Category Archives: Science

“World’s Ugliest Woman” Finally Buried 153 Years Later

February 15, 2013   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.examiner.com

The “world’s ugliest woman” has finally been laid to rest, 153 years after her death.

Julia Pastrana was deemed the “world’s ugliest woman” due to a genetic condition that covered her face in thick hair.  Her husband/manager, Theodore Lent, was quoted as describing her as the “link between mankind and the ourang-outang,” and often referred to her as the “bear woman.”

Pastrana died in 1890, at the age of 26, in childbirth.  Her hair-covered son also died.

After her death, Lent continued to carry her embalmed body to audiences throughout Europe for a decade.  He also later married a bearded woman, who he dubbed Pastrana’s sister.  She performed alongside her body.

In 1976, Pastrana’s remains were stolen from a warehouse in Norway, but were later found in the garbage.  Her remains spend decades in storage at the University of Oslo, before she was finally taken back to Mexican soil on Feb. 12, thanks to a campaign by Mexican artist Laura Anderson Barbata, launched in 2005 to bring Pastrana home.

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Conor Kennedy and Father Arrested for Civil Disobedience

February 15, 2013   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.gannett-cdn.com

Conor Kennedy, best know for dating Taylor Swift, was arrested on Feb. 13, along with 47 others, for civil disobedience.

Kennedy, 18, had been protesting outside the White House against the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Arrested alongside him was his father, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., actress Daryl Hannah, and Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune.

The protesters had blocked a main thoroughfare in front of the White House, and refused to move when asked by police.  Both Kennedys were taken in handcuffs to a Park Police station, but were released after paying a fine.

The Keystone XL pipeline that they were protesting would bring oil from Canada’s tar sands to the Gulf Coast of the U.S.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have said that this would raise U.S. carbon pollution emissions by up to 27.6 million metric tons.

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King Richard III’s Remains Confirmed

February 05, 2013   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.foxnews.com

British scientists have confirmed through DNA results that the human remains found under a parking lot in Leicester five months are those of King Richard III.

“We’re certain now, as certain as you can be of anything in life,” said Richard Taylor, the University of Leicester registrar who coordinated the team of archaeologists, historians, genealogists and geneticists who set out to identify the remains.

King Richard III is one of the most reviled monarchs in history.  He’s infamous for his scheming, murders, and physical deformity.  Most people know of his two year reign through Shakespeare’s play.  Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 by two severe blows to the head.  He was 33.

Richard, who suffered curvature of the spine, was also buried with his hands tied.

The DNA tests that were conducted on the skeleton mostly came from Michael Ibsen, a Canadian who is a direct descendent of Richard’s sister Anne of York.

Next for Richard will be a reburial, this time at Leicester Cathedral, early in 2014.

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More to watch than stars

January 31, 2013   Fago Franklin   No comments

Photo Credit: Damien Gayle

Here is some strange but interesting facts. The South African dung beetle uses different ways to navigate. They use the milky way to navigate. This is the only animal in the world that uses the stars to help them navigate.

Over the years, we used research to conclude that these insects have used the moon and the sun to help guide them in a straight line. This is the quickest way for them to survive.

Scientists has attempted to clarify the Milky Way theory. They used numerous trials and tests to add truth to this theory. Here is an example of one of the test that scientist have tried.

Scientists at Johannesburg’s Wits University took beetles into the university planetarium to see how they fared with a normal night sky, and then one devoid of the Milky Way.

“The dung beetles don’t care which direction they’re going in. They just need to get away from the bun fight at the poo pile,” Wits professor Marcus Byrne said. “But when we turned off the Milky Way, the beetles got lost.”

Its weird but true!

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Heated Cities Affect Temperatures Thousands of Miles Away

January 31, 2013   Samantha Kauffman   No comments

Photo Credit: http://www.guardian.co.uk

Tall, heated buildings, warm cars and cozy houses; with all of this warm in the coldest of temperatures does it have an effect on the outside temperature?

According to research performed by researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Florida State University as well as the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the answer is yes.

According to Discovery News, when the heat from heavily heated cities is compared to the entire planet, the effect that is has barely measures up with a mere 0.3 percent of total energy that crosses over to cooler regions during the winter season through weather. However, his man-made heat could be just enough to affect the circulation systems within the atmosphere.

What researchers have been discovering is that the excess man -made heat that comes from buildings and cars in urban areas across the Northern Hemisphere are increasing remote areas of North America as well as northern Asia’s temperatures. It is reported that the temperatures are increasing by as much as 1 degree C, which converts to about 1.8 degrees F.

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Drug-resistant gonorrhea is becoming a global crisis

January 15, 2013   Ebonne Young   No comments

Photo credit: redorbit.com

Around the world cases of a drug-resistant form of Gonorrhea has increased to an estimated 106.1 million cases in the year 2008. This spike is a 21% increase from a documented 87.7 million cases in 2005. The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to create a global action plan in order to gain control over the rapid spread of the Sexually Transmitted Infection. The antimicrobial resistant gonorrhea is becoming increasingly harder to cure once it has been contracted. The STI has the potential to even become completely untreatable due to limited treatment options, more specifically in areas that also have a high burden of gonococcal infections. Gonorrhea can be easily prevented through safe sex practices such as using condoms. Unfortunately, the recent increase is of gonorrhea on a global level, and the spread of antibiotic resistant gonorrhea will not go away anytime soon, and will continue to affect increasing numbers of communities worldwide.

Read more at guardianlv.com or CDC.gov

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Australia is alerted about the heat wave going up North

January 15, 2013   Fago Franklin   No comments

ENDA CURRAN

There have been a string of wildfires burned across Australia’s south and east. The temperatures in New South wales was suppose to stay at 43 degrees Celsius. In Faharenheit terms, it going to be over 109 degress. There have been 90 fires that have been confirmed.

Tuesday suppose to be,” The worst fire danger day this state will have to face.” Normally Australia’s weather does not get this hot at this time of the year. Residents of Kaybean Valley, were told to evacuate the area immediately.

The island of Tasmania, Australia was hit the hardest. More than a 100 properties on the island have been destroyed. A total of 1,000 people were stranded, due to the wildfires.

There have not been any deaths confirmed, due to a lot of property damages. The fire fighters are still fighting these fires. All we can do is hope and pray, that everybody is okay.

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Amazon deforestation brings loss of Microbial Communities

January 01, 2013   Fago Franklin   No comments
UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst

Amazon deforestation has ben a problem for years. It has been stated that,” People have been defrosting the Earth to clear land for crops or livestock.” Here are some of the reasons that deforesting happens. Argicultural expansion and infrastructure are some of the reasons of the concerns facing Microbial Communities. Many scientists found that rainforest conversion differ from forrest soil. Rainforest conversion ,shows that they have many different species than forrest soil.There has ben many concerns that scientists have had concerning the loss of genetic variation. Genetic variation can reduce the ecosystem resilience. As the concern grows, scientists have been looking for some type of conclussion to end this matter. If we do not find a solution,Microbial Communties will suffer.

Amazon represents half of the world’s rain forrest and is home to one third of the Earth species. Amazon has the highest rate of deforestation. This is why we need to find some type of solution, to keep the Microbial Community alive.

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Common Household Products Leading to Diabetes?

December 05, 2012   Ebonne Young   No comments

Photo credit: blogs.babble.com

New reports from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) have found that phthalates, a chemical present in beauty products like nail polish, hair spray, skin lotions, and perfumes and household products, including raincoats, shower curtains, and food packaging might have some newly discovered side effects, including possibly contributing to chemical causes of diabetes.

In one recent study of people at age 70, significantly higher levels of phthalates were found in the people with diabetes than in those without diabetes. Earlier research found that phthalate levels are typically higher in women than men, perhaps because women generally use more personal care and beauty products. Phthalates in beauty products can generally be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. They may be a chemical cause linked to adult-onset diabetes by binding to fat cells and increasing obesity, which is a major risk factor. They may also increase resistance to insulin in the body, especially in women.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to avoid phthalates in beauty products because companies that use them make claims that they are trade secrets and do not have to list them on their labels. Europe has already begun to ban many types of phthalates. Subsequently, more research is needed before a definite link can be made between phthalates and diabetes risk. Researchers are also still looking at the possible effects of phthalates on childhood obesity and comparing phthalate exposure in cosmetics to other exposures.

Read more at EverydayHealth.com

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Paralyzed Dogs Able to Walk Again After Nose Cell Transplant

December 05, 2012   Ebonne Young   No comments

Photo Credit: lifewithdogs.tv

A 10-year-old Dachshund named Jasper was wheeled around in a trolley by his owner and dog lover, May Hay, because his hind legs were paralyzed after being hit by a car. By miracle, Jasper is able to walk again. Jasper’s recovery is attributed to researchers who took some cells from Jasper’s nose and implanted them in his injured spine.

Jasper was one of 34 other dogs with paralyzed hind legs that participated in this randomized, double-blind study at Cambridge University in England. Researchers’ first collected olfactory ensheathing cells from the dogs’ noses, cultured them in Petri dishes for three to five weeks and then injected them into the dogs’ spines. The olfactory ensheathing cells are thought to be special because they communicate between the central and peripheral nervous systems, allowing smell signals to travel directly to the brain as well as them having regenerating properties unlike other cells in the nervous system. The scientists assessed the dogs’ mobility on treadmills before and after the treatment, discovering that the cells did not exactly restore communication between the brain and the hind legs, but somehow restored mobility and coordination to the legs. Some state that they are not exactly sure of how they achieved the success that they saw.

None of the dogs that received the nose cells had any adverse health effects. Even with these advancements researchers are still a long way from restoring spinal function in humans however this is a giant step in the right direction. The results are now published in Brain, a neurology journal.

Read more at abcnews.go.com

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