Science

You can send a tweet to outer space!



A start-up called Lone Signal is offering anyone the ability to broadcast a tweet to dwarf star and has been identified as a place where life could exist.
The tweet themselves are coming out of the Jamesburg Earth Station in Central California. Don't expect a prompt @reply, though. Gliese 526 is 18 light years away. Meaning you'll have to wait up to 36 years if an alien replies to you right away. Who knows if







Scientists just discovered a new human body part!


And you thought we knew everything we could know about body parts. Thanks to new technology, scientists have discovered that our eyes' corneas don't have 5 layers, as previously believed, but rather 6.
The new layer, called Dua's Layer is only 15 microns thick. If that doesn't mean much to you, consider that this layer is smaller than beach sand and mist. The cornea itself is only 500 microns thick, but is incredibly tough and strong.

The new discovery will lead to entire ophthalmology textbooks being rewritten, as well as probably better surgical treatments for certain problems that are caused by the tearing of this previously unknown layer.


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In the past 100 years, 80% of the biomass of fish in the world's oceans has been lost.


Commercial fishing has changed dramatically in the past 40 years. Fish populations have continued to decrease and in the past 100 years, 80 percent of the biomass of fish in the oceans has been lost.
Experts across the globe agree on the issue and see the damage occurring. Unfortunately only a few studies have actually been done on the issue, making the problem unknown to the masses. Some of the studies show that the ocean population will collapse completely by 2048. It is possible to recover from the depleting resources of marine fish, but serious measures must be taken.

One idea is to remove much of the predatory fish to give the lesser ones on the food chain a chance to replenish and catch up and then reintroduce the predatory fish the ocean again afterwards. We also must cut the consumption of fish to aid in the process of replenishing the marine life.


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A single fungus may have over 10,000 different genders!


A topic that always comes abroad during your biology class is fungal sex (well maybe not, yet it’s interesting), so when it comes to talk about fungi gender it might get a little bit tricky, but don’t worry! We are here to help you understand!

Contrary to humans in which there are men and there are women from a strictly reproductive point of view, among fungi, any individual con donate or receive genetic material, and hence either be a daddy or a mommy.

Some fungi only have two mating types (bipolar), some have four or more possible mating types (tetrapolar) and a few fungi, for instance Schizophyllum commune, have more than ten thousand mating types!
So this type of fungus can pretty much mate with any other fungi he/she wants, since everyone can be a potential mate!

So next time you think of yourself as a great “player” remember that some fungi can get a lot more action and fun than you.


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Can medicinal marijuana actually be ... medicinal?


That's right, studies are just now beginning to show that a small daily dosage of the ganja can actually prevent Alzheimer's. Never mind that the stuff is known to cause memory loss (short term, anyway)—this study is shattering your entire belief system. And also giving you even more excuses to give your parents when you get caught.

In an initial study, half a group of rats were given a dose, while the other half were not; surprisingly, it proved to reverse memory loss. And we're guessing those rats learned real quick how to use the pellet lever. Over. And over. And over. And over.

Anyone else want to order a pizza?







Hydrogen sulfide the next viagra


Somewhere, the poor man's Hugh Hefner is smiling.

While larger doses of hydrogen sulfide have been known to be toxic (and also, really stinky), it's the smaller doses that really play a huge role in the body (proving once and for all that size indeed does not matter). And since it had been proven that hydrogen sulfide had an *ahem* interesting effect on mice, scientists decided to give it a whirl on men. Let's just say the results so far have been *second ahem* stimulating. Basically, the hydrogen peroxide seems to relax the nerves inside the penis while expanding the blood vessels.

We're just saying, as more information comes in on this study, avoid smelling any rotten eggs on a first date. Unless, ya know, you need to.





Video games better for you than carrots


This may be a stretch, but studies are currently being conducted to find out if high-action video games are actually good for your ocular health. Meaning, of course, that when your parents said both, "Playing all those video games will ruin your vision!" and "Carrots are the best thing for improving your vision!," they were—GASP!—wrong! Well … maybe.

Apparently, the ability to discern between different shades of gray is an attribute in humans that is unable to be improved; however, it has recently come to the attention of scientists at the University of Rochester that playing video games that utilize high levels of action (like first-person shooters) actually improves the aforementioned attribute—meaning said video games actually improve your vision.





Mind eraser: Drink? Or reality? Or both


Sure, we all want to forget that horrible relationship, or all four years of high school. And maybe college too. And throw Middle School in there while you're at it. But until recently, the "spotless mind" was not exactly a possibility.

Studies are now showing it may be possible to rid your brain of potentially painful or traumatic memories. For now, it has been proven that mice can have some of their painful memories deleted from their brain (which is totally unfair given they don't even have high school to have painful memories about), and scientists are now working on whether this is a possibility for us humans.

Memories of a negative nature are typically stored in a specific region of the brain called the lateral amygdala. When activated by a scary or traumatic trigger (that would make you think of the bad memory), the neurons in the lateral amygdala set to work producing cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein, to be known to us as CREB from this time forward. Scientists recently began to wonder if this CREB was what actually initiated the painful memory, and whether or not destroying it would help … well, destroy the memory.

Studies are still in the works, but here's hoping they're not testing it on themselves. Cause we'd kind of like them to remember the results.











Can We Actually Read Minds?


Some scientists believe it may be possible to read peoples' minds based on the patterns of the neurons in their brains. As current studies are showing, a participant navigating around a virtual environment records a certain pattern of neurons that indicate to scientists exactly where the participant is located in the virtual world. The idea for current studies is that this basic pattern of neurons suggests that in the future, we will literally be able to read minds. Meaning, of course, you'll never again hear your boss ask, "Why can't you just read my mind?"

But then, to what will we respond sarcastically?




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