If you’ve ever experienced a scratchy tickle or tiny bump in the back of your throat that didn’t seem to go away, or maybe a mysterious case of bad breath despite regularly brushing your teeth, you might have had tonsil stones. These tiny, often unnoticed formations can pack a one-two punch of discomfort and embarrassment, yet many people don’t even realize they have them.Tonsil stones, or tonsilloliths, are actually relatively common. And while they’re not usually harmful, they can caus ...read more
Bats, spiders, cemeteries, unseen creatures living in our homes– even roadkill– have stories to tell and important lessons to teach us. Go a Little Batty!Big Brown Bat (Credit: Celley/USFWS, public domain via Flickr Creative Commons)You don’t need your own belfry to watch fascinating bats; you can join Bats Count! Bat Cam Emergence Count and watch them leave their Connecticut barn every evening through the project’s live Bat Emergence Cam! As you might have guessed from the project title ...read more
Whether you use free weights, machines, or resistance bands, weight training offers many health benefits. Using weights to exercise has been practiced since ancient times when people engaged in this activity for better health and sport. Egyptians lifted sandbags and heavy stones, while Greeks lifted U-shaped stone weights called “halteres”— the precursor to the modern-day dumbbell. Ancient societies understood the benefits of exercising with weights, and our modern-day society does, too. ...read more
The cellular components that turn DNA directions into a body’s building blocks are akin to pieces of a Swiss watch: tiny, delicate, specialized — and complicated. If any part is missing or broken, the watch stops working. The scientists who received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine discovered and characterized a component of that “watch” that no one previously understood — microRNA. Prior to its discovery by the laureates Victor Ambros of the University of Massachusetts C ...read more
"It's the economy, stupid."That was the phrase coined by political strategist James Carville to help the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton — who went on to defeat President George H.W. Bush. And it encapsulates the idea that how voters are thinking about the economy often is the most important factor in deciding a presidential election.If recent polling can be trusted, that sure seems to be the case this time. In a recent Gallup survey, for example, the economy was ranked as the most ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine