Science and Health
-
Why Do We Follow Norms, Even When They Take Away Our Personal Freedom?
Table of Contents (click to expand) We give up our personal freedoms to conform to social norms because those norms provide stability within a society. Social psychologists have looked at what following social norms offers individuals and societies. If there is a queue, you will stand at the back of the line. When you step into a restaurant, you know…
Read More » -
The Cosmology Crisis: Do We Really Know How Fast The Universe Expands?
Astronomers have been trying to measure the universe’s expansion using different methods, but they have found inconsistent results. Humans have come a long way in our urge to understand the universe and the various structures it holds, including galaxy clusters, star systems, and so much more. We have created theories to explain various phenomena and devised clever experiments to test…
Read More » -
How Did A Geometric Figure Become A Symbol Used By The LGBTQ+ Movement?
The pink triangle is a reminder of the persecution faced by homosexuals and is now widely recognized as a symbol of LGBTQ+ rights. In the 1970s, when the LGBTQ+ Movement was gaining prominence in the United States, both in public consciousness and civil society, the movement tried to harness the power of symbols to assert pride. In addition to the…
Read More » -
Will Reading In Dim Light Damage Your Eyes?
Currently, there is no scientific evidence that reading in the dark or low light causes permanent damage to the eyes. However, it can strain your eyes, leading to itchiness, watering, redness—a lot of annoying symptoms that could be avoided. As a kid, did you ever enjoy hiding out under the blankets with a flashlight to read a book way past…
Read More » -
Why Are Hollywood Villains Mostly Russian?
Russians were villainized by the realities of the Cold War, providing a readily acceptable ‘bad guy’ to audiences for decades. To be fair, many times the villains may also be Nazis, but for the sake of brevity, let’s stick to the archetypal Russians (along with a wide variety of Eastern Europeans). Some famous Russian villains in Hollywood movies (Photo Credit…
Read More » -
How Much Real Psychology Is In The Movie ‘Shutter Island’?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Shutter Island is a gripping psychological thriller depicting the struggles and possible recovery of a person suffering from severe mental illness. Some scenes are clearly exaggerated with horror-mixed theatrical noir elements, but it also has some accurate scenarios of the treatments and approaches to mental health disorders as used in the 1950s. With a…
Read More » -
Why Are Winters Colder With Increasing Global Warming?
Table of Contents (click to expand) The increasing global temperature is affecting the polar vortex, which keeps the cold of the Arctic contained to the pole. Whenever we experience the strong heat of summer, we think—surely it can’t get any hotter than this! However, the very next year, it is inevitably even hotter. The strangest thing to wrap our heads…
Read More » -
Why Is Venus De Milo Missing Her Arms?
Venus de Milo may have lost her arms to the ravages of time, war or simple mismanagement by those safekeeping her. Venus de Milo (literally, Venus—or Aphrodite, as some of you may know her as—of Milos, a depiction of the goddess of love) is one of the most recognized relics from the Hellenistic period. It is an ancient Greek sculpture…
Read More » -
Why Do Some Bulls Have Nose Rings?
Table of Contents (click to expand) The nose rings you see on cattle, often the bulls, help the farmers control the animals and to wean young calves off their mother’s milk. Research suggests that using a nose ring might actually be more ethical than other methods employed to control cattle. When cows or bulls wear nose rings, it is not…
Read More » -
How Can Orange Peels Solve Humanity’s Major Problems?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Limonene is a natural product found mainly in the peels of citrus fruits, like oranges. It acts as a natural herbicide and insecticide, and has wide-scale applications in food preservation and flavoring. Limonene also shows therapeutic effects and is used as an antioxidant in numerous drugs. Nature has been our friend and foe in…
Read More » -
Can Superstition Be Used For Good?
Superstitions can serve to ease fear and anxiety about the unknown, and comfort people when they feel insecure. Luck, in all of mankind’s inquiries into its workings, has found many ways to manifest itself–black cats, the occurrence of the number 13, horseshoes, four-leaved clovers… the list is far too long to remember them all. However, luck is perhaps out of…
Read More » -
Is There Such A Thing As Decision Fatigue?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Who hasn’t had the mentally draining experience of flipping through too many choices and eventually saying, “I can’t deal with this right now”? Even so, there is an active debate over whether decision fatigue is a real thing, because scientists can’t seem to find consistent data that supports this idea. Do you know what…
Read More » -
Why Does Ant-Man Not Turn Into A Black Hole Or Release A Blast Of Energy Every Time He Shrinks?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Ant-Man has never shrunk to a size small enough to create a black hole. Even if he did, there’s no way to predict what would happen. All of us, at some point in our lives, have faced the question: “What superpower would you choose if given a choice?” Ranging from Superman to Captain America,…
Read More » -
Can Satellites Escape Away From Earth After Death?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Dead satellites are still revolving around Earth in high orbits, but there are factors and features to ensure they stay under the control of Earth’s gravity. If you are reading this, then you likely know a bit about dying satellites. We have heard about these no-longer-useful satellites being ordered back to land, and have…
Read More » -
What Is Preventive Detention And Why Is It Still Allowed In Democracies?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Preventive detention is allowed in democracies to address threats that affect the democratic functioning of the polity itself. Very often, preventive detention makes it into the headlines and is criticized for being a violation of human rights, as well as the civil and fundamental liberties allowed to the citizens of a territory. It has…
Read More » -
Do We Only Yawn When We’re Sleepy?
Table of Contents (click to expand) It has been suggested that the act of yawning may be part of a larger biological process that promotes cooling for the brain. However, recent studies indicate that yawning serves many different physiological needs. Imagine that you’re sitting in class, actively listening and taking notes. You’re engaging with the material, but for some reason,…
Read More » -
Are Underwater Crop Circles A Symbol Of Love?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Mysterious underwater crop circles are the work of pufferfish, not aliens! The pufferfish create elaborate circles to woo potential pufferfish mates. In our search for the extra-terrestrial, we’ve found (or desperately fabricated) several pieces of evidence that fuel our hopes about a mysterious intergalactic being. Beyond UFOs, the static caught on Russian space communication…
Read More » -
Are There Any All-Female Species In The Wild?
An all-female species might sound like wishful fiction, but whiptail lizards are one of the few all-female species on the planet. They don’t need males to reproduce, as they reproduce parthenogenetically. Almost every species in the animal kingdom that we can think of come in a male and female pair. Most are sexually dimorphic too, wherein males can be easily…
Read More » -
Can Spiders Produce Milk?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Scientists have found one species of spider, the jumping spider, that does produce milk. They secrete milk from an opening in their abdomen. The milk is necessary for a baby spider’s survival, a piece of evidence that may require us to rethink how we classify lactation in animals. Nurturing young ones with milk is…
Read More » -
Can All Rivers Form A Grand Canyon?
Table of Contents (click to expand) Tectonic activity resulting in elevation changes can lead an already powerful river to begin carving out a canyon. At some time in your life, you have seen canyons, ravines or gorges, even if it was just through beautiful pictures in magazines. To jog your memory a bit, take a look at the image below…
Read More »
