Diana Crow

How Did These Indestructible Pond Critters Get Their Genes?

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The original Z151 lived in a pond in Lancashire, England. She spent her days the way most microscopic animals of her species do, munching on the pond’s algae and using her eight translucent legs to shamble from one clump of pond scum to another, until November 13, 1987, when a fellow named Bob McNuff scooped her up as part of a water sample. Full Article »

What Paleo Voice Recognition Can Tell Us About Early Humans’ Hearing

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When early hominins—the chimp-like forerunners of modern humans—moved from the forest to the savannah, they also started hearing a bit more like modern humans, according to a study in the September 25th issue of Science Advances. Full Article »

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Russians, & Mistletoe

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On April 16, 1964, Frank Press had just returned from the site of a tsunami. Three weeks prior, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2—the highest ever recorded in North America—had struck the southern coast of Alaska. The four-minute-long quake shook hundreds of miles of seaside sediment loose. Alaska’s shores tumbled into underwater mudslides, taking whole villages with them. Suburban homes sank into the sludge. Pavement cracked. Backyard bomb shelters crumbled. 131 people died. And with just two earthquake monitoring stations’ worth of data to go on, the young expert in digital seismology was summoned to the scene to attempt to sort out what had happened. Full Article »

Junk Food Can Alter Your Immune System

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The microbes that live in your gut affect more than just your weight; according to a study from Germany, gut microbes can also change the architecture of bone marrow. Since bone marrow is where our bodies build immune cells, bacteria-induced changes in the bone marrow could be important for understanding how junk food diets affect human health. Read more at NOVA Next.

Are Calcium Supplements Worth Taking? Depends on Who You Ask.

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Most health agencies recommend that older adults take 1,000-1,200 milligrams of calcium per day to stave off bone loss, or “osteoporosis.” About 43 percent of U.S. adults follow that advice by taking supplements, but in some countries, including New Zealand, calcium-supplement use is falling. “The change wasn’t driven by guidelines; it was actually driven by the media coverage of our paper,” says physician Mark Bolland. Full Article »