Anatoli Brouchkov, a scientist whose curiosity and thirst for knowledge drove him to go beyond the standard protocol of his experimentation by injecting himself with an ancient “Eternal Life” bacteria. In 2009, a 3.5-million-year-old bacteria strain called Bacillus F was discovered deep in the permafrost of Siberia’s Sakha Republic. Scientists later found that mice and fruit flies exposed to the bacteria seemed to […]
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The owners of one Denver coffee shop aren’t just talking about social issues, they’re actually doing something about them. Co-founders Madison Chandler and Mark Smesrud opened the Purple Door two years ago with the goal of hiring homeless young adults, giving them one-year contracts to help them get back on their feet. Jenna Williams, a 23-year-old who had been living […]
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In southern Australia, it’s raining spiders. Spiders can ride the wind using an ingenious migration technique known as ballooning. Residents of Goulburn, Australia, received a startling demonstration of the phenomenon last week, when hundreds of thousands of tiny spiders descended from the sky on gossamer parachutes. “The whole place was covered in these little black spiderlings, and when I looked […]
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Mayo Sleep Clinic in Arizona surveyed 150 patients about sleep habits Found those who sleep with pets ‘feel more safe and secure’ But 20 per cent say sleep interrupted by ‘wandering or whimpering’ Animal lovers have been warned for years that having a pet in the bedroom may affect their sleep. Dogs and cats snore, fidget, wake up […]
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To the surprise of doctors, new research on acupuncture has found that the ancient Chinese healing technique provides real pain relief. Acupuncture involves sticking needles into specific points in the body that Chinese healers believe contain unseen energy pathways; the needles supposedly stimulate the flow of “qi,” or energy. Western medicine has viewed these claims with deep skepticism, contending that […]
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Every week, more than 50 million Americans take acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and many other popular painkillers, to ease their aches and pains. But a new study has revealed that the drug also dulls emotions—including happiness. Prior research showed that acetaminophen can help take the sting out of negative feelings like dread, but the new findings from Ohio […]
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THE UNIVERSE IS A LOT OF THINGS, BUT EASY TO understand isn’t one of them. Take the fact that more than 80% of its mass is missing. Galaxies spin so fast, they would fly apart if the gravity of some unseen mass weren’t keeping them intact, sur rounding them like a glass paperweight encasing a butterfly. Cosmologists have been trying […]
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Some of us like to rock & roll, and some of us like to gyrate & gestate. Gynecology clinic Institut Marquès has discovered a way to bring that front row concert experience right to your fetus. What they’ve designed is called Babypod, a speaker that expecting mothers insert into their vaginas (in tampon fashion) to play songs for their developing […]
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A homeless panhandler, Billy Ray Harris who returned a diamond engagement ring accidentally thrown into his change cup has had his generosity repaid many times over. Sarah Darling of Kansas City, Mo., mistakenly gave her ring to Billy Ray Harris last week, and he happily returned it the next day when she retraced her steps. Since Harris’s good deed hit the […]
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When Chinese fisherman CaiTu hauled in a 200-pound, 100-year-old sea turtle, he knew he had to do the right thing and release the endangered animal. The decision wasn’t easy: Cai could have earned two months’ wages by selling the delicacy to a restaurant, where it would have been made into soup. “I looked into that turtle’s eyes and saw something […]
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