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Month: December 2017

Green Eggs, No Ham

Green Eggs, No Ham

COLOR AFFECTS YOUR MIND It’s been known for quite a while that colors affect your mind and emotional state at the subconscious level. Reds, yellow and oranges have a cheering effect on you; on the other hand, blues, greens and purples have a calming effect but they can also make you feel sad. There’s a lot of research that’s been done on this subject. If you’re interested in knowing more, The Teaching Company has a cool lecture series on this…

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Christmas Star Not a Comet

Christmas Star Not a Comet

This is the last post of the Merry Blogmas 2017 campaign. We hope you have enjoyed our 25 days of quicky science articles. | There have been several different theories proposed to explain the Star of Bethlehem. Today’s post looks at why we can drop comets from the running. To start, we need to look at the original description of the Star of Bethlehem. THREE MAGI FROM THE EAST The story of the Christmas star and the three magi from…

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Your Brain Sneezes

Your Brain Sneezes

It happens to everyone: some stimulus triggers the trigeminal nerve bundle, which in turn signals the sneeze center of the lateral medulla of the brain stem. The nervous functions of the brain stem are the most basic and powerful in the body so once the sneeze center has been stimulated, the rest of the sneeze reflex is unavoidable. Instructions are sent from the brain stem to the lungs to suck in air. The glotis – the opening at the top…

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Fungal Zombie Disease of Ants

Fungal Zombie Disease of Ants

It’ll be a short one tonight, but since I’ve been discussing zombies and things that can go wrong with brains, how about a quick blogmas post on a fungal infection that turns ants into zombies? Trying to come up with a topic, it was suggested that I just do a short write-up about a “strange disease”. The strangest disease that came to mind is not one that infects humans, though. Fungal Infection of Carpenter Ants The disease that came to…

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Kuru and prions: more reasons not to eat brains

Kuru and prions: more reasons not to eat brains

Kuru: The Rarest Infectious Disease in the World! Here’s another blogmas guest post for you all, with another reason to avoid eating brains if you’re not a zombie: a prion disease called “kuru“. Kuru was once listed in the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the rarest (transmissible) disease in the world. It was a type of brain disease. Another name for it is “laughing sickness” because one of its symptoms is sudden bursts of laughter from its victims. It…

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Fecal Microbiota Transplants and Probiotics

Fecal Microbiota Transplants and Probiotics

Healthy Eating, Probiotics, and your Microbiota We’re  still on the general subject of things you may not want to eat. The idea that what you eat has an effect on your health has been well known for centuries. Modern research has been probing this concept more deeply and has shown that it’s not just what you eat, but what happens to it afterwards. After the food you eat gets attacked by acids and digestive enzymes in your stomach, it moves…

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Eggs, Zombies, and Cholesterol

Eggs, Zombies, and Cholesterol

Today’s topic is cholesterol by an invited author. | This is the short daily Merry Blogmas science post for December 20. CHOLESTEROL IN EGGS AND OTHER FOODS Since we’ve been discussing eggs, here’s another egg-related topic you’ve probably heard of. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that’s generally considered a problem: High amounts of it in the bloodstream are associated with potentially fatal heart disease. It also makes up a large part of gallstones. Paradoxically, cholesterol is absolutely vital to human life. It…

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You Put What on Your Face?

You Put What on Your Face?

This is the daily short science blog for the Merry Blogmas 2017 campaign. I will happy when it’s over. Even with decreased or no citations, daily blogging is a bit much. | Today’s post is a ramble about the science and pseudoscience of clay-based facial skin treatment. THE PSEUDOSCIENCE OF CLAY-BASED SKIN TREATMENT I’m not saying that all skin treatments are fake or lack a scientific basis; however, the amount of pseudoscience in the beauty and cosmetics industry is staggering….

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The Terrible Menace of Kaolin Pesticide!

The Terrible Menace of Kaolin Pesticide!

This is the daily Merry Blogmas 2017 science post for December 18. | Did you even know that clay minerals like kaolin are used as pesticides? It came as a surprise to me, truth be told. I have had held some hefty pesticides and hazardous materials certifications over the years. So how did I ever miss knowing this? Seriously, that sucking noise you hear is my tongue being removed from my cheek. INTRODUCING KAOLIN Koalin is a catch-all name for…

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The Roach-Killer Rock

The Roach-Killer Rock

This is the daily Merry Blogmas 2017 short science post for December 17. 2017. | Today’s topic is boric acid. THERE ARE NO BORIC ACID MINES Seriously, I really should have saved this up for my other blog but this blog is on a schedule. Thus it gets priority these days. I was calmly surfing the net, looking at do-it-yourself recipes using borax, when I came across a site that I refuse to mention here. This unmentionable site not only recommended…

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