Wild Animals Can Experience Trauma and Adversity Too

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Psychologists know that childhood trauma, or the experience of harmful or adverse events, can have lasting repercussions on the health and well-being of people well into adulthood. But while the consequences of early adversity have been well-researched in humans, people aren’t the only ones who can experience adversity.If you have a rescue dog, you probably have witnessed how the abuse or neglect it may have experienced earlier in life now influence its behavior – these pets tend to be more ...read more

Women Face A Higher Risk Of Dying From Heart Disease

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A simple difference in the genetic code – two X chromosomes versus one X chromosome and one Y chromosome – can lead to major differences in heart disease. It turns out that these genetic differences influence more than just sex organs and sex assigned at birth – they fundamentally alter the way cardiovascular disease develops and presents.While sex influences the mechanisms behind how cardiovascular disease develops, gender plays a role in how healthcare providers recognize and manage it. ...read more

Robots That Mimic Ancient Creatures Could Recreate Key Moments in Evolution

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To recapture a key moment in evolution, when aquatic animals walked out of the ocean, a group of scientists is building robots that mimic the motions of ancient organisms, according to a report in Science Robotics.The team of scientists from Cambridge University — includes roboticists, paleontologists, and biologists — are performing a feat of intellectual time travel to construct the contraptions. They are looking back at fossils of animals from about 390 million years ago and are examining ...read more

Bingeing Halloween Candy Can Overload Gut Microbiome

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Each October, as the days shorten and the air grows crisp, millions of Americans prepare for the beloved – and often sugar-fueled – tradition of Halloween. From jack-o’-lanterns glowing on porches to costumes ranging from the whimsical to the gory, Halloween is a time of playful scares, childhood memories, and, of course, candy.But as the wrappers pile up and the sugar rush hits, there’s something far more sinister brewing beneath the surface: the negative effects of candy on your gut he ...read more

One of Alaska’s Most Famous Volcanoes May Be Waking Up

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Mount Spurr is only about 75 miles from Anchorage in Alaska. More than half the population of the northernmost state live in the Anchorage area. On top of that, a surprisingly large amount of air cargo traffic passes through its international airport not to mention the military aircraft from Ellsworth Air Force Base. So, any time a volcano close to such a vital hub begins to get restless, it is time to pay attention.Spurr Gets RestlessEarlier this month, the Alaska Volcano Observatory raised th ...read more

Large Meteor Impacts Can Cause Extinction, But Also May Be Beneficial For Life

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When it comes to life and its history on Earth, meteorite impacts have been one of the ever-present threats to total extinction. It's even possible that life may have had multiple beginnings — with early iterations being utterly destroyed by the impact of a massive body early in Earth's history.We know, though, that life has managed to expand and diversify into almost every available ecological niche on the planet and that all life on Earth can be traced back to a last universal common ancesto ...read more

Our Environment and the Climate Can Change the Way We Speak

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Many factors influence our languages and accents — where we live, where we grew up, what our parents sounded like. But in recent years, researchers have been investigating another possible influence — climate. The idea that climate affects language is not new, but only recently have researchers had the tools to properly investigate the hypothesis. Now, large databases of languages from around the world, coupled with the computing power to look for patterns in those languages and match those ...read more

The Aurora Borealis Like You’ve Never Seen It

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Thanks to a massive flare and explosion on the Sun that spewed material toward Earth, millions of people were treated recently to displays of red, green and pink lights in the sky. Dazzling aurora borealis displays like this usually are visible only in far northern and southern parts of the globe. But overnight on Oct. 10 and 11, they lit up the skies as far south as Texas. It was all the result of a severe geomagnetic storm triggered by a coronal mass ejection that had occurred together with an ...read more

Is Bronchitis Contagious? Understanding the Causes, Symptoms, and Prevention

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Coughing, wheezing, and struggling to catch your breath — bronchitis can turn a simple cold into something much more uncomfortable. But beyond the symptoms, one question often comes to mind: Is bronchitis contagious? With respiratory illnesses often spreading in workplaces, schools, and homes, it’s important to know how bronchitis works so you can protect yourself. So, let’s explore what bronchitis is, how long it lasts, how to prevent it, and whether you should worry about catching it fro ...read more

Yes, Electric Eels Really Are Electric, and Capable of Producing 800 Volts of Electricity

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At the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, five eels live in the Amazon Rising habitat, where probes in the water sense their electricity and transmit their energy to a lightbar and a speaker.At any given time, visitors can hear low-voltage pulsing coming from the speakers. If guests push a button, they can summon bubbles or make it rain in the habitat. The eels become more active, and their electricity increases.Scientists have long known that electric eels are indeed electric. But in the wild, they are ...read more

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