WEIRD FACTS
Most elderly individuals’ brains degrade over time, but some match — or even outperform — younger individuals on cognitive tests. By Matt Davis – “Super-agers” seem to escape the decline in cognitive function that affects most of the elderly population. New research suggests …
The meat-free burgers are a hit with meat lovers. By Mike Brown – Plant-based meat alternatives like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are proving a hit with meat-eaters. Research from the Canadian non-profit foundation Angus Reid released Tuesday shows that, of non-vegetarians that …
This microbe breaks one of the toughest chemical bonds in existence. By Peter Hess – Let’s face it: It’s nearly impossible to avoid a startling array of chemicals, whether they’re in the water we drink, the air we breathe, or the food we …
“Bone was invented in part to escape danger.” By Sarah Sloat – Bones are more than just the scaffolding for our body lumps. Bones are rigid organs filled with a honeycomb-like matrix, and while they do protect our internal organs, they also secret …
Not that they need another reason. By Peter Hess – Whether it’s a hassle with spiral notebooks or a struggle with scissors, left-handers don’t have it easy in this right-handed world. But new research suggests that their uniqueness shows up in more significant …
By Ben Coxworth – A diagram of the energy-harvesting device. Gao et al. – As compared to most other joints in the human body, the knee has quite a large range of motion … so why not put that motion to use, as a …
Apple Pay, but for crypto? By Mike Brown – Is cryptocurrency coming to the iPhone? While Apple’s smartphone supports apps that provide access to wallets and exchanges, recent comments from an executive have suggested the company could offer deeper integration. “We’re watching cryptocurrency,” …
By David Szondy – You can’t get more whimsical than a clock set on metal legs modeled from the bones of an actual Tyrannosaurus Rex. MB&F. – For their 11th collaboration, MB&F and Swiss clockmaker L’Épée 1839 have gone prehistoric: meet the T-Rex desk …
By Rich Haridy – Amazon Prime, LG, Panasonic and VIZIO have all expressed support for a new “Filmmaker Mode” UHDA. A new television setting called “Filmmaker Mode” should soon be incorporated into a number of modern TVs, after months of consultation from Hollywood …
There’s a big difference between sitting at home and sitting at work. By Emma Betuel – As a society, we sit too much. We sit in the car, we sit at our desks, and we flop down on the couch when we get …
