To find out how sound waves impacted flavor, researchers played nonstop loops of Led Zeppelin, A Tribe Called Quest and Mozart to cheese wheels. Cheese wheels that were exposed to hip hop music had the strongest flavor.
Aside from the Ink, Getting a Tattoo Can Permanently Change Your Body
Tattoos are obviously permanet…but what if that alteration is more than skin deep?
A new study published in the Particle and Fibre Toxicology Journal, alleges that some people with multiple tattoos end up with a microscopic sprinkling of metal in their lymph nodes.
Scientists have known about the metal particles for some time, but have assumed it was a byproduct of the ink filtered out by lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, and groin. This study, though, points to a different culprit.
Now, researchers have discovered that traces of nickel and chromium found in these lymph nodes actually come from the needle of the tattoo gun. Hiram Castillo, one of the study’s authors, explains what they found: “There is more to tattoos than meets the eye. It is not only about the cleanliness of the parlour, the sterilization of the equipment or even about the pigments. Now we find that the needle wear also has an impact in your body.”
The team of researchers, out of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany, began by studying tissue from deceased people with and without tattoos and found particles of iron, chromium, and nickel in the lymph nodes of those sporting ink. Those aren’t common metals found in inks, explains Ines Schreiver, another scientist connected with the study.
#impulseinktattoo #cattattoo #cutetattoo #kittytattoos #hudsonwi #tattooshop #tattooparlor #minnesotatattoo #“We tested around 50 ink samples without finding such metal particles and made sure that we hadn’t contaminated the samples during sample preparation. Then we though of testing the needle and that was our ‘eureka’ moment.”
The real culprit is probably a white pigment contained in green, blue, and red tattoo inks. It’s called titanium dioxide, and it can wear away needles.
The discovery could help explain why some people experience allergic reactions to tattoos – and lest you think that the nanoparticles are no big deal, I’m sorry to tell you that smaller sized particles can often release higher amounts of toxic elements.
That said, there is no evidence to suggest that tattoos are associated with wider health problems…for now. Researchers are, Schreiver says, going to keep digging.
“Unfortunately, today, we can’t determine the exact impact on human health and possible allergy development deriving from the tattoo needle wear. These are long-term effects which can only be assessed in long-term epidemiological studies that monitor the health of thousands of people over decades.”
Just one more thing to think about before you choose the shop – and the color – of your next amazing piece of body art.
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Steve Jobs Made Some Accurate Predictions About the Future of Technology in the 1980s and ’90s
Steve Jobs was truly a one-of-kind businessman. The co-founder of Apple was a visionary who helped change the way we work, play, and live. And Jobs made some predictions in the 1980s and 1990s that may have seemed far-fetched at the time, but it turns out he absolutely nailed it.
Here are some examples of the foresight that Jobs had years before these things became a reality.
Tablets
Photo Credit: Pixabay
The iPad wasn’t launched by Apple until 2010, but all the way back in 1983 at the International Design Conference in Aspen, Jobs talked about “an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you that you that you can learn in five minutes.”
Virtual Assistants
Photo Credit: Pexels
Before Siri and Alexa became household items, Jobs said this…in 1984: “The next stage is going to be computers as ‘agents. In other words, it will be as if there’s a little person inside that box who starts to anticipate what you want. Rather than help you, it will start to guide you through large amounts of information. It will almost be like you have a little friend inside that box.”
Sound familiar?
iPhones
Photo Credit: Pexels
Those “agents” Jobs talked about? Jobs said they would evolve. “I’ve always thought it would be really wonderful to have a little box, a sort of slate that you could carry along with you.”
Sounds like an iPhone to me.
Young people and devices
Photo Credit: pxhere
Jobs really nailed this prediction. In 1984, he said, “You’d get one of these things maybe when you were 10 years old, and somehow you’d turn it on and it would say, you know, ‘Where am I?’ And you’d somehow tell it you were in California and it would say, ‘Oh, who are you?’”
The online marketplace
Photo Credit: Flickr,Elaine Smith
In 1995, Steve Jobs predicted that the newly-flourishing Internet would allow startup companies to compete with established companies because they’d be able to sell directly to consumers. He said, “it’s very exciting because it is going to destroy vast layers of our economy and make available a presence in the marketplace for very small companies, one that is equal to very large companies.”
Sadly, Jobs passed away in 2011 at the age of 56 from pancreatic cancer, but he sure did accomplish a lot while he was alive.
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Why Are Bugs So Darn Loud?
You’re outside on a warm summer evening: there are no cars, no voices, just the overwhelming cacophony of BUGS. Tons of them. It sounds like a symphony in the trees of nonstop chirping from cicadas, crickets, and other insects. If you’ve ever camped in a national park or a forest, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The forest comes alive and it gets so loud that you are taken aback.
But did you ever ask yourself the question, “Why are bugs so darn loud?” Especially when you look at them and see how little they are?
Let’s take a look at how three small insects make all that noise.
Katydids
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
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A lot of the noise you hear from katydids is associated with mating. These insects rub their wings together in a method known as “stridulation,” producing a buzzing sound. Of course, it’s the males that stridulate, since they’re the ones doing the attracting.
Cicadas
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Only male cicadas make noise, just like katydids and crickets. Unlike katydids, cicadas don’t only make noise to mate, but also to scare off other male bugs and to send out distress signals. To make noise, male cicadas use tymbals, special noise-making organs that are located on their abdomens. Most of the rest of a cicada’s abdomen is hollow, which helps to amplify the noise.
They’re also able to fold their eardrums closed, which is good news for them because they are loud.
Crickets
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
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Crickets, crickets, everywhere! Crickets rub their wings together to make noise, but they emit a lower frequency than katydids, which results in a more musical sound instead of a buzzing noise. Crickets also use noise to attract potential mates, and they have a number of different ‘songs’ for different parts of the mating ritual: attracting a mate, wooing a mate, and warning off male competition.
It sure is noisy out there!
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A New Study Confirms That No Single ‘Gay Gene’ Controls Sexual Preference
A groundbreaking study recently published confirms that genetics can’t confirm if a person will engage in same-sex sexual behavior. The research showed that there is no single gene that controls sexual preference – instead, some genes play a tiny role in contributing to sexual behavior, with social and environmental factors determining the rest of the outcome. In other words, genes play small a role in sexuality, but there is no “gay gene.”
There is no one "gay gene," a study of nearly half a million people found. The largest study of same-sex behavior ever, it found many genes play a role in sexuality, along with environmental factors. https://t.co/jmvLt1bui6
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 29, 2019
Researchers studied almost 500,000 people to come up with their results. Study author Ben Neale said, “This is is the largest and most thorough investigation into the genetics of same-sex sexual behavior to date.”
The study analyzed associations between the genes of people and same-sex behavior that the people reported. It’s important to note that these behaviors do not absolutely equate sexual identity. People who reported that they had same-sex encounters could be bisexual, gay, pansexual, etc.
The authors revealed that between 8% and 25% of same-sex sexual behavior in the study could be explained by genetics. The rest could be chalked up to environmental and social factors. Ben Neale said, “I think it underscores that there is an element of biology and it underscores that there’s an element of the environment. And it underscores that this is a natural part of our species.”
No 'gay gene', but study finds genetic links to sexual behavior https://t.co/kWcUIhO9Zh pic.twitter.com/lhHvtkELCC
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 30, 2019
The authors of the study worked with LGBTQ advocacy groups to talk about the best way to reveal their work to the public, and they were mindful about what kind of message the results might send. There is still concern about potential backlash, however. Darren Whitfield, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh who studies LGBTQ health, said, “These things do have the potential to reinforce homophobia. It can reinforce the idea of any abnormality [connected] to same-sex attraction.”
Whitfield added that it’s important to consider what comes out of these studies and what’s next regarding this type of research. He said, “At the end of the day, we’re still looking for a genetic component for sexual behavior. The question I would have is—why? What is the purpose?”
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10 Facts so Good You Might Just Jump Around
Let’s cut the chit chat and the small talk RIGHT NOW. I’m here with 10 facts that you absolutely NEED in your life right now.
They’re so good, in fact, that I have a feeling you’re going to jump for joy. So go ahead and do it! …After you enjoy these facts.
1. Been there, done that
Photo Credit: did you know?
2. Ouch…
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3. Freaky!
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4. That’s interesting
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5. It works!
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6. Give it a shot
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7. Here come the waterworks
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8. I’ll take two!
Photo Credit: did you know?
9. Harry Potter critters
Photo Credit: did you know?
10. Hey, Gramps!
Photo Credit: did you know?
Might as well JUMP!
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Bananas Are Being Decimated by a Deadly Fungus, and There Are No Good Solutions to Fix It
For roughly 15 years, scientists have been warning the interested banana-eating public about a future without their favorite fruit.
That future is almost now.
The inside of a banana plant with Panama disease
Photo Credit: Public Domain
The fish and wildlife conservation office of Colombia, known as ICA, recently confirmed the banana-killing fungus was detected in the northeastern area of the country. Called Tropical Race 4, or TR4, the deadly blight causes bananas to contract Panama disease, which causes wilting and splitting in banana plants before finally resulting in a total collapse of the plant. Since the fungus has finally hit South America (it has been in Asia for years), it won’t be long before it spreads throughout the rest of the continent.
The only way to counteract the devastation is to just come up with a new banana. Major banana players, Chiquita and Dole, have been working with scientists on a new TR4 resistant strain of bananas.
But is it too late?
Normal, healthy Cavendish bananas
Photo Credit: Augustus Binu
One of the collaborators of the new banana project is Massimo Iorizzo, an assistant professor at the Plants for Human Health Institute and Department of Horticultural Sciences at North Carolina State University. He has been working with Dole on genetic editing with the goal of understanding how genes play a part in disease resistance and then creating a plan to transfer that resistance. An Australian group has already had significant success in this area.
But Iorizzo believes the research got off to a late start. Since the time the pathogen was discovered, no one was interested in finding a disease resistant banana because so many healthy plants existed.
Also, replicating pathogens and conditions and finally getting plants mature enough to study takes years. So while Iorizzo and other researchers are slowly getting closer to their goals, the final genotype of disease resistant banana plant is still a long way off.
Photo Credit: Pixnio
If you’re a banana aficionado, you might know that this has all happened before. Back in the 1960s, Panama disease utterly destroyed the beloved Gros Michel banana, so growers replaced them with the less flavorful Cavendish banana (the one we have in grocery stores now). Now, the Cavendish banana is on the TR4 chopping block. It is likely that the fungus will soon take out other types of bananas, too.
In 2005, botanist Juan Fernando Aguilar with the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Investigation (FHIA) said they were developing alternative bananas as they waited for Panama Disease to take root.
Yet, neither they, nor any other group of researchers, have presented us with their top banana.
And so the public waits, and the bananas keep dying.
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Studies Show That Children Who Grow up Around Their Grandparents Are Happier and Less Likely to Be Depressed
I’ve always been jealous of people who grew up close to their grandparents and so were able to enjoy that bond. My family moved around so much when I was growing up that my grandparents lived far away, and I was only able to meet them a few times while they were still alive.
Beyond the love, care, and guidance that grandparents give to their grandkids, research shows that this special relationship is even more beneficial than we thought.
Photo Credit: Pexels
A 2016 study shows that children who have close emotional ties with their grandparents have a reduced risk of becoming depressed. The study was conducted by researchers from Boston College who analyzed data collected over a 19-year period.
More good news came out of the study as well. Grandparents also benefit from a close relationship with their grandkids, and the older folks are less likely to show depressive symptoms as well.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Another study, out of the University of Oxford, found that kids who had close relationships with their grandparents coped better with difficult and traumatic life events, such as bullying or going through a divorce. This research also showed that kids with a higher level of involvement from grandparents in their lives had fewer behavioral and emotional problems and that they dealt with life changes in a healthy way.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Kimberly Agresta, of the Agresta Psychotherapy Group, said:
“If parents regularly involve grandparents in their child’s life early on, a child can develop real emotional closeness to the grandparents and begin to see the grandparent as a source of strong social support. So a child will feel that they have other adults, aside from their parents, who love and care about them in the same way, and this adds to their sense of stability and security.”
If you grew up around your grandparents, consider yourself a lucky person.
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A Woman Caught a Fish with Two Mouths in Upstate New York
This woman’s fishing trip took a strange turn when she reeled in a fish with two mouths.
Debbie Geddes was fishing on Lake Champlain in upstate New York when she caught the unusual animal. She told Fox News that when the fish initially bit her line, she felt like it was a quite large one. But she had no idea what she was about to reel onto the boat.
“When we got it in the boat I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!” Debbie said. “Two mouths! And yet this fish was healthy and thriving! Pretty amazing.”
Debbie and her husband took photos of the unique fish, then released it back into the water. Debbie’s co-worker, Adam Facteau, knew that people had to see this, so he uploaded a photo to Facebook.
Photo Credit: Facebook, Knotty Boy Fishing
“She wasn’t convinced anyone would care about the catch,” Adam said. “I knew it would be popular.”
He was right. The photo went viral, and people have been debating over the cause of the two mouths ever since. Debbie personally thinks that the Lake Trout’s second “mouth” was created by a previous injury. Many commenters also blamed pollution.
“Well, I think everyone has an opinion, which makes it interesting for discussion,” Adam said.
He’s personally not so sure of the cause. He says an injury is “possible.”
Posted by Debbie Geddes on Saturday, August 18, 2018
“However, Lake Champlain is also known for being a sewage dumping ground from Canada and (Vermont). Plus, many of these fish are stocked.”
Regardless of the reason behind these apparent two mouths, this is certainly a catch that Debbie will remember forever.
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The Farmer’s Almanac Has Released Its 2020 Winter Predictions, and It’s Looking Pretty Brutal
Ready for a “polar coaster” this winter? Yeah, I don’t think I am, either. But we all better get prepared because that’s what the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting for the winter of 2020, along with a lot of snow and “frigid” and “freezing” temperatures. Great…
The editor of the Farmer’s Almanac, Peter Geiger, said, “Our extended forecast is calling for yet another freezing, frigid, and frosty winter for two-thirds of the country.” Last year’s prediction from the Almanac called for a long winter with a lot of snow and that turned out to be right on the money.
The Farmers' Almanac Predicts Winter 2020 Will Be 'Freezing' and 'Frigid' https://t.co/fHb00NQAMo pic.twitter.com/2G1vDyMSR3
— Woman's Day (@WomansDay) August 31, 2019
This year, the forecast says that people who live east of the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Appalachians will endure a particularly brutal winter with below-average temperatures and above-normal precipitation. The East Coast is also likely to see a mix of rain, sleet, and snow.
Folks who live in the western-third of the United States can expect a normal, mild winter with average temperatures and precipitation. The coldest temperatures of the year are predicted to occur in late January, affecting millions of Americans across the Northern Plains all the way to the Great Lakes. In other words, it’s going to be a long, cold winter.
"[T]his winter will be filled with so many ups and downs on the thermometer, it may remind you of a 'Polar Coaster,'" the Farmers' Almanac website says https://t.co/T2ae17jd7H
— CNN (@CNN) August 27, 2019
Of course, we all know that weather predictions are never 100% accurate and there might be some wiggle room here, but it seems like this will be a pretty good indication of what the winter of 2020 will look like.
It might be time to move to California…
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