Category: Science

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Japanese researchers have created…

Japanese researchers have created a chair that can read a person’s “butt fingerprint” by registering an individual’s unique contour and pressure distribution. It might one day be used in cars as an anti-theft mechanism.

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These Dresses Record Groping Events so People Will Believe the Women Wearing Them

Some people think that the world has gotten less assault-y with the rise of the #MeToo era, and perhaps, on a large scale, that’s true.

In the day-to-day trenches, women still deal with micro-aggressions like being catcalled and denigrated for how they look, while also suffering larger transgressions like being stalked, touched without consent, and discriminated against due to their gender.

It is still also way too common for the men in our lives to assume that women either exaggerate the frequency or seriousness of these events, or that women are altogether making things up, because it just can’t be as common as females try to pretend.

Well, Ohio advertising agency Ogilvy decided to see whether men would be more inclined to believe so-called “smart clothing” than real women, so they started Dress for Respect in partnership with (weirdly) Schweppes.

Under the project’s aegis, they created a dress that uses heat and pressure sensors to record a heat map, location, and time of contacts.

Three women wore the dresses to a party in Brazil, and by the end of the night, the sensors had logged 157 non-consensual touches in under four hours – more than one every five minutes per woman. The accompanying video provided proof that all of the women repeatedly asked the men touching them to stop.

Lighter, cheaper, and more powerful batteries are inspiring all kinds of interesting ideas for smart clothing. Things like shoe insoles that generate energy and suits that double as air purifiers, along with many products meant to mitigate some of the challenges disabled people face day-to-day.

These dresses go a step further, to the root of a major social problem, addressing illegal behaviors at the source.

Costs still make mass production unlikely, but the Dress for Respect idea is showing that you don’t need to mass market a product in order for it to make a positive impact on the world.

The people behind the concept and the marketing video hope that it will change people’s minds – that those who are disinclined to believe real women might believe their clothing, and in the end, make it to the same conclusion.

The concept of consent is still hard for way too many men to grasp, so we need to teach it young, teach it often, and really make sure the men and boys in our lives understand what it means when a female says no.

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Bad News. Your Houseplants Probably Aren’t Going to Purify the Air in Your Home.

There’s a lot of talk lately about the idea that certain plants you welcome into your home could help purify the indoor air. Unfortunately, while the science behind the notion is completely sound, in practice it’s pretty unlikely to work.

At least, the plants in your house are unlikely to clean all your air on their own.

And that, my friends, is because (among other reasons) you’d need to own and tend around 1,000 of said plants in order to rely on them to completely purify the oxygen you breathe.

The science comes from a 1989 NASA study that found that ficus, daisies, mums, and other plants could pull all of the cancer-causing volatile organic compounds, like benzene and formaldehyde, from airtight environments like the ones in the space stations.

Their potential effect, though, never really lived up to the hype, says Dr. Michael Waring of Drexler University.

“The main issue with the NASA study – and other chamber studies of potted plants and VOCs – isn’t that the data are incorrect. Rather, the interpretation of the data and its application to indoor air cleaning are flawed.”

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Terms for Plant Care Part II Turgor Pressure – Plants are often stiff and hardy, but when they are watered incorrectly, the plant becomes limp because of a decrease in pressure at the cellular level. Propagation – plants can be cut up in certain ways and then placed in water or soil to regenerate from a cutting. Mother – a plant that regularly shoots out “babies” at the base. They don’t have to be your largest plant to be a mother. Separating Shoots – various plants will grow with multiple shoots and their roots become interlaced. You can separate them by carefully patting the soil and dirt from between the roots and then pulling apart. Even an expert will lose 30% of the roots. Hybrid – many plants, especially when they sell for a good price and have special characteristics, are hybrid. They grow differently than natural breeds. Drainage/Hydroponics – plants want a constant water source. That’s how hydroponics work. But with pots you need drainage, or a layer of sand, rock, and/or charcoal at the bottom. ~ Let me know if I’m missing anything important about plant care! ~ #verastruct #plantsforall #freeplants #houseplants #majestypalm #monsteramonday #goldenpothos #croton #snakeplant #bostonfern #fiddleleaffig #monstera #rubberplant #nerveplant #indoorjungle #urbanjungle #indoorplants #plantshelfie #houseplantsofinstagram #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsofinstagram

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Also, it’s important to mention that chamber studies like the ones conducted by NASA are not simulating real-world environments, so the data doesn’t exactly translate. The buildings we work and live in are well-ventilated, have continuous indoor-outdoor air exchange, and are generally full of decent quality breathing air to begin with, reminds Warring.

“Chamber studies have shown weak removal of VOCs by potted plants, just not at high enough rates to clean indoor air effectively compared to air exchange.”

Chemicals, too, are more regulated and specific in an environment like a space station.

“…in a home or office, there are mixtures of many different chemicals at different concentrations, which change all the time depending on exchange with outdoor and objects in the home or office that emit these chemicals.”

Other studies have been done that examine the effects of potted plants on real-world environments, and they have been found to have positive effects. That said, Warring says they remain flawed.

“The field studies typically did not measure the air exchange rate – the frequency with which indoor air is replaced by outdoor air, because that parameter wasn’t measured, changes in VOC concentrations can’t be ascribed to any particular removal mechanism.”

Basically, we’ve never proven that it’s actually the plants that are responsible for improving the air.

As far as the numbers? Warring says that, in a 10×10 foot bedroom or an office with an 8-foot ceiling, you’d need around 1,000 plants to match the air-cleaning capacity of a standard ventilation system.

Here’s the thing: if you enjoy having houseplants, you definitely should keep some around. They are shown to have other benefits to both mood and productivity, and they’re certainly not going to harm the air quality.

If the air quality is your main concern, open a window or two, and let in as much sunlight as possible.

A little fresh air and sunlight never hurt anyone.

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A Breast Cancer Vaccine Might Be Available in Less Than 10 Years

No matter who you are, you’ve likely known someone who’s been impacted by breast cancer.

That’s why this news from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, is potentially so groundbreaking. The institution recently announced that a vaccine that could stop the recurrence of breast and ovarian cancer, that could even stop them from developing in the first place, may be available within eight years.

The vaccine is in the early stages of development, and it would be at least three years before it was available to large numbers of patients. Mayo Clinic investigator Keith L. Knutson said, “It is reasonable to say that we could have a vaccine within eight years that may be available to patients through their pharmacy or their doctor.”

Staff at the clinic already have two vaccines against breast cancer, and they’re currently worked on the third one. This latest vaccine is intended to fight DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive breast cancer that appears in 300,000 new cases each year.

Knutson added, “We know that they’re safe. We know that they stimulate the immune system [to fight cancer]. We know that they have had a positive impact on ovarian and breast cancer. We haven’t seen any adverse events that are causing problems other than irritation in the area similar to a flu vaccination. Now we have to convince the FDA, through solid, rigorous clinical trials that we’re seeing what we’re seeing.”

This “Phase 3″ clinical trial could potentially cost millions of dollars to carry out, which is why the process takes years. The vaccines the clinic is working on are intended to boost the body’s immune system and kill cancer cells. Knutson said, “If you develop a cold or something like that, you do develop an immune response, and that actually doesn’t necessarily prevent the disease, but it keeps it at bay and it helps clear it.”

Knutson added that the Mayo Clinic is working on the foundation they’ve already established to attempt to further develop their cancer-fighting vaccines. This may be a few years away, but it gives hope, both to women currently fighting cancer and to those who fear developing it in the future.

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Research Says You’re Worse at Picking Good Photos of Yourself Than a Stranger Is

Taking a good selfie may seem simple, until you actually try to do it. Often, you’ll wind up taking approximately 5,000 photos before you see one that’s cute enough to post.

But who deems a photo “cute enough”? Beauty is subjective, and according to one study, you’re not the best person to judge which photos of yourself are the best.

In 2017, researchers in Australia had 102 students rank photos of themselves by their attractiveness, trustworthiness, dominance, confidence, and competence. The participants rated each photo from one to 10 in each category. Then 160 strangers did the same thing for each picture.

Photo Credit: iStock

Surprisingly, the students’ favorite photos did not rank as well with strangers as the others. This was the opposite of what the researchers had predicted.

“This result is contrary to the prediction based on self-presentation literature, that participants would select more flattering images of themselves,” they wrote.

So, it might be a good idea to seek out a second opinion before you pick which selfie to post — at least when looking attractive to other people is the goal, such as on dating apps.

Photo Credit: iStock

But why, exactly, are people so bad at picking good photos of themselves? You’d think we’d be better at it because we know our own faces better than anyone else.

Well, that also means we’re more biased than other people.

We may see ourselves as hotter and more trustworthy, for example. Moreover, you see yourself in a specific way before you even glance at a photo, and you’re typically looking for a photo that matches up with what’s in your head. Strangers have no such biases.

So in this case, maybe don’t go with your gut.

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Bars in Italy Are Using Pasta Straws to Get Rid of Plastic Waste

Lately, companies have caused a stir (see what I did there?) by getting rid of plastic straws or only distributing them when customers specifically ask for them.

In Italy, bars and restaurants are now using pasta straws for drinks to cut down on plastic waste. What could be more Italian than drinking out of a pasta straw?!?!

Here in Italy bars are starting to use pasta as straws to reduce plastic use. Our technology amazes the world another time. from europe

The European Union voted to ban single-use plastic items by 2021, and it looks like the Italians are getting a head start.

Interestingly, there’s already a company in the UK called Stroodles that sells pasta straws. Maxim Gelmann, the founder of the company said, “Stroodles is not just a straw company and there is a much bigger picture, as I feel I can leave a long-term impact by creating a ripple effect by triggering many small changes all across the world, especially among people that are less conscious of sustainability and their respective actions and behaviors.”

😎😎😎 Stroodles team at the Improving Air Quality in Mayfair event by @newwestendcompany

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Gelmann added,

“The approach is to do this in a fun and non-preachy, non-finger-pointing manner. I rather aim for people to engage with a Stroodle and then themselves start asking themselves the right questions, like ‘Why is there a pasta straw in my drink?’ Thus, little realizations like that and them coming to their own conclusions, rather than being sold/preached. [It’s] much more powerful in creating behavioral and mindsets change. And … maybe next time one is offered a plastic bag, they will behave differently.”

I haven’t seen these in the U.S. yet, but maybe they’ll be coming soon?

The next step? Let’s work on getting pasta cups!

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10 Interesting Facts for You to Take a Look At

This is a fast-paced world where it can be hard to get any free time and learn new information.

But you should always make time for our fact sets! They’re filled with fascinating information that will stick in your head long after you’re done reading them.

Here are 10 such facts for you!

1. That’s a relief.

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2. Women are strong.

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3. What a great idea.

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4. That’s the backstory.

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5. Time for a name change.

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6. Take me down to Octopus City.

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7. Ugh, that’s not good.

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8. Another reason not to like Mondays.

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9. Get to the Hummer!

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10. Everybody needs to take notice of this.

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We hope you enjoyed those 10 facts!

Follow THIS LINK to explore a whole lot more.

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Good News! Eating Cheese Every Day May Actually Improve Your Health.

Here’s some good news for you!

No longer will we be shamed for eating cheese on a regular basis.

It turns out that eating cheese might actually protect us from the some of the dangers associated with a diet too high in salt.

Now, we all need some salt, but too much can lead to things like high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, and even dementia. Avoiding it can be difficult in our over-programmed, fast-food infested worlds, so the idea that just eating more cheese might help is pretty darn appealing.

Lacy Alexander, a professor and co-author of the study published in the Journal of Nutrition, explains.

“Studies have shown that people who consume the recommended number of dairy servings each day typically have lower blood pressure and better cardiovascular health in general. We wanted to look at those connections more closely as well as explore some of the precise mechanisms by which cheese, a dairy product, may affect heart health.”

The study included 11 people with salt-sensitive blood pressure, all of whom followed different diets for a prescribed amount of time. They were low salt and no dairy, low salt and high cheese, high sale and no dairy, and high salt and high cheese.

At the end of the study, researchers assessed the blood vessel function of of each volunteer by injecting a small amount of a chemical that relaxes the vessels under their skin.

What they found was that the volunteers that had consumed the high salt, high cheese diet seemed to have some kind of protective effect against any kind of impairment to the vessel.

Scientists need to do more research, but they think it might have to do with antioxidants found in cheese.

“There is scientific evidence that dairy-based nutrients, specifically peptides generated during the digestion of dairy proteins, have beneficial antioxidant properties, meaning that they have the ability to scavenge these oxidant molecules and thereby protect against their damaging physiological effects,” said lead author Billie Alba.

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Happy national #Moldycheese day!! To celebrate, Two of my many favorite #funkycheeses. #ShropshireBlue is a #Scottishbluecheese made from pasteurised cows' milk using vegetable rennet. The orange colour comes from the addition of annatto, a natural food colouring. Penicillium #roqueforti produces the veining. #Cypressgrove- #HumboldtFog is a California #goatmilk, mold-ripened cheese with a central line of edible white ash much like Morbier. The cheese ripens starting with the #bloomy #mold exterior, resulting in a core of fresh goat #cheese surrounded by a runny shell. As the cheese matures, more of the originally crumbly core is converted to a soft-ripened texture. The bloomy mold and ash rind are edible but fairly tasteless. The cheese is creamy, light, and mildly acidic with a stronger flavor near the rind. ##ilovecheese #cheeseplease #moldycheeseday #cheeseboard #makeamericagrateagain @cypressgrovers

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The study was small, which means its results will need to be replicated, and no matter how much cheese you eat, you probably can’t guzzle salt like it doesn’t matter.

And even if it helps protect your blood vessel from salt damage, cheese is high in saturated fat and salt, too.

Now that the reasonable warnings are out of the way, let’s celebrate!

With a cheese plate. Obviously.

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New Research Finds That Running Might Actually Be Good for Your Knees

Contrary to popular wisdom, running might not be so bad for your knees after all. In fact, it may actually improve your knee health.

One reason that running is assumed to be bad for your knees is the existence of “runner’s knee,” or patellofemoral pain syndrome. It’s fairly common for runners to experience knee pain, especially those who are new to the sport. That pain is often due to muscle weakness, overextending yourself, or running with old shoes.

But studies have shown that running is not associated with knee arthritis or other types of degenerative joint disease. In fact, it may be good for your knee joints, helping to protect the knee and keep it working smoothly.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

In one 2016 study, male and female runners either ran on a treadmill for 30 minutes or sat quietly for 30 minutes. Then they did the opposite activity on the next day. Before and after each session, the researchers drew blood from their arms and synovial fluid from their knees. They measured it for cells linked to inflammation and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), the substance that marks arthritis.

After 30 minutes on the treadmill, participants had lower levels of inflammation and lower levels of COMP. Sitting for 30 minutes increased those same levels. The study’s author Robert Hyldahl concluded that moderate runs are “not likely to harm healthy knees and probably offer protection,” per the New York Times.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

So you definitely shouldn’t let the fear of bad knees keep you from running.

Still, it’s important to practice good etiquette to avoid messing up your knees — wear proper running shoes, and don’t push yourself too far too soon.

Happy trails!

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The Famous ‘Lovers of Modena’ Skeletons Turned out to Be Men

This is a very interesting story.

The “Lovers of Modena” are a pair of ancient skeletons that were buried holding hands thousands of years ago. Recently, archaeologists discovered that both of the skeletons were actually male, leading them to conclude that they couldn’t possibly be lovers — because homosexuality isn’t a thing, right? Right.

Study author Federico Lugli said that the pair could be “siblings, cousins or soldiers who died together in battle,” the BBC reports.

“There are currently no other examples of this type,” Federico added. “Many tombs have been found in the past with couples holding hands, but in all cases there was a man and a woman. What might have been the bond between the two individuals in the burial in Modena remains a mystery.”

A mystery indeed.

But people on Twitter have some, uh, theories.

You know, just wild guesses.

Because it’s not totally obvious or anything.

Nobody has ever been gay in the history of mankind!

To be fair, these skeletons were buried between the 4th and 6th century AD in northern Italy. Homosexuality was illegal there at that time, and these two received a proper burial.

Still, it’s quite possible that this couple had some loved ones who secretly honored their relationship despite the cultural taboo.

Technically, we’ll never know whether the Lovers of Modena were really lovers or not. Either way, though, they’re basically icons of gay culture now.

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