Martin Science News

So I follow a news aggregator called News 360.  You teach it what you want with like/dislikes, can get it to add sites you want to hear from, and it segregates by topic.  So I wondered what would happen if I got on the "science category" tonight (Sunday) and looked in the interests of fun at what might pop up.

First up, we have an article about how often you should wash your sheets.  Seriously, I know that most people wash their sheets far more often than me, the original "anything can be removed with a fart" here.  To put things in their proper perspective, science estimates that a typical American sweats 26 gallons worth of perspiration into their bed per year.  That works out to 9 ounces A NIGHT, and I have to think somebody is really skewing that number.

And so, thanks to Fat Bastard there, we are recommended to change sheets once a week.


Our next story tells us that a woman who wants to get pregnant should look for a younger lover.  Extensive study shows that women in the 35-40 year old range had a 54% success rate with men their old age and older, but 74% with men younger than themselves.  Younger men's sperm "seemed to invigorate" the women's eggs.  All very interesting, but the thing that caught my eye was in the title of the article.  Because, instead of saying that women needed to look for "boy-toy" partners, the headline (from London's Telegraph, no surprise) consistently referred to "toyboys".

A tip for Brit writers from the States:

boy-toy

toy-boy

Next up was a very informative article that began with this:

The article was basically "how to be calm under pressure" by a bomb expert.  And he gave three big rules that can apply anywhere- if you stretch it a bit.

Step one he calls "Avoid the rabbit hole".  The rabbit hole is seeing the problem and panicking rather than assessing the problem calmly.

You need to avoid going down the “rabbit hole” and do what Navy EOD techs call a “threat assessment.” That means looking objectively at the situation and asking, “What kind of problem is this?”

Obviously from his vantage point we are dealing with a REEELIE BEEEG problem.  But you can apply it to, say, you're making Junior a PBJ and you are out of J.


Next step, as the old song tells us, is accentuate the positive.  Or, as the article explained:

Our EOD’s superior officer once told him a story about trying to defuse a mine while underwater — and realizing that he had become trapped, unable to move his hands or feet. What was the next thought that went through the chief’s head?
“I’m still breathing, so that’s good. Now what else do I have that’s going for me?”

Now, that situation would typically activate the "I'm so screwed" response unless you're MacGyver.  But going back to our PBJ, you have to keep in mind what Junior doesn't know won't hurt him.  Remember that jell-o you made for him last night?  With a thick layer or two of PB, it could double as J.

The final step is, recognize the next step and focus just on that.  As the article said,

Maybe what’s next is just a baby step. That’ll do. Maybe you are so out of your depth that the next step is “ask for help.” That’s actually a good one. You don’t need to fix everything in one fell swoop. You just need to know your next step and you can keep it together.

So you send Junior out of the room for "a recipe book".  You spread the jell-o on the sandwich.  Doesn't spread well?  Send Junior to Mrs Filberts for the book, smash the jell-o on a plate, dump it on the PB.  And when Junior returns, tell him you figured it out.  If Junior says the sandwich tastes funny, study the recipe book and nod a lot.



Next up, a new study suggests chocolate can slow memory decline.  In their study:

... both healthy older adults and elderly adults with signs of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia or Alzheimer's saw cognitive improvement, especially with memory, after drinking flavanol-rich cocoa drinks over a period of eight weeks. Not only that, but the subjects' blood pressure and insulin levels improved as well.

I can testify right now that NORMAL chocolate doesn't do diddly for memory loss, and my A1C levels dispute the insulin and my Benicars poo-poo the blood pressure angles.  I need to find some "enhanced flavanol" candy bars.  And quick, before I forget to get some flavanol-rich candy bars.


Next, are you an Obama fan wedded to the concept of alternative energy?  Well, this one's for you:

Solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of electricity generated than nuclear power plants, according to a Thursday report from the pro-nuclear group Environmental Progress (EP).

The report found that solar panels use heavy metals, including lead, chromium and cadmium, which can harm the environment. The hazards of nuclear waste are well known and can be planned for, but very little has been done to mitigate solar waste issues.


So, solar panels are waste-producing and wind farms can't survive without heavy subsidization.  Luckily, environmentally minded energy engineers have another alternative lined up...

I have to run HOW fast for HOW long??? Screw you and your lights, I'm just gonna drop dead now...

This next one, all I really need is the headline:

Artificial intelligence may soon replace our artists as well

And in Fort Wayne, the sooner the better...




Finally, another article- whose story I rejected on the basis of I didn't want to toot my horn about where my tithe goes- brought up for me the question of blowing of scientific money on some very stupid stuff.  But here's an article that proves my theory:

When future interstellar space travelers become weary of looking out their spaceship windows at the wondrous but unchanging cosmos that surround them, it would be nice if they could queue up their Netflix subscription to help pass the time. And now, thanks to new technology envisioned by independent astrophysicist Michael Hippke, that might be possible.


Hippke has devised a way to deliver an interstellar internet connection as far away as our nearest star neighbor, Alpha Centauri, reports New Scientist. And the technology to make it possible is already available to us.


And considering that we can't even get a man to Mars yet- about 183,000 times closer than AC- I can see where this would be a necessary expenditure.