Month: June 2015

  • Physical activity is good for you, should it be a public health policy priority?

    Lack of physical activity – along with unhealthy diets – are key risk factors for major non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).Thirty to 70% of EU citizens are currently overweight, while 10-30% are considered obese,according to the WHO, which warned against an obesity crisis in…

  • Dogs don't like people who are not nice to their owners!

    Dogs do not like people who are mean to their owners, Japanese researchers said Friday, and will refuse food offered by people who have snubbed their master.The findings reveal that canines have the capacity to co-operate socially — a characteristic found in a relatively small number of species, including humans and some other primates.

  • How old is the Grand Canyon?

     The age of the Grand Canyon (USA) has been studied for years, with recent technological advances facilitating new attempts to determine when erosion of this iconic canyon began. The result is sometimes conflicting ages based on different types of data; most data support the notion that the canyon began to erode to its current form…

  • Pacific Fisher needs protection

    In response to a petition and lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife today recommended state Endangered Species Act protection for the fisher in the southern Sierra Nevada portion of its range. Though this cat-like member of the weasel family was once wide-ranging, today only two naturally occurring fisher populations survive —…

  • Spider and Centipede Venom Could Help us Fight Pain and Cancer

    Certain spiders and centipedes—despite being separated by more than 500 million years—have independently evolved the same type of venom from an insulinlike hormone. The find, reported today, could lead to greener insecticides and potentially help fight chronic pain and cancer.

  • Eating Nuts IS good for you!

    It‘s not often that a simple, doable thing comes along that’s also incredibly good for you, but I think this is it: eat a half a handful of nuts every day.According to a new study out of the Netherlands, just 10 grams (about a third of an ounce) of nuts or peanuts (technically a legume)…

  • How to minimize drought impact on food crops

    The worldwide demand for legumes, one of the world’s most important agricultural food crops, is growing; at the same time, their production has been adversely affected by drought. In an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis research paper published today in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers provide information that could help agricultural planning and management to minimize…

  • Tesla Superchargers vs. Battery Swap Stations, Superchargers win

    They say the mark of a great company is knowing when to cut your losses and run. Well, it seems as though Tesla is on the verge of ditching its battery swap service which was launched with the Tesla Model S electric vehicle. The idea was that battery swap stations would be built across America…

  • Canadian wildfire smoke transported to US

    Canada has already had its share of wildfires this season, and the smoke from these wildfires is slowly drifting south over the United States' Midwest.  The drifting smoke can be seen in this Terra satellite image over Lake Michigan, as well as parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. The smoke released by any type of…

  • Americans may waste more food that they think

    Most Americans are aware that food waste is a problem, are concerned about it, and say they work to reduce their own waste, but nearly three-quarters believe that they waste less food than the national average, new research suggests. The findings, from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg…