What if a Medical Treatment Could Change Your Political Or Religious Beliefs?

A research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities writes in Scientific American: How would you feel about a new therapy for your chronic pain, which — although far more effective than any available alternative — might also change your religious beliefs? Or a treatment for lymphoma that brings one in three patients into remission, but…

He Called it a ‘Scamdemic’ – Then Saw His Family Getting Sick

A remarkable first-person story in today’s Washington Post: I used to call it the “scamdemic.” I thought it was an overblown media hoax. I made fun of people for wearing masks. I went all the way down the rabbit hole and fell hard on my own sword, so if you want to hate me or blame me, that’s fine. I’m doing…

Judge Orders Twitter To Unmask FBI Impersonator Who Set Off Seth Rich Conspiracy

AmiMoJo shares a report from NPR: A federal judge in California has ordered that Twitter reveal the identity of an anonymous user who allegedly fabricated an FBI document to spread a conspiracy theory about the killing of Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee staffer who died in 2016. The ruling could lead to the identification of the person behind the Twitter…

Yoga and meditation reduce chronic pain

A mindfulness-based stress reduction course was found to benefit patients with chronic pain and depression, leading to significant improvement in participant perceptions of pain, mood and functional capacity, according to a new study. Most of the study respondents (89%) reported the program helped them find ways to better cope with their pain while 11% remained… Continue reading Yoga and meditation reduce chronic pain

Which insects have the worst stings?

Some of the most painful stings come from tarantula hawk wasps, warrior wasps, and bullet ants. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/which-insects-have-worst-painful-stings…

Great North Air Ambulance Trials Paramedic Jet Suit

A jet suit for paramedics which would see patients reached in minutes by a “flying” medic has been tested by the Great North Air Ambulance Service. The BBC reports: After a year of talks between GNAAS and Gravity Industries, a first test flight was carried out in the Lake District. Andy Mawson, director of operations at GNAAS, came up with the…

The Fairphone 3+ Is a Repairable Dream That Takes Beautiful Photos

The Fairphone 3+ is a $550 phone with modular parts that can easily be swapped out by users themselves. “In many ways, a Fairphone is the antithesis of the iPhone,” writes Catie Keck via Gizmodo. “It doesn’t benefit most retailers to allow you to easily repair your own stuff, meaning that a lot of gizmos these days — particularly higher-end electronics…

The Majority of 18- To 29-Year-Olds In the US Are Now Living With Their Parents

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Axios: Nearly 30 million Americans are spending their 20s in the same place they spent their grade school years: at home with their parents. For the first time since the Great Depression, the majority of 18- to 29-year-olds have moved back home. Those living arrangements can come with a great deal of awkwardness and…

Australian stinging tree injects animals with spider-venom-like toxin

Australian stinging trees, species of which can grow up to 35 metres tall, inject toxins that cause pain in the same way as animal venoms found in spiders and scorpions Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2254611-australian-stinging-tree-injects-animals-with-spider-venom-like-toxin/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Surprise News About Superhero Actor Chadwick Boseman Becomes Most-Liked Tweet Ever

Yahoo News reports:
On Friday, Chadwick Boseman’s family posted a final tweet on his Twitter account, announcing that he had died after a four-year battle with colon cancer. Twitter confirmed on Saturday afternoon that this tweet from Boseman’s account is now the most-liked tweet on Twitter of all time… “The 43-year-old’s death shocked many in Hollywood who were unaware he had spent…