Feeling itchy from a sunburn, a bug bite or some other skin irritation is miserable, but the pleasure you get from scratching it isn’t just the absence of pain. It feels legitimately good to scratch, and the reason is fascinating. A 2008 study at Wake Forest University hooked people up to a MRI scanner and monitored brain activity when they […]
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In a controversial move that has caused a massive public backlash, the city of Montreal will go ahead with their plans to dump over 2 billion gallons (8 billion liters) of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River — Montreal’s primary drinking water supply — in mid-October. While the Quebec Environment Minister David Heurtel has stated that the sewage dump […]
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The amount of CO2 is increasing all the time – we just passed a landmark 400 parts per million concentration of atmospheric CO2, up from around 280ppm before the industrial revolution. That’s a 42.8% increase. A tiny amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, like methane and water vapor, keep the Earth’s surface 30°Celsius (54°F) warmer than it would be […]
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Massive icebergs more than 18km long give Giant boost for south polar waters by feeding vital nutrients into the Southern Ocean and helping to increase its carbon storage capacity. LONDON, January, 2016 – British scientists have identified the monsters that fertilize the Southern Ocean and help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Giant icebergs drifting northwards could be responsible for storing up […]
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Meditation doesn’t just improve mental and physical health in the present. It also slows the aging process, and can help meditators stay mentally sharp into old age, a new study has found. Once people reach their mid- to late 20s, their brains begin to lose volume and weight, which can eventually result in the loss of some functional ability. But […]
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Training for a marathon and other extreme workouts may be more harmful than healthy. After reviewing over 50 studies, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that more than an hour of intense aerobic activity per day put runners and cyclists at heightened risk of serious heart problems, including an irregular heartbeat, clogged arteries, and scarring. Habitual marathon runners and professional […]
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From 2012 to 2015, Russia researched ways of deflecting Earth-bound asteroids using nuclear weapons and came up with a best-case scenario. The Central Scientific Research Institute of Machine Building, an arm of Russia’s state-run Roscosmos space agency, worked on the asteroid problem with other countries (including the United States) in a program called NEOShield, which was largely funded by the […]
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As the world advances with more and more handheld devices, ‘Text Neck’ is becoming a world-wide health concern, affecting millions of all ages and from all walks of life. Widespread overuse of handheld mobile technology is resulting in a harmful and dangerous physical condition on the human body, which is known as ‘Text Neck’. The term, and the health condition, is […]
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Global life expectancy has risen by more than six years since 1990 as healthy life expectancy grows; ischemic heart disease, lower respiratory infections, and stroke cause the most health loss around the world. SEATTLE — People around the world are living longer, even in some of the poorest countries, but a complex mix of fatal and nonfatal ailments cause a […]
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GRAPHIC WARNING: The following images depict violence which some readers may find disturbing. Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian disaster of our time. The number of innocent civilians suffering has surpassed more than 11 million. More than four years after it began, the full-blown civil war has killed over 220,000 people, half of whom are believed to be […]
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