Huge Patch of Universe Is Strangely Opaque Despite Its Lack of Galaxies
The mere fact that we live in a universe boggles my mind every once in a while. But thankfully, our cosmic home is a place that follows rules; the laws of physics seem to agree everywhere, and galaxies are uniformly distributed throughout. Except for in this 300-million-light-year-long region, which seems to be…
If You Smell Things That Aren't Really There, You're Not Alone
A small but very real percentage of people often smell odors that aren’t actually there. About one in 15 Americans over the age of 40 regularly experience so-called phantom odors. But we have no idea why, according to a new study published Thursday in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.
Likely Cause of Chipotle Outbreak That Sickened 645 People Finally Identified
A mysterious outbreak that seemingly sickened hundreds of Chipotle customers in Ohio might finally have a known culprit. On Thursday, health officials reported that traces of a common foodborne bug called Clostridium perfringens had been found in some of the victims’ stool samples. It’s likely the outbreak was spread…
World's Oldest Cheese, Found in Ancient Tomb, Was Also Very Dangerous
Humans have been producing and consuming cheese for a very long time, as the recent discovery of 3,200-year-old cheese in an ancient Egyptian tomb attests. Delicious though this cheese may have been, it was also a potential source of disease.
This Online AI Tool Takes Your Words and Turns Them Into Nightmares
We’ve seen lots of machine learning systems create strange new phrases and dreamlike images after being trained on large amounts of data. But a new website lets you do the generating, and the results are just as bizarre as you’d expect:
The Universe's Oldest Galaxies Could Be Right in the Milky Way's Backyard
The Universe’s earliest epochs appear to be written into the small dwarf galaxies orbiting our own galactic home, the Milky Way.
FDA Finally Approves a Cheaper, Generic Version of the EpiPen
A life-saving but increasingly expensive treatment for severe allergic attacks is poised to become cheaper.
Section of U.S. Warship from WWII Discovered off Alaskan Coast
In August 1943, the USS Abner Read struck a Japanese naval mine while conducting patrols in the Bering Sea. The explosion sheared the ship’s entire stern section, sending it and 71 U.S. sailors to the bottom of the Bering Sea. Lost for 75 years, the World War II destroyer’s severed stern has finally been found off a…
E. Coli Bacteria Made This Image of the Mona Lisa
Scientists created this picture of the Mona Lisa using genetically modified E. coli bacteria. Such teeny little artists!
The Psychedelic Drug DMT Can Simulate a Near-Death Experience, Study Suggests
Not everyone who is close to death—or thinks they are, at least—has a “near-death experience.” But those who do often hallucinate that they leave their bodies, meet otherworldly beings, see bright flashes and tunnels of light, and more. Those who take the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine, or DMT— a compound found…
Hey Artists, Stop Putting Shiny Crap Into Space
As if there isn’t already enough junk in space, an artist is planning to launch a reflective, inflatable sculpture to low Earth orbit in October. The art piece is meant to instill a sense of wonder and alter humanity’s impression of itself, but in reality it’s an empty gesture that’ll only serve to infuriate…
More Than 70 People Overdosed on Synthetic Weed in Connecticut This Week
Synthetic cannabinoids are behind yet another mass overdose in the U.S. More than 70 people in New Haven, Connecticut suffered overdoses thought to be caused by the lab-made drug known as K2 within the span of a day, NBC Connecticut reported Wednesday. As a result, 72 people were sent to a hospital to be checked out,…
Beetle Trapped in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber Was an Early PollinatorÂ
Amber fossils containing bugs are nothing new, but the discovery of a beautifully preserved Cretaceous Period beetle with bits of pollen still around it is changing what we know about the planet’s earliest pollinating insects.
Ancient Egyptians Mastered Mummification Long Before the Time of Pharaohs
The earliest mummies are typically associated with the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, but as an intensive examination of a 5,600-year-old mummy confirms, the methods used for this iconic funeral practice date back to well before the age of pharaohs.
Robot Peer Pressure Is the Newest Tech Threat to Children
New research shows that children are more likely than adults to give in to peer pressure from robots, a disturbing finding given the rapidly increasing rate at which kids are interacting with socially intelligent machines.
Skyrocketing Rates of Fentanyl Deaths Led to the Deadliest Year for Opioid Overdoses Ever
More people are dying from drug overdoses in the U.S. than ever before, according to a new preliminary report released Wednesday by the federal government. There were an estimated 72,287 drug overdose deaths last year, the report found, with the majority caused by opioids. The toll is yet another record high.
Fracking Uses a Lot More Water Than It Did 5 Years Ago
Public concern over hydraulic fracturing (better known as fracking) has often focused on the potential for this extractive process to pollute waterways. Well, a new study reminds us that fracking is messing with our water in more ways than one.
Doctors Aren't Being Candid About the Money They Get From Big PharmaÂ
Physicians who get paid extra by pharmaceutical and medical device companies often aren’t forthcoming about the money in their research papers, according to a study out Wednesday in JAMA Surgery. It found that many of the doctors who receive the most in industry payments only occasionally disclose their potential…
