News: Yellow Fever Outbreak Rears Its Ugly Head in Brazilian Cities, Killing Dozens
Yellow fever has emerged again in Brazil, causing death and disease to people unprepared for this mosquito-borne illness.
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News: Old Pathogen Returns to Plague a Modern World
Cholera is rapidly spreading in Mozambique, with over 1,200 people infected. Since the outset of 2017, cholera has spread from the capital city of Maputo (pictured above) to three of its ten provinces. Health officials report other areas in the country are seeing case counts rise, and two deaths have been logged so far.
News: An Early Spring & Skyrocketing Mouse Population Converge for a Risky 2017 for Lyme Disease
For regions that experienced a boom in mouse populations last year, scientists say 2017 could see a surge in cases of Lyme disease.
News: The Stomach Flu Is Not a Flu—Here's What You Really Have
Have you ever had the stomach flu, aka the 24-hour flu? Well, chances are high that you never had influenza, but an intestinal infection called gastroenteritis.
News: How Humanity's Choices in Brazil Brought Together Bats & Pigs in a Melting Pot of Diseases
Ecosystem changes caused by agricultural choices in Brazil are creating a dangerous microbe mix in exploding populations of vampire bats and feral pigs.
News: Bill Gates Says Bioterrorism Could Kill Millions in a Pandemic—Here's How & What to Do
At a global security conference in Munich, philanthropist and businessman Bill Gates spoke about the next pandemic and a dire lack of global readiness. Here's how his statement could come true—and how to be ready when it does.
How To: Tell if You Have a Cold or the Flu
Have the sniffles? Yes. Does your head hurt? Yes. Coughing? Yes. Could you have influenza? Yes. How do you know the difference? With these symptoms, you could also have a cold.
News: Use This Type of Repellent to Avoid Mosquitoes—& Zika
Responding to the emergence of Zika in the US, researchers investigated what type of repellent works best to reduce your odds of a mosquito bite from Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species that spreads the Zika virus.
News: 14 Types of Bacteria & 10 Strains of Fungus Are Responsible for All the Delicious Flavors of Cheese
If you want to appreciate the value of microbes, look no further than a chunk of cheese. Because cheese roughly traces back to the Neolithic Era, we might say the earliest cheesemakers were the first humans to manipulate microbes—without even knowing it. Now, thanks to microbiologists and the long tradition of cheesemaking, we know a lot more about the microbes that make our favorite types of cheese possible.
News: Fighting Nightmare Bacteria Is Like a Game of Whack-a-Mole—It Keeps Popping Up in Unexpected Places
The pathogen referred to as a "nightmare bacteria" is quietly adapting and spreading faster than anticipated.
News: New Study Shows that Superbug E. Coli Gets Stronger & More Dangerous When Doctors Use the Wrong Antibiotics
Although their effectiveness is waning, antibiotics remain a front-line defense against many infections. However, new science reveals using the wrong antibiotic for an infection could makes things much worse.
News: New Research Shows How Flesh-Eating Leishmania Parasites Hide in Our Bodies to Fight Future Infections
Transmitted by a sandfly one-third the size of a mosquito, parasitic Leishmania protozoa are responsible for a flesh-destroying disease that kills an estimated 20,000 people per year. Two new studies offer understanding of how the parasite provides immunity through persistence and why some people suffer more virulent forms of the disease.
News: New Coalition Investing Millions to Stop Outbreaks Like Ebola & Zika Before They Explode
Responding to the rapid emergence of dangerous pathogens around the world, a new initiative to prevent or contain pandemics was announced in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday. If you ever worried that a highly contagious pathogen could take down your community, or the country, this news is for you.
News: Syphilis Has Returned with New Drug Resistance
What do Leo Tolstoy (writer), Beethoven (composer), Paul Gaugin (artist), and Adolf Hitler (politician) have in common? They are all considered to have suffered from the sexually transmitted disease syphilis.
News: 3 Reasons to Be Worried About the Coming Flu Season
With the height of the flu season ahead, there are some good reasons to keep a flu vaccination in mind.
News: Adam Cosco's Short Film 'KNIVES' Ups the Ante on Virtual Reality Moviemaking
While you can't turn art into a formula, the film industry has managed to come stupidly close. While many storytelling principles still stand across mediums, successfully crafting a compelling, immersive narrative in virtual reality requires a brand new rulebook. Through trial, error, and success, writer/director/editor Adam Cosco figured out the right rules to follow (and break) in "KNIVES"—his latest 360-degree short film. The film tells an old-fashioned tale of a woman, Kelsey Frye, strugg...
How To: Fix AMD Radeon HD Series Not Detecting Second Screen
Since I recently had this problem and fixed it, I might as well share the solution. This is actually REALLY simple to fix but will impact your cards' performance.
The Panama Papers Hack: Further Proof That Hacking Is Changing the World
Welcome back, my novice hackers! You have probably heard of the Panama Papers hack by now. This was a hack of the servers at Mossack Fonseca, a major law firm in Panama. This law firm specializes in assisting the rich and powerful to hide their wealth from taxes and scrutiny by creating tax havens overseas.
How To: 5 Android Apps That'll Make You a Citizen Scientist
Using a technology we like to call "Hive Computing," several Android apps allow you to contribute idle processing power to help further scientific research. This basically means that when you're not using your phone or tablet, it can join forces with other idle devices to form a supercomputer that scientists can use to potentially make a world-changing breakthrough.
How To: 5 Delicious Foods to Boost Your Mood & Shake the Winter Blues
Winter and the winter holidays in general are a time of joy, laughter, and love… but not for everyone. For some, the stress of preparing for parties, hosting family, traveling long distances in bad weather, and just keeping up with your daily routine can start to bring you down.
How To: 12 Genius Last-Minute No-Sew Costumes for Halloween
If you haven't come up with a funny, innovative costume yet for Halloween, you're running out of time. While all your friends are busy perfecting their month-long DIY costume project, you're still being lazy about it and have just now started to search online for ideas.
How To: 5 Reasons You Need a Pizza Stone in Your Kitchen
It goes without saying that a pizza stone is one of the keys to making a perfect pizza. The science behind pizza stones is relatively simple: the stone conducts and holds heat, which keeps the oven temperature steady even when a cold ingredient (such as an uncooked pizza) is introduced. This not only helps the pizza cook more evenly, but also allows the bottom to get crisp.
How To: Tips & Tricks to Conquering Homemade Soufflés
At-home cooks tend to be scared of soufflés. Either they don't rise at all or they end up all sad and lopsided. However, when successful, the end product cannot be matched in impressing your guests.
How To: 6 Easy Ways to Increase Battery Life on Your Android Device
Smartphones have otherworldly specs these days, so it's relatively uncommon that you hear someone complaining about display resolution, build quality, or general speed and performance. At best, these are secondary concerns, with the number 1 issue almost unilaterally being battery life.
How To: Know When Apple Batteries Need to Be Serviced or Replaced
Not all batteries are created equal, but one thing's for sure—they all lose capacity over time. Thankfully, the advanced lithium-ion batteries in your MacBook and iPhone are meant to last for several years before they begin to lose their overall charge capacity.
How To: 5 Baking Substitutions Every Home Cook Should Know
Few things in life are as relaxing and enjoyable as baking. When I'm having a bad day, I make cookies. When I'm stressed out, I bake a cake. When I have a free Sunday with nothing to do but listen to music and drink coffee, I bake a tart or a batch of cupcakes.
Weird Ingredient Wednesday: Huitlacoche, the Disease You Want to Eat
It's an unspoken rule that diseases are not things that you want to purposely consume. So if anyone ever offers to cook you something made out of a disease, just kindly say no... unless it's huitlacoche.
News: Store-Bought Almond Milk Is Bad for You (And the Environment)
While Kobe beef cows get massaged, American dairy cows are taking a real beating. Many people are cutting back on dairy while a growing number of people are discovering that they're lactose intolerant. As the public's disdain of cow's milk grows, milk sales themselves are at a forty-year low.
News: Here Are the Prices for Every Apple Watch Model (From $349 to $17,000)
The long-awaited Apple Watch is ready for retail, with pricing and availability announced at Apple's Spring Forward event. Each of the three variants—Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and Apple Watch Edition—will be available in two sizes, 32mm and 44mm, with preorders beginning on April 10th and the retail launch on April 24th. The Watches will initially be available nine countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. You'll b...
How To: Prevent the Harmful Effects of Working in a Windowless Cubicle
Sitting in a cubicle and never seeing sunlight during the workday is unpleasant to even think about—and sitting in a flourescent-light cube can have terrible effects on both our work performance and overall attitude. Yet there are ways to counteract the effects of cubicle sitting, even if you can't sit in a sunny office or work from home.
How To: Quiet an Overthinking Mind
We all carry a bit of anxiety around with us. Is our boss still annoyed because we could barely stay awake in yesterday's pre-dawn meeting? Will our friend hate us forever because we forgot to call them back two weeks ago? Whatever worries pop up in your mind, whether they're monumental or insignificant, it can be hard to quiet those nagging voices, but you can shut down your nonstop mind with a bit of relaxation, distraction, and action.
Study: You'll Remember More by Photographing Less
Thanks to the steady increase in quality of smartphone cameras, it's easier than ever to take amazing photos or video without thinking twice. If you've been to a concert in the last five years, you undoubtedly know what I mean. But it turns out that using your camera as a new set of eyes might actually be ruining your ability to remember events on your own, rather than helping you to hold on to the good times.
Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone
If you drop your smartphone in water, take it apart as much as you can and place it in rice. It's been the most recommended method of cell phone rescue since the days of clamshells. In fact, it's usually the only thing recommended when searching for "how to save your wet phone." Turns out, we've been wrong all along.
Beer Science: How to Pour the Perfect Glass of Beer Every Single Time
I was just 16 when I poured my first beer. It was my first restaurant job and a customer ordered a pint while the bartender was busy. I'd seen her do it hundreds of times, and she made it look so easy. Besides, it couldn't be that different from filling a cup from the soda machine, right?
Body Hack: How to Stop an Emotional Freakout by Inducing Your Body's Natural Survival Instincts
Many of us experience highly emotional "freakouts", so to speak, more often than we'd like. Weather you experience them personally, or via your loved ones, it can be very difficult to think rationally during an episode, and for some people it can take quite a while to calm down.
How To: Get Out of Your AT&T Contract Early Without an Early Termination Fee (ETF)
Earlier this month, AT&T quietly introduced a new "Mobility Administrative Fee" which levies a $0.61 monthly charge to all postpaid contracts. While it's a seemingly small amount on an individual basis adding up to $7.32 per year, with its huge customer base, AT&T stands to make around half a billion from the tight-lipped move. AT&T has stated that the fee will "help cover certain expenses, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance" that's consistent with other phone carrier...
Steampunk's Rising Popularity: How to Take Advantage of the Hottest 'New' Trend
As practically the entire Steampunk world knows by now, IBM has predicted that Steampunk will be the big new trend from 2013 to 2015. They based this prediction on their computers, which sift through broad swathes of the internet in order to see patterns that may help commercial industries. According to them, Steampunk has been on the rise for the last few years, and they predict that it will explode into peak popularity within the next two years. But what does that mean and how will it impac...
Gravity in Minecraft: Players, Items, and TNT - No Devices, Just Science.
Introduction So today and yesterday I was playing with TNT (as we all do at one point or another) and I was curious about a few things. From this curiosity, I went on to discover some of the science behind some things you may or may not have known.
Gravity in Minecraft: Players, Items, and TNT
Introduction So, today and yesterday I was playing with TNT (as we all do at one point or another) and was curious about a few things. From this curiosity, I went onto discover some of the science behind some things you may or may not have known.
How To: Practice reiki
In this video series, let our expert show you how to practice reiki. Through Eileen Dey's instruction, you can learn how to change the world around you. Learn how to use reiki symbols and techniques. There are many ways that reiki can impact the world, children, pets, and plants. Also, learn how to enhance your romantic relationship. Eileen also illustrates how to diminish stress and headaches in your life. So, take some time and learn about the fascinating therapy of reiki today!