Category: Science

Posted on

A Study Shows That Tattoos Can Strengthen Our Immune Systems

Even though tattoos are pretty trendy at the moment, they’ve actually been around for over 6,000 years. They’re made to express a person’s thoughts, feelings, and or cultural beliefs. Some get them as a source of strength or healing, while others may get them just for fun.

Whatever your reason, have you ever thought about what tattoos do to your body? Like, for example, how might your immune system react to getting your skin dyed?

Funny you asked…

Christopher Lynn has been studying Samoan tattooing culture “and the impact of the big traditional pieces called pe’a and malu — tatau in general — on the immune system.”

The Samoa study is actually the fourth phase of his research about how tattoos interact with a person’s immune system. He first started with a group of mostly women in Alabama, and he found an interesting outcome.

“What I’d observed among that group suggested that tattooing could help beef up one’s immune response.”

But one study was not enough to gain a solid understanding of how or why. So he explored further, and that led him to Samoa:

“That’s why I traveled in 2018 with fellow anthropologist Michaela Howells to the Samoan Islands. Samoans have a long, continuous history of extensive tattooing. Working with contemporary machine and hand-tap tattooists in American Samoa, we wanted to see if we’d find the same link to enhanced immune response.”

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Allef Vinicius

What happens to your body when you get a tattoo?

Whenever you sit for a tattoo, you are allowing ink-coated needle pricks to penetrate your epidermis. This sends a warning to your immune system that these small “wounds” need healing. Your body responds in two ways. First:

“…getting a new tattoo triggers your immune system to send white blood cells called macrophages to eat invaders and sacrifice themselves to protect against infection.”

It will also send a level of adaptive responses to the area in the form of proteins. These proteins help the skin heal, but they also keep an eye out for this to happen again in the future.

“There are several classes of these proteins — called antibodies or immunoglobulins — and they continue to circulate in the bloodstream, on the lookout lest that same invader is encountered again. They’re at the ready to quickly launch an immune response the next time around.”

It’s like these little antibodies know how addictive tattooing is!

How is the level of antibodies and white blood cells measured to understand the immune systems reaction?

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Joel Muniz

“This adaptive capacity of the immune system means that we could measure immunoglobulins in saliva as approximations of previous stress caused by tattooing.”

During the study, Lynn and anthropologist Michaela Howells sampled 25 tattoo recipients, both Samoan and non-Samoan tourists to the island.

“We collected saliva at the start and end of each tattoo session, controlling for the tattoo duration. We also measured recipients’ weight, height and fat density to account for health. From the saliva samples, we extracted the antibody immunoglobulin A, as well as the stress hormone cortisol and inflammatory marker C-reactive protein. Immunoglobulin A is considered a frontline immune defense and provides important protections against frequent pathogens like those of the common cold.”

They determined that immunoglobulin A remained higher in the bloodstream even after a tattoo fully healed. Also, if one of the recipients received a larger tattoo, leaving them under the needle longer, the saliva produced more immunoglobulin A than those who experienced smaller tattoos

It seems that getting a tattoo for the first time primed the recipient’s bodies. Meaning, it ramped up their immune system to fight back in case there is a next time. Even if they chose not to get additional tattoos, their immune systems were still heightened in case they get sick. It’s the body’s way of preparing for future ailments due to body stress.

“Stress’s bad rap comes from chronic forms that really do undermine immune response and health. But a little bit is actually good for you and prepares your body to fight off germs. Regular exercise provides immune function benefits through repetition, not necessarily single visits to the gym. We think this is similar to how each tattoo seems to prepare the body for vigilance.”

Even though these findings sparked more interest on what tattoo can do to keep you “healthier,” you may want to wait before going out and covering your body in ink. Lynn is still exploring the ramifications.

“Our Samoan findings supported the results of my first study in Alabama. But of course correlation does not imply causation. Enhanced immune response is correlated with more tattoo experience, but maybe healthier people heal easily from tattooing and like to get them more. How could we find out if getting tattoos could actually make a person healthier?”

I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

The post A Study Shows That Tattoos Can Strengthen Our Immune Systems appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

When Is the Best Time of Day to Exercise?

What time of day do you like to exercise? Would you change your mind if science suggested one of those were a better time?

Maybe, maybe not (for me). But if you’re curious, here are a few things to consider.

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Sam Knight

What does the early bird get?

So, morning or evening? Well, it gets a bit complicated.

Throughout the health and wellness community, there are people who swear by “fasted training” for losing weight; the idea is that working out on an empty stomach burns fat to melt away the pounds. Fasted training is often done in the morning, before breakfast.

But studies have been mixed. “Fed training,” when you eat before a workout, has been shown to help spark your body’s energy so that you can have a strong workout.

So which is better?

Well, the evidence says that it depends on your personal body composition, so you need to decide what works. Also, more important than either fed or fasted training is consistency. We all know there are tons of reasons in life why you might skip the gym – and that’s a major pro to getting your workout out of the way in the morning.

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Scott Webb

But evening workouts also have their perks…

Throughout the day, your body warms up, making your evening workout better. Also, your muscles cells contain biological clocks that abide by your circadian rhythms, which are regulated by your larger internal clock and sleeping regimes. What that means is that “…muscle cells are more efficient during an organism’s normal waking hours.”

So if you are into strength training and weight lifting, evening hours could be your best bet, as your muscles are at optimal efficiency and maintain higher levels of testosterone. Not to mention that later workouts have been shown to increase focus and energy.

Back to the question: which is better?

Well, sorry to do this to you, but it depends on the person. Perhaps the most important factor to consider is consistency, if you’re working toward weight loss goals. But if you’re looking for other types of gains, then you should consider muscle fatigue, sleep, and your schedule larger. If you ever see a trainer at the gym, they can give you a bit more advice specific to your body composition and goals.

But as long as you’re doing exercise, you are on your way!

The post When Is the Best Time of Day to Exercise? appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A Woman Woman Born with Two Vaginas and Two Wombs Becomes a Mother of Four

In all seriousness, I had never heard of such a thing. Two vaginas?

34-year-old Australian Lauren Cotter was born with uterus didelphys, meaning she had two cervices, two uteruses, and twi vaginas. It is a birth defect that affects 1 in 3,000 women, and it can cause excruciating periods and abnormal bleeding. It can also cause infertility and/or miscarriages.

Lauren was diagnosed at the age of 16 after she went to the doctor for her excruciating menstrual cycles. The doctor performed a pelvic exam and ultrasound to come to the diagnosis. He also told her that conceiving children would be difficult, if not impossible.

Posted by Lauren Cotter on Friday, January 18, 2019

She decided to have surgery to correct her double vagina, which would give her a more fulfilling sex life. When she was 17, she met her future husband and shared the news that pregnancy may not be an option.

“From quite early on, Ben and I discussed having children and it was clear that he really wanted to be a dad,” she told PA Real Life.

“I knew I had to be open and honest and tell him that might not be a possibility for me.”

So what happened? They married and tried anyway.

“We have found it easy to fall pregnant,” she said. “I am not sure why, or if it has anything to do with my two vaginas.”

With her diagnosis, Lauren understood there would be complications, but they stayed strong.

“We knew it might be a bumpy road and tried not to get our hopes up too much,” said Lauren.

In 2014, their first daughter, Amelie, was born via C-Section, completely healthy. Lauren and her husband decided to try again.  About a year and a half later they had no trouble. The crazy thing was that Harvey was born from her left womb when Amelia was born from the right!

“I carried Amelie in my right, and just assumed the left one was a dud,” said Lauren

Harvey was born prematurely at 4 pounds, 12 ounces and had difficulty swallowing. But after 3 weeks he was released in good health.

After that, the Cotters felt it best to go on birth control due to her medical history

“The [birth control] pill was giving me migraines and I couldn’t use [an IUD] coil, so in the end, the implant was the only option left,” she said.

Posted by Lauren Cotter on Sunday, May 12, 2019

But low and behold, she became pregnant with TWINS! Apparently, this family has no problems with infertility.

“‘Shocked’ doesn’t begin to cover it. During 17 years together, Ben and I had only ever got pregnant when we’d planned it. Now, here we were, having surprise twins. My doctor was very honest and said he couldn’t know how the pregnancy was going to play out.”

The doctors ordered her to bed rest for 19 weeks in order to help with any potential complications. But luckily, Lauren didn’t seem to suffer any. After 37 weeks, Maya and Evie were born each weighing about 5 pounds.

Ben and Lauren are through the moon with their family and decided to take measures to prevent future pregnancies; Lauren had her fallopian tubes tied. She said, “Ben and I are one super-fertile couple, and now we’re happy with things just as they are.”

The post A Woman Woman Born with Two Vaginas and Two Wombs Becomes a Mother of Four appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

MIT Engineers Say There’s a New Blackest Black Color

Vantablack, the world’s “blackest black” pigment since 2016, has been controlled by artist Anish Kapoor.

But as of now, he no longer owns the blackest black out there because engineers at MIT have developed a new material that is 10 times blacker than Vantablack.

The new material, made of carbon nanotubes, absorbs 99.995% of all incoming light.

They created it by vertically aligning the microscopic carbon filaments, which resulted in a sort of fuzzy forest of trees that they them grew on a piece of chlorine-soaked aluminum.

The results were published in a scientific journal, as well as displayed in an exhibition at the New York Stock Exchange.

The artwork on display is called The Redemption of Vanity and was conceived by Diemut Strebe in collaboration with MIT professor Brian Wardle. Together, they covered one of the shiniest objects they could think of – a 16.78-carat natural yellow diamond worth 2 million dollars – with the new black pigment. This made it appear to be a black void in front of another black background.

Wardle talked a bit about the project and why he thinks it’s important”

“There are optical and space science applications for very black materials, and of course, artists have been interested in black, going back well before the Renaissance. Our material is 10 times blacker than anything that’s ever been reported, but I think the blackest black is a constantly moving target. Someone will find a blacker material, and eventually we’ll understand all the underlying mechanisms, and will be able to properly engineer the ultimate black.”

The scientists made the discovery on accident – they were looking for a way to grow carbon nanotubes on materials that would boost electrical conductivity, not a blacker black than Vantablack – but they couldn’t help but notice how black their substance became as it grew.

Now, they’re applying for a patent for the technology. And word on the scientific street is that the artists who were irked about Kapoor’s monopolization of Vantablack will be pretty happy to have an alternative.

I, for one, am new to the ruckus and completely fascinated.

Blackest blacks and their blacker challengers are a thing scientists and artists throw down over. Who knew?

The post MIT Engineers Say There’s a New Blackest Black Color appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Studies Show That Having a Dog Helps People Have Longer and Better Lives

I’m sure that this won’t be news to some of you.

Dogs and people go together like peanut butter and jelly. Of course, your dog will eat your peanut butter and jelly when you’re not looking, but I digress.

Dogs make us crazy happy, and a recent study gives us even more reason to bring these fuzz balls into our homes. Turns out, dogs help their owners live longer.

Published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, the study looked at cardiovascular research from between 1950 and 2019 for evidence that dogs decrease the risk of heart disease in owners.

Photo Credit: Needpix

Well, they found it in droves. People who had survived heart attacks were less likely to have another heart related event and were also less likely to ultimately die from cardiovascular disease if they owned a dog. In fact, owning a dog was shown to boost heart health.

But researchers found it wasn’t just heart conditions dogs improved. The data from millions of patients over all those years of study also showed owning dogs lowered the rates of death from any cause. The study stated that dogs decreased the risk of dying by anything by 24 percent.

Health aside, according to a different 2019 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, dogs can also be credited to improving your overall quality of life.

Which is good, because if you’re going to live longer, you want a high quality life.

Photo Credit: Pxhere

Even participants who suffered from chronic pain reported more socialization and lowered rates of depression and anxiety.

Dogs are also shown to help people manage emotional and mental health, says a 2016 study published in the journal BMC Psychiatry. When participants mapped out their social structures, dogs consistently were placed as most central to their social lives.

Another 2019 study, this one published in the journal Aging and Mental Health, showed that older people received mental health benefits when they owned dogs. Having a pet around gave them purpose and decreased feelings of loneliness.

Photo Credit: Max Pixel

Another segment of society benefitting from dog ownership is youths experiencing homelessness. The animals create a barrier to getting into shelters, but the yong people studied reported feeling more loved than those who didn’t have dogs, according to a 2015 report in Child Psychiatry and Human Development.

What about people who cannot responsibly take care of dogs in their current environment or situation? All is okay. Current Opinion in Psychiatry research from 2015 tells us that even interacting with someone else’s dogs or volunteering to take care of other dogs can be hugely beneficial.

So, the science is in: dog love is a health tonic.

Take a dog for a walk, scratch his ears, rub her tummy and soak up all the healthy goodness for a longer and happier fur-filled life.

The post Studies Show That Having a Dog Helps People Have Longer and Better Lives appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Here’s the Truth Behind Why You Stop Feeling Tired the Moment You Crawl into Bed

Does this sound familiar?

You’re exhausted all day long. There’s isn’t enough coffee in the world to prop your eyelids up during your commute, at your desk, your kid’s soccer game, but suddenly, when you’re in your pajamas, teeth brushed, and between your nice, clean sheets, you can’t sleep.

According to TIME, you’re not alone – many people have trouble falling asleep in their own beds, thanks to a phenomenon called conditional arousal.

View this post on Instagram

Do you want to know the secret to a happy marriage? Going to bed every night knowing you and your partner are going to get a good nights rest. #ad We have been so happy with our sleep number bed for about 8 years now. To ensure this happiness continues we are ready for an upgrade. Have you seen or heard about the new Sleep Number 360 smart bed with sleepIQ technology? It will blow your mind. • Helps with snoring ✔ Helps you fall asleep faster ✔ Shows you your sleep quality throughout the night ✔ Adjustable comfort ✔ DOES YOUR BED DO THAT? • DON’T FORGET Having a bedroom you’re excited about waking up in everyday starts with a good mattress. • #sleepnumber #smartersleep #sleepnumberbeds #sleepnumberbed #goodnightrest #sleep #insomnia #masterbedroom #masterbedroomdesign #homesweethome #homedesign #interiors #instahome #instadecor #modern #homestyle #myhome #goodsleep #masterbedroominspo #masterbedroomgoals

A post shared by Brand Influencer (@redesignedspace) on

Basically, it happens because you’ve inadvertently trained your body to associate your bed with being awake, as opposed to being used for sleep. We don’t get in bed when we’re tired, we get in bed an hour before we want to be asleep and then binge a couple of Netflix episodes, scroll through our social media, read a few chapters, have a snack, etc – and that tells our brain that the next time we get into bed, we won’t be going to sleep right away.

So, it holds off on the good chemicals.

Conditional arousal is a cycle, something you’ve made a habit, which means you can’t really break it in one night. To fix it, you basically have to stop doing anything that isn’t sleeping in your bed, and you’ll need to give it time.

Photo Credit: iStock

This is also the reason that sleep experts advise you get up and go into another room if you’re struggling with a bout of anxiety and/or insomnia that keeps you tossing and turning. If you stay in bed, your brain will begin to associate your mattress and pillows with flopping and frustration as opposed to a peaceful night’s sleep.

Like any habit, you’ll need to establish a new routine, and then stick to it for as long as it takes to erase the previous one from your brain.

If it doesn’t work, or you suffer from clinical insomnia or anxiety or other conditions that can make falling asleep difficult, you might want to consult a medical professional in order to get the sleep you need.

But if you’re just guilty of climbing into bed to wind down, try doing that part of your routine in another room and saving your mattress for when you’re actually ready to catch some zzz’s.

The post Here’s the Truth Behind Why You Stop Feeling Tired the Moment You Crawl into Bed appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Ex-NFL Player Deangelo Williams Paid for 500 Mammograms to Honor His Mother Who Died from Breast Cancer

DeAngelo Williams retired from professional football a few years ago, but, by the looks of it, his work might just be getting started. The former running back for the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers made news recently when he paid for 500 mammograms for women through his non-profit organization, the DeAngelo Williams Foundation.

Williams’ mother passed away five years ago from breast cancer, and since then the ex-NFL player has made it his mission to help women with mammogram screenings and other tests so they can hopefully catch any potential issues as early as possible.

Sandra Hill, Williams’ mother, was only 53 years old when she passed away in 2014. Williams also lost four of his aunts to breast cancer, all before they had reached 50 years of age. So for him, this work if incredibly important.

So far, Williams’ foundation has paid for 500 mammograms for women in Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Memphis, and Jonesboro, Arkansas. He said, “To be able to help all these women is amazing. This can be life-changing for these women. We are enabling them to get this care that no one should ever be denied or not have access to.”

Even though Williams has already done an amazing amount of work, he’s aiming much higher. He wants to host free mammogram screenings in all 50 states and expand the reach of his organization as far as is humanly possible.

Risalyn Williams, his wife and executive director of the foundation, said, “DeAngelo wants to ensure that no woman (or man) fights breast cancer alone.”

Keep up the excellent work, Mr. Williams!

The post Ex-NFL Player Deangelo Williams Paid for 500 Mammograms to Honor His Mother Who Died from Breast Cancer appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A New Study Finds That Lop-Eared Rabbits Are Mostly Deaf and in Pain

I hate to read this news about those adorable, floppy-eared rabbits. I had one as a kid, and it was one of my favorite pets ever – he was funny and sweet and loved to snuggle as much as he enjoyed a well-timed nip.

The sad truth, though, is that lop-eared rabbits aren’t natural – they only exist because of intentional human breeding, and they suffer multiple health problems and not-insignificant discomfort because of it.

A new study compared the aural and dental health of lop-eared rabbits with that of erect-eared rabbits and found that floppy-eared bunnies are more than 15 times more likely to show signs of being in pain during examinations.

15 times!

Researchers discovered that their discomfort is likely due to their warped skull shape, a narrowing of the ear canal, and the resulting build-up of ear wax. It leads to a condition called otitis externa, an inflammation of the ear canal.

Most lop-eared rabbits examined were also hard of hearing, if not completely deaf.

None of the erect-eared rabbits had any of these issues.

The alterations that allow for their ears to flop also affects the rabbits’ teeth, making them 12 times more likely to have oversized molars, and 23 times more likely to suffer from diseased incisors.

Study author Charlotte Burn hopes the findings from this study will be supported by more like it in the future, and that people looking to own rabbits will take note.

“People now need to weigh up whether those cute floppy ears are worth the risk of pain, deafness, and difficulty eating for the rabbit, not to mention the extra vet bills.”

View this post on Instagram

Linus is j ust a sweetie #miniloprabbit #lopearedbunny

A post shared by Cozy Bunny Boutique (@cozybunnyboutique) on

I hope that people care more about the health of their pets than the way they look, but the fact that pugs and French bulldogs are still so popular don’t give me much hope.

The post A New Study Finds That Lop-Eared Rabbits Are Mostly Deaf and in Pain appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Scientists Captured Rare Video of Deepstaria, a Bizarre Jellyfish That Changes Shape

Even among all of the strange and mysterious group of ancient animals known as the jellyfish, the Deepstaria jellyfish is unique. A fact that has now been recorded on video by the Nautilus, a Pacific Ocean research vessel.

Fun fact: the Nautilus has also captured footage of a googly-eyed stubby squid and a weird purple orb.

Live Science reports that, halfway between the U.S. and Australia, the Nautilus spotted a jellyfish that appeared as a ghost….at first.

View this post on Instagram

#Repost from @mbari_news with @regram.app … The scyphomedusa Deepstaria is certainly odd, with its bag-like appearance, and bell that can open more than a meter wide. Speculation on the identity of a mystery blob has become a sensation online, sparking heated and entertaining debates over its identity. We've seen this unusual jellyfish with MBARI's ROVs around 30 times in 30 years from depths of a few hundred meters to about 2,000 meters deep! Surprisingly, according to morphological and genetic studies, its closest relative is one of the most commonly observed jellies in our area — the moon jelly, Aurelia aurita.⠀ ⠀ #deepstaria #jellyfish #jellies #pelagic #midwater #ROV #scyphomedusa⠀ #deepsealife #deepsea #ocean #oceanlife #sealife #plankton #mesopelagic #MBARI #underwaterphotography #marinebiology

A post shared by Jérémie Favre (@captainbugey) on

Then, it unfurled and they got a glimpse of the geometric mesh membrane that revealed its identity: Deepstaria. That, along with its distinctively flowing bell and lack of tentacles, are its most distinguishing features.

The rest of the video is the jellyfish changing shape, from what looks like a crumpled plastic bag to a blanket.

The jellyfish was first discovered by a submersible called the Deepstar 4000 (designed by Jacques Cousteau) in the 1960s, and since then it has only been spotted about a dozen times. Most of the details of its existence remain a mystery to researchers.

View this post on Instagram

Deepstaria enigmatica. This jellyfish was named after the research submersible Deepstar 4000, which collected the first specimens of this genus in 1966. This species is the home to another species, namely an isopod called Anuropus, which can be seen through the mantle of the jellyfish (on the upper right side of the bell). These animals probably form a symbiotic relationship, perhaps eating food captured by the jellyfish. ⠀ ⠀ Watch a video about this unusual jelly on MBARI's YouTube channel: http://ow.ly/JTf6u⠀ ⠀ #jellyfish #stragethings #deepstaria #MysteriesoftheDeep #MBARI #expedition #midwater #MontereyBay #deepsea #deepsealife #ROV #MarineTechnology #Technology #Robot #MarineBiology #Ocean #oceanlife #oceanscience #sealife #underwaterphotography #Nature #wildlife⠀⠀

A post shared by MBARI (@mbari_news) on

That’s not likely to change anytime soon, which makes this video all the more spectacular.

Science is so cool, y’all. Images like these make it pretty darn hard to disagree.

The post Scientists Captured Rare Video of Deepstaria, a Bizarre Jellyfish That Changes Shape appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Being Forgetful Might Be a Good Thing for Your Brain

I forget a whole lot of stuff. It’s gotten much worse as I age (and since my pregnancies and having kids – sleep deprivation is no joke!), so I’m quite happy to hear that maybe I haven’t become addled by middle age after all.

Now, let’s just say this: the science says that forgetting small details might mean your brain is functioning well, separating important things from the noise, but forgetting large things should still be considered a major problem.

Onward.

Recent research from the University of Toronto, published in Neuron, finds that the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus (where we think memories are stored) is formatted to make room for new and important information. In the process, that growth allows you to jettison useless knowledge.

Professor Blake Richards, lead author on the study, explains further.

“We always idealize the person who can smash a trivia game, but the point of memory is not being able to remember who won the Stanley Cup in 1972.”

The point of memory, of course, is to increase your intelligence and your ability to assess your circumstances and make educated decisions – and in order to do that, some things need to be forgotten.

The study is supported by 2007 research that used MRI scans to monitor the brains of 20 healthy adults taking a memory test. The results claimed people were better at remembering conflicting information, as opposed to easy or repetitive knowledge.

“The process of forgetting serves a functional purpose,” verified Michael Anderson, one of the researchers on the 2007 study. “What these guys have done is clearly establish the neurobiological basis for this process.”

Researchers agree that there are several benefits to being able to forget some things. First, certain information, like old phone numbers and passwords, is worthless. Second, we can generalize or combine certain memories to no detriment.

In one super interesting experiment with mice, scientists had the rodents find the exit to a maze, then on a future try, changed its location.

The mice who were drugged to forget the former location of the exit found the new one much faster.

Huh.

View this post on Instagram

Toby? Tom? Tim? Oooh, Andrew. Sorry.

A post shared by imgur (@imgur) on

I’m not sure if this is why I can never remember the names of people I’ve just met (or met long ago), but hey. I’m going to go ahead and blame it on my brain trying to be smarter and stronger, and not on my general lack of interest.

Don’t try to stop me.

The post Being Forgetful Might Be a Good Thing for Your Brain appeared first on UberFacts.