak,” Howard says. Using inscriptions in the mummy’s tomb and other ancient religious texts, the researchers may someday render vocal recordings of Nesyamun’s own prayers and the daily liturgy that he would have performed in his duties as a priest. . . . (?: © @leedsmuseumsandgalleries ?: D.M. Howard et al/Scientific Reports 2020) . . . #science #mummy #egypt #history #archaeology #ancientegypt #nesyamun #sarcophagus

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The six years of dedication resulted in returning the 3,000-years-gone Nesyamun’s voice to his throat. And yes, right now it’s just a single sound – but rest assured, they are working on more.

The amazing accomplishment was only possible because Nesyamun’s larynx and throat were remarkably well-preserved. This stroke of luck allowed scientists to totally reconstruct his vocal tract, which they then printed using a 3D printer, explained lead author and professor David Howard of the University of London to IFLScience.

“This process allows the sound of his tract as he is in his sarcophagus, which is a sound that his vocal tract can make – so it is his voice.”

That makes it sound a bit creepy, like something that happens at the outset of a horror movie, but it’s also cool.

“When it comes to any thoughts of producing running speech, things are different but there are possibilities. Combining knowledge of phonetics and linguistics with speech science means that we could use it to anticipate typical articulatory gestures that he would have used to change his vocal tract shape and therefore do this in software and create running speech. So that is an idea – there is a load of work to do to get anywhere near this but it is a distinct possibility for the future.”

In a twist of fate (or is it something more?) Nesyamun means “True of Voice” – he was a priest, incense-bearer, and scribe at an ancient temple at Karnak. He died around 1100 B.C.E. and due to his state of preservation, he’s one of the most-studied mummies in Britain’s “Voice of the Past” project.

As a history nerd, but an ancient history nerd first, this is just thrilling, one syllable or more.

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The HPV Vaccine Has Nearly Eliminated Related Cancers in England

Well, this is interesting…

HPV – the human papillomavirus – is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection among sexually active people. One of the reasons it’s so transmitted is that most people show few or no symptoms and there’s not even a test for men, so there’s often no way to be warned that you might have it, much less be transmitting it. There are dozens of strains, most of which are virtually harmless.

But two strains, HPV16 and HPV18, are not at all harmless. In fact, those two strains alone cause 70% of HPV-related cancers.

 

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For the last decade there has been a vaccine available for teenagers, male and female, that targets HPV16 and HPV18 (as well as other higher-risk strains of the virus), but it (like other vaccines) has faced hesitancy from parents.

England, though, began a mass vaccination program in schools, and the results have been staggering.

The latest statistics from Public Health England suggest there has been a massive slowdown of new infections of HPV among sexually active young women.

Researchers used a group of 584 women between the ages of 16 to 18, and found that none of them were infected – compared to a rate of around 15% infection ten years ago, when the program began.

Dr. Vanessa Saliba, the consultant epidemiologist on the project, says the team also believes the report indicates a wider decline of the virus in England overall.

“This is clear evidence of the success of our immunisation programme, which continues to achieve high coverage. With millions of young women protected by HPV vaccination, we expect to see big reductions in cervical cancer in years to come and the introduction of the boys’ programme will accelerate this progress.”

Even though the vaccine targets the highest-risk strains, researchers also say there’s some evidence suggesting that other types of the virus have also declined.

England’s vaccination rates since the program began have soared to nearly 84%. Scotland has implemented a similar program with equally positive results, and Australia may well be the first country to eliminate HPV-related cervical cancer over the next 20 years.

There has been at least one study to suggest that even if HPV could be curbed, cervical cancer would remain a threat, since HPV is not the only known contributor to the disease, but scientists are quick to cast a shadow over those results.

Jonathan Ball, a molecular biology professor at the University of Nottingham, admits that the authors do “raise some important points highlighting that HPV vaccination isn’t the absolute panacea for cervical cancer prevention,” but also reminds us that “undoubtedly the current HPV vaccines are effective at preventing infection with the types of virus known to cause cervical and other cancers.”

It all boils down to this: we have a vaccine that has a 70% (or maybe better, if we can get the rates up high enough) chance of preventing your child from contracting at least one type of cancer, and we know that it works.

So, even if you can’t protect them from everything, you can protect them from this one thing, and isn’t that something to celebrate?

It’s definitely something to do. 

I mean, if you ask me.

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