Minerals accomplish all kinds of tasks to keep our bodies running, and one in particular — magnesium — has its own functions that make it a necessary component of human health. This mineral activates over 300 enzymes that help the body build proteins, strengthen bones, support nerve and muscle function, and regulate heart rhythm. As with other essential minerals, the key to maintaining a proper magnesium level is through the foods we eat. A diet that lacks magnesium can spell a number of pr ...read more

You may have seen it on social media, or even at an aquarium — sea otters cuddling and even holding hands (or rather, paws) while sleeping. Sea otters have long been beloved for their fuzzy coats and rambunctious personalities, but when a video of two sea otters holding paws while sleeping at the Vancouver Aquarium went viral in 2007, people around the world began to associate this heart-warming image with otters. Sea Otters Holding Hands[embedded content]It’s quite rare to see sea otters ...read more

On The Daily Show, host Jon Stewart tearfully described how his dog passed away just the day before.Stewart’s family had Dipper, a three-legged pitbull rescue, for more than 12 years. He went to work with Stewart, and the loss was hard to accept.“He was ready. He was tired, but I wasn’t,” Stewart said in a video.Many people with pets can relate. In recent years, scientists have also been trying to better understand the grief people experience when they lose a pet. Researchers are learnin ...read more

Imagine you’re driving home on an otherwise tranquil suburban road, when an unexpected neighbor pops in front of your headlights: a coyote. Most people think of coyotes as a nuisance at best , and a threat at worst — particularly when they’re spotted in residential areas.Despite our fears, and a growing number of coyotes in cities and suburbs, coyote attacks are extremely rare in the United States. From 1977 to 2015, there were 367 documented cases of coyotes attacking humans in the U.S. a ...read more

The Himalayas stand as Earth’s highest mountain range, possibly the highest ever. How did it form? Why is it so tall?You might think understanding big mountain ranges requires big measurements – perhaps satellite imaging over tens or hundreds of thousands of square miles. Although scientists certainly use satellite data, many of us, including me, study the biggest of mountain ranges by relying on the smallest of measurements in tiny minerals that grew as the mountain range formed.These miner ...read more

It’s a sad fact that dogs don’t live as long as we would like. The average dog lives around 8 to 15 years, with large breeds having shorter lifespans than smaller breeds. Our canine friends manage to pack a lot of love into those years, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were a way to keep them alive and healthy much longer? There soon may be.Scientists are working to develop drugs that could extend dogs’ lifespans and health spans. Late last year, Loyal, a San Francisco biotech compa ...read more

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that progresses relentlessly. It gradually impairs a person’s ability to function until they ultimately become immobile and often develop dementia. In the U.S. alone, over a million people are afflicted with Parkinson’s, and new cases and overall numbers are steadily increasing.There is currently no treatment to slow or halt Parkinson’s disease. Available drugs don’t slow disease progression and can treat only certain symptom ...read more

Bonobos have a reputation as lovers, not fighters. But the primate species — perhaps infamous for using sex as a conflict resolution tool — exhibits more complex behavior around mating than previously thought. Male bonobos actually act more aggressively than male chimpanzees, but the way the two species uses violence or the threat of it differs dramatically, according to a new study in Current Biology.“This study brings more complexity to the simple image of bonobo as the ‘make love not ...read more

We celebrate the halfway point of Citizen Science Month next week! Join SciStarter for a 12-hour nonstop Palooza of Zooniverse Projects (ZooniPalooza?). Pick your favorite project and hop online with a SciStarter Team Member. The rest of the week, we count bats, chat with dolphins and try a whole slew of projects supported by our friends at the National Science Foundation!As of this writing, we're almost exactly at 500,000 completed Acts of Science, so we're well on our way. But we can't let up! ...read more