Wednesday, February 12

Science and Nature

What happens to your body when you give up meat
Science and Nature

What happens to your body when you give up meat

Whether for health, environmental concerns, or ethical reasons, more and more people are opting to cut meat from their diets. But what happens to the body when meat or animal products disappear from the plate?Recent research suggests that even short stints without meat—whether weeks, days, or even just a few meals—can trigger surprising changes. The effects range from weight loss and signs of heart health improvements to more subtle impacts on the gut and immune system.Weight loss and heart benefitsOne of the most noticeable effects of cutting out meat is weight loss, but it’s not just about removing animal products—it’s about what takes their place. When people replace calorie-dense meats with fiber-rich plant foods like vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fruits, “we end up just consu...
Best Fire TV Stick deals for February 2025
Science and Nature

Best Fire TV Stick deals for February 2025

Amazon has so many products that fall under the “Amazon Devices” umbrella, but none are as popular among our readers as Fire TV Sticks. With a tiny little dongle, you can instantly transform any TV into a Fire TV. It’ll run all the streaming apps you might want, including popular ones like Philo, Hulu, Disney+, Sling TV, Apple TV+, and Fubo TV. Plus, it supports thousands of games and other apps in Amazon’s app store. Right now, the hottest deal among our readers is the Fire TV Stick 4K, which just got a price cut to $29.99. Or, if you don’t care about 4K, the Fire TV Stick HD — a new addition to Amazon’s lineup — is on sale for $24.99. That being said, I definitely recommend spending the extra $5 on the 4K model. See Pricing See Pricing ...
Trump Administration Closes Climate Health Office
Science and Nature

Trump Administration Closes Climate Health Office

February 5, 20253 min readA climate office at the Department of Health and Human Services has been shuttered, and its staff was placed on administrative leaveBy Ariel Wittenberg & E&E News An elderly man faints in front of the Supreme Court in June 2024 as temperatures in Washington, D.C., rose into the 90s Fahrenheit. Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | A climate office at the Department of Health and Human Services has been shuttered, and its staff was placed on administrative leave, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, established in 2021 by President Joe Biden, has helped spur the health sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It did that in part by raising awareness among health care nonprofits ab...
Elon Musk Can Find His $2-Trillion Federal Spending Cut in Nuclear Weapons
Science and Nature

Elon Musk Can Find His $2-Trillion Federal Spending Cut in Nuclear Weapons

Famously fortunate, Elon Musk now faces a rare opportunity—delivering on one of his signature overblown promises. From his newly created White House cost-cutting desk, all Musk must do is recommend ending one of the most misguided, wasteful and dangerous programs contemplated by the U.S. government, one that Scientific American has pushed for elimination.Last November Musk set an ambitious target for his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the meme-coin-joke name for his cost-cutting office, his reward for bankrolling Trump’s campaign. Under DOGE, Musk said he would trim $2 trillion from the federal budget. That’s a hefty sum even for the space mogul now regarded as the $400-billion-worth wealthiest man on Earth. (Musk subsequently downplayed $2 trillion as a “best-case outcome.”)L...
Understanding aging requires more than counting birthdays
Science and Nature

Understanding aging requires more than counting birthdays

People's bodies can be old or young for their chronological age, depending, in part, on the amount and types of stressors they have experienced. Scientists can estimate people's biological age, but whether they use oral tissue or blood to make the measurement matters, according to a new study led by researchers in the Penn State Department of Biobehavioral Health. Biological age -- a measure of how well one's body is functioning -- differs from chronological age -- the amount of time since someone was born. While chronological age can be correlated to disease risk, researchers and medical doctors can use biological age, which can be slowed or accelerated by environmental or behavioral factors, to more precisely understand a person's risk for certain diseases, including cancers and dementia...
Scientists reveal gut microbes’ hidden role in anxiety: Could probiotics be the next mental health breakthrough?
Science and Nature

Scientists reveal gut microbes’ hidden role in anxiety: Could probiotics be the next mental health breakthrough?

Could the key to easing anxiety be hidden in our gut? Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School and the National Neuroscience Institute have discovered a crucial connection between gut microbes and anxiety-related behaviour. Their research, published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine, suggests that microbial metabolites- specifically indoles-play a direct role in regulating brain activity linked to anxiety. This finding opens up exciting possibilities for new probiotic-based therapies to improve mental health. The prevalence of mental health disorders has been rising over the years. According to the latest nationwide study, 1 in 7 people in Singapore has experienced a mental health disorder, which includes depressive and anxiety disorders[1]. In 2019, mental health disorders were one of the t...
Use the ’20/10′ Method When You Don’t Have the Energy to Clean
Science and Nature

Use the ’20/10′ Method When You Don’t Have the Energy to Clean

This is one of the best cleaning routines for when you're feeling overwhelmed. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Credit: PH888 - Shutterstock If you tend to get overwhelmed by the prospect of cleaning your house, here’s some good news: One of the best cleaning methods out there is designed for people like you. Called the 20/10 rule, it’s been around for a few years, but has really withstood the test of time because of its simplicity and how effective it is.What is the 20/10 method of cleaning?The 20/10 method comes from Rachel Hoffman’s 2017 book, Unf*ck Your Habita...
Relax, Whiskers. Scotland is not banning cats
Science and Nature

Relax, Whiskers. Scotland is not banning cats

Domestic cats can be considered an invasive species. Deposit Photos Cat lovers in Scotland can breathe a collective sigh of relief. The Scottish government will not be banning felines in the country home to an estimated 840,000 pet cats. First Minister John Swinney issued a statement after a report issued on January 27 by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission said that cats were a threat to the country’s wildlife. The commission suggested measures to reduce their damage–including restrictions on ownership–were interpreted by some as an all out-ban on cats and rumors quickly spread online.  “There’s a report being produced by an external organization, which has come into the government for consideration,” Swinney said via radio. “Le...
North Korean hackers created new macOS malware disguised as popular app installers
Science and Nature

North Korean hackers created new macOS malware disguised as popular app installers

Another day, another macOS malware is trying to actively exploit your Mac. This time, North Korean hackers are using fake job offers hidden in updates to popular apps like Zoom and Google Chrome to invade your Mac.As security researchers from SentinelLabs (via AppleInsider) reported, North Korean hackers are pushing the macOS Ferret family of malware. Even though Apple has successfully prevented some of these viruses with the on-device malware tool XProtect, caution is still recommended. This is not the first time someone has tried to install malware on people’s Macs using the “Contagious Interview campaign” method. Basically, targets are asked to go on an interview through a link that shows an error message and a request to install or update some required software, such as Zoom or Google...
Apple’s new app Invites copycat criticism
Science and Nature

Apple’s new app Invites copycat criticism

Image: Foundry Apple on Tuesday introduced a new app called Invites that lets users create custom invitations and share them with family and friends along with photo albums and playlists. But while the app might have been a surprise, it wasn’t a pleasant one for everyone. Over on X, the makers of event app Partiful posted a screenshot of section 4.1(a) of the App Review Guidelines, which refers to Copycats. The section reads, “Come up with your own ideas. We know you have them, so make yours come to life. Don’t simply copy the latest popular app on the App Store, or make some minor changes to another app’s name or UI and pass it off as your own. In addition to risking an intellectual property infringement claim, it makes the App Store harder to n...