It’s not really new; the virus and the disease it causes, Zika fever, was identified back in the 1950s in Africa. But it has been spreading for a while, and recently made the leap to the Western Hemisphere and is … Continue reading →
My dog was a champ at this: While we’re at it, here’s another. This one’s about yawning: Dr. Seuss remarked on this phenomenon in a book I used to read to my son at bedtime, in the hope (usually vain) … Continue reading →
Phytoplankton have been proliferating in the North Atlantic when they were predicted to be doing the opposite, and we haven’t a clue why. Nor do we know whether the increase is beneficial or harmful. Here’s an observation on this from … Continue reading →
The subject of H-1B visas* came up during last Wednesday’s Republican debate, most particularly regarding Rubio, who advocates an expansion of the program with some restrictions. So I decided to try to find out the truth about what’s involved and … Continue reading →
I knew that I didn’t like the idea of a self-driving car (that’s “self” as in “the car drives itself”). The moment I heard they were perfecting such an item, it gave me very serious pause. Maybe that’s because in … Continue reading →
As a former sufferer from fairly severe chronic pain, news such as this interests me: Joe Grewal, the first human to be fitted with a permanent implant, said he has suffered chronic back pain for more than 30 years and … Continue reading →
That’s the title of this article, and that’s the subject matter: scientists in Antarctica drink a lot. Well, you might say, why not? It’s Antarctica, Jake. NSF managers in Washington say they’re still looking at whether shipping a few breathalyzers … Continue reading →
Can you tell which toe of yours is being touched? When they’re not allowed to peek, many people can’t differentiate between which toes of theirs are being “prodded” by an experimenter. Sounds a bit kinky: Researchers at the University of … Continue reading →
A new human fossil has been found, and it has some intriguing and unusual characteristics: The researchers suggest that the fossils represent a previously unknown species in our genus, Homo, one that had a peculiar mix of physical traits and … Continue reading →
I’ve spent countless hours reading about and trying to understand the technical parts of the Iran arms deal—the details of the proposed inspections, what that actually means, and whether it all would be adequate in terms of stopping Iran from … Continue reading →
This is potentially very good news. Very: Researchers gave one dose of the new vaccine, developed by the Canadian government, to more than 4,000 people who were contacts of confirmed Ebola cases within 10 days of being identified. In comparison, … Continue reading →
Here’s an article about Dr. Joel Salinas, a Boston neurologist with mirror touch synesthesia, which is the sensation, when watching other people, of perceiving that “whatever touches their body [is felt] on my own body as well and it’s kind … Continue reading →