News: Study Finds HIV Family of Viruses Far Older Than Civilization
To shine light on the future of the relationship between humans and viruses, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford looked into the dim and distant past.
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News: The Vaginal Microbiome Is Linked to Cancer & Disease—& We're Now Learning How to Keep It Healthy
Have you ever wondered what makes a healthy vagina? Bacteria play an important role in vaginal health. If you've ever had your vaginal microbiome—the bacterial community that lives in your vagina—wiped out by taking antibiotics, you probably are well aware of that.
News: The All-Natural Secret to Turning Food Purple
Even if you haven't heard of ube (pronounced "OO-beh"), you've probably seen pictures of desserts made with this brilliant purple yam.
News: 4 Amazing Grains That'll Liven Up Your Gluten-Free Cooking
Great news: you don't have to give up grains if you're avoiding gluten.
Weird Ingredient Wednesday: Hops—They're Not Just for Beer Anymore
Hops have always been known as the driving force behind beer, but now they're starting to grow their own culinary wings. Slowly but surely, this bizarre and bitter plant is showing up on more and more menus across the country as it catches on as a trendy and up-and-coming ingredient. What Are Hops?
How To: Top 5 Free Interactive Live Wallpapers for Your Android Phone or Tablet
You can find a ton of live wallpapers for your Android device on Google Play, but the more alluring interactive ones are a harder to come by, which can bring your home screen to life using a few finger swipes and taps.
How To: Most Credit Card PINs Are Easy to Crack—Here's How to Strengthen Yours
You've probably noticed how we like to stress the importance of a strong password. After all, there are still people out there who continue to use passwords like 123456 and even just "password". But passwords aren't the only barriers that protect your information.
How To: Dwarf a tree
Love the beauty and fresh fruit of trees but have limited space? Try your hand at dwarfing a tree. You can enjoy all the benefits of a tree without any worry of the tree outgrowing the area or roots damaging side walks and property. Plus, they just look adorable.
How To: Make your avatar sit in the ship's captain chair when playing Star Trek Online
It turns out you CAN have your character in Star Trek Online take a seat in the captain's chair. If you stand on the chair, you can then use an emote in the chat box to have your captain take his seat, just like Picard or Kirk!
How To: Get aloe from a plant
If you’ve got a minor cut or nasty sunburn you may reach for the aloe vera for the soothing and healing qualities. You don’t have to buy aloe, it is easy to extract the aloe from the inside of the leaf of a living aloe vera plant.
How To: Draw a girl
Drawing a woman is a lot like drawing a man, only curvier. You can use triangles to sketch the basic form of a woman, giving you a guideline to sketch in more and more detail until you’ve given her the look you want.
How to Identify birds: the meadowlark
Is there a black or yellow mustache stripe? This is just one of the physical characteristics you will need to know to determine what kind of meadowlark you are looking at. Take a minute to enjoy the outdoors while identifying the distinct sound, look and location of meadowlarks.
How To: Raise sheep
In these videos on raising farm animals, learn some of the basic facts about sheep. Our expert naturalist will discuss the major characteristics of this bovine species, including different types of sheep, types and colors of wool, eating habits and digestion (it is a ruminant animal), how to raise and handle a sheep, how to go about buying a sheep of your own, signs of disease, when to shear, how to tell a ewe and a ram apart, and how to breed sheep.
How To: Raise pigs
In these videos on raising farm animals, learn the basic facts about pigs. Our expert naturalist will discuss some of the major characteristics of this species, as well as tips for raising them, including stages of pig growth, eating habits and digestion, housing , common problems, signs of disease, keeping pigs as pets, breeding and piglet care and development.
News: Prehistoric Creatures Return to Life via New iPhone AR App from Celebrity Historian David Attenborough
Apparently, we learned nothing from Jurassic Park, as scientists are still working on bringing extinct species back to life. Until that day comes, you can interact with long-lost animals through augmented reality...if you have a newer model iPhone.
How To: Why You Should Be Using Less-Refined Sweeteners Instead of Brown or White Sugar
As a species, our cells are designed to use sugar for energy. Is it any wonder that as humans evolved, we grew to love the taste of sugar?
How To: Make Aspirin from a Willow Tree
In this article, I will be showing you how to make a crude form of aspirin from the bark of a willow tree. It is a great remedy for headaches, hangovers, and other minor pain. The use of the willow tree as a mild pain reliever goes back to the Native Americans, who used it in much the same way that I do.
News: Billionaire Silicon Valley Tech Leader Wants Businesses to Stay Open, but Healthy Public Must Come First vs. Coronavirus
There are times when leadership is tested. This is one of those times. As government and business leaders around the world are grappling with the unfolding coronavirus pandemic, the real-time responses to the crisis from many leaders have been great and, at times, less-than-optimal.
How To: You Really Should Tap This Icon in Your iPhone's Google App
Anyone remember Google Goggles? Well, it's back with a new name: Google Lens. But this time, there's more machine learning and it's integrated into many different Google apps and services. The latest is the Google app for iPhones.
News: 8 Reasons the BlackBerry KEY2 Is Already the Best Phone for Privacy & Security
We need to take our privacy and security much more seriously. Whether it's malware-infected apps or the mishandling of our data by companies like Facebook, there are threats all around us in this digital world. Fortunately, some smartphones are simply designed to protect us better.
News: 7 Reasons Why the KEY2 Is a Return to Glory for BlackBerry
After years of struggling, it appears BlackBerry has finally figured out how to update its iconic design for modern times. The BlackBerry KEY2 pays homage to past devices such as the Bold 9000 while adapting to modern times with the Android OS. The result is a device that might be the best BlackBerry to date.
How To: Everything You Should Know About Google Lens on the Pixel & Pixel 2
Google just rolled out a revolutionary feature to its Pixel devices — Google Lens. Previously, Lens had only been available in the Photos app, but now, whenever you want to learn about something in the real world, you can just bring up Google Assistant, turn on the camera, then let Google's famous AI analyze the scene.
News: Out Damn Spot! Researchers Discover Microbes Are the Reason for Stains on Ancient Scrolls
This is a tale about microbes, a man who became a hermit, and the parchment that carries both of their stories.
News: In Love? True Togetherness Means Sharing the Same Microbes
Love is the spice of life — it is also the microbes that couples share through sickness and in health, through the bathroom and in a hallway.
Medical Mystery: Man Catches Zika, but No One Knows How
An older man dies of Zika. A younger man who cares for him catches Zika — but doctors cannot pinpoint how the disease was transmitted. While proximity to the patient is sufficient explanation for the rest of us, for microbe hunters, it is a medical mystery. Why? Zika is not known to transmit from person-to-person casually.
News: Change of Tune? Not Everyone Needs to Finish That Course of Antibiotics
After years of telling patients to finish any prescribed course of antibiotics completely, a group of researchers in the UK say it is no longer necessary, and could even be harmful if we want to preserve the antibiotics we can still use.
News: Bacterial Bugs in Your Eyes Help Fend Off Infection
Not all bacteria in the eyes cause infection. A group of researchers from the National Eye Institue has shown that not only is there a population of bacteria on the eyes that reside there but they perform an important function. They help activate the immune system to get rid of bad, potentially infection-causing — pathogenic — bacteria there.
News: Tougher Than Steel — Tardigrades Will Survive Until the Sun Explodes
Forget the rise of the machines. Tardigrades are set to outlive everything — even the bots. When the last echo of a whisper in a cell phone has long dissipated into space, the water bears will still be hanging out.
News: It's Not All in Your Mind — Gut Bacteria Could Be Influencing Your Emotions
The community of bacteria that lives in our gut has a lot to tell us. It can give clues to what we eat, the environment we live in, and diseases and disorders we may have. Now, scientists have linked these bacterial species to how we feel. A new research study found an association between women's gut bacteria and their emotions.
Heart Patients Beware: More Than One-Third of Bypass Equipment Potentially Contaminated with Deadly Bacteria
More bad news for patients who have undergone heart surgery in the past five years. A new study suggests about one-third of heater-cooler units used in cardiac procedures remain contaminated with a slow-growing, potentially fatal bacteria.
News: 'Useless' Antibiotics Work When Matched Up in Threes
The search is on to find antibiotics that will work against superbugs — bacteria that are rapidly becoming resistant to many drugs in our antibiotic arsenal.
News: New Gut Bacteria Theory Could Revolutionize Our Understanding of Diabetes
Several recent research studies have pointed to the importance of the microbes that live in our gut to many aspects of our health. A recent finding shows how bacteria that penetrate the mucus lining of the colon could play a significant role in diabetes.
News: Have a Dog? Be Careful of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Dangerous to humans and dogs, Rocky Mountain Fever, along with several other tickborne infections, is on the rise.
News: We've Finally Figured Out Why Some Mushrooms Glow
Bioluminescence — the ability of an organism to produce and emit light — is nature's light show. Plants, insects, fish, and bacteria do it, and scientists understand how. Until now, though, we didn't know how fungi glow.
News: Termite Guts May Hold the Key to More Efficient Biofuels
Termite poop and biofuels — what's the connection? New research into termites' intestinal comings and goings describes a process that may speed the development and lower the cost of fuels made from plant matter.
News: How Diet, Gut Bacteria & Time Work Together to Form Your Potbelly
Potbellies don't have to happen as we age, according to two studies done on twins published online in the International Journal of Obesity.
News: Frustrated by Acne? New Research Shows Skin Microbiome Makes a Difference
The squiggly guys in this article's cover image are Propionibacterium acnes. These bacteria live in low-oxygen conditions at the base of hair follicles all over your body. They mind their own business, eating cellular debris and sebum, the oily stuff secreted by sebaceous glands that help keep things moisturized. Everybody has P. acnes bacteria—which are commonly blamed for causing acne—but researchers took a bigger view and discovered P. acnes may also play a part in keeping your skin clear.
News: How Bacterial Cocktails Can Boost Food Supply in a Warming World
Growing populations and higher temperatures put pressure on world food supplies. Naturally occurring soil bacteria may save crops in drought-stressed areas, put more land into crop production, and produce more food.
News: Zika Is About to Explode Again as Mosquito Season Approaches
There could be a fresh outbreak of the Zika virus in the Americas as the weather heats up and the mosquito population blooms.
News: Despite Effective Vaccine, Measles Still Threaten Worldwide
Nineteen days ago, several hundred people could have been exposed by a traveler with measles in Nova Scotia, Canada. The next day, someone flying from Minnesota to Nebraska may have spread the measles to other passengers. A couple weeks ago, it's possible that a man and his six-month old child spread the measles in several Seattle-based locations. Authorities are trying to locate persons who may have been in contact with these people. None of the persons with measles were vaccinated. Why?