Category: Coping with COVID
Locks of Beethoven’s Hair Are Unraveling the Mysteries of His Deafness and Illnesses
Smithsonian Magazine Researchers found high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the German composer’s hair, which may help explain some of his many ailments. German composer Ludwig van Beethoven began losing his hearing in his 20s, a fact that deeply upset and embarrassed him. Over the years, his hearing loss worsened, and by the time he […]
May 15, 2024
Squirrels may have given medieval Britons leprosy
BBC Humans may have caught leprosy from squirrels in medieval times, researchers say. They studied human and red squirrel bones from archaeological sites in Winchester, southern England, and found they had closely related strains of the bacteria that causes it. Leprosy is a chronic disease infectious between humans that attacks the skin, nerves and mucous […]
May 7, 2024
A Rare Double Brood Emergence Of Cicadas Has Begun
Science Friday Two cicada broods on 13- and 17-year cycles coincide this spring, meaning trillions of buzzing insects across the South and Midwest. It has begun. Legions of cheese-puff-sized insects have started to climb out of the dirt after spending more than a decade underground sucking sap from tree roots. Over the next month and […]
May 1, 2024
World’s chocolate supply threatened by devastating virus
Science Daily A rapidly spreading virus threatens the health of the cacao tree and the dried seeds from which chocolate is made, jeopardizing the global supply of the world’s most popular treat. Researchers have developed a new strategy: using mathematical data to determine how far apart farmers can plant vaccinated trees to prevent mealybugs from […]
Apr 24, 2024
This Extremely Rare Neurological Condition Makes Faces Appear Distorted or ‘Like a Demon’
Smithsonian For the first time, scientists have recreated what one patient suffering from prosopometamorphopsia, or PMO, sees when he looks at faces. One winter morning roughly three years ago, Victor Sharrah woke up and spotted his roommate walking to the bathroom. However, when Sharrah looked at his roommate’s face, he was startled to see that […]
Mar 26, 2024
They panic-bought bidets during the pandemic. It changed their lives.
Washington Post While the toilet paper shortages that hit the United States during pandemic lockdowns in the spring of 2020 ultimately eased up, they’ve had a lasting impact on one industry: the bidet business. “The industry here in the U.S. just blew up. You couldn’t get a bidet if you wanted to,” says James Lin, founder of BidetKing.com, […]
Mar 19, 2024
Man finds out migraines caused by brain tapeworms; undercooked bacon may be culprit
NBC News The 52-year-old American man was diagnosed with neurocysticercosis. His only habit connected to the parasitic infection was eating “lightly cooked, non-crispy bacon,” new study says. A man was hospitalized with worsening migraines only to find out they were caused by parasitic tapeworm larvae in his brain — and researchers believe he was infected by eating undercooked bacon. […]
Mar 12, 2024
