There has been a lot of news about coral reefs lately, and it hasn’t been positive. Most notably, research has found that global warming may be contributing to the bleaching of reefs around the world. Now, new data suggests that our sunscreen could be harming coral reefs, too. Researchers from around the world have determined …
Author: Prentice, the Science Platypus
Prentice is the mascot of Insanitek.
Why a platypus? Well, why not? It's unusual, somewhat crazy, and evolution pretty much smashed a bunch of concepts together and said, "Try that."
Global Warming Could Lead to Global Conflict and an Economic Downturn
Global warming may be responsible for rising sea levels and habitat destruction, but how is it impacting everyday life for humans? A study led by Soloman Hsiang of Cal Berkeley has honed in on exactly how climate change affects human conflict. Hsiang and his colleagues, Marshall Burke and Edward Miguel, looked at 60 primary studies …
Could You Imagine an Earth Without Antarctica?
Editor’s note: This article is an example of fortune telling in science. These ideas are based on models with constantly moving targets, and with accuracy based on best assumptions and worst case scenarios. There is no way to tell the future, and scientists do not have a crystal ball that is more accurate than any …
Report: Your Dietary Supplements May Do More Harm Than Good
Before you buy another bottle of vitamins to supplement your diet, you might want to consider the risks. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has revealed that 23,000 people end up in the emergency room each year as a result of dietary supplements. The individuals who show up are children, adults and the …
Study: 30 Minutes of Exercise is No Longer Enough
This may not matter to you much if you don’t exercise very often, but for those who try to get in the recommended 30 minutes of activity per day, listen up: those 30 minutes might no longer do the trick. A new study published in Circulation has discovered that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise may not be …
Gene Therapy Presents A New Approach to Hearing Rehabilitation
Imagine a world of silence. You could hear no traffic noises, no music, and not even the subtle sound of blood pumping through your veins and arteries. There would simply be silence. This is everyday life for approximately 70 million people. Deafness occurs for a variety of reasons, but for some, deafness is an inherited …
In Experiments, Robots are No Match for IKEA Furniture
Editor’s note: This post has been updated and broken links removed. Please see our policy on broken hyperlinks for more. These days, it seems like robots are taking everything from our cars to our day jobs. However, there’s one task they’ll never be able to take away from humans — IKEA furniture-assembling (or, at least not yet). In …
Mealworms May Eventually Solve Our Plastic Pollution Problem
Mealworms may not be the prettiest creatures on the planet, but you might want to think twice before considering them just another useless insect. In fact, mealworms could eventually save Earth from destruction via plastic. Researchers at Stanford University recently shared a study that showed mealworms could live on a diet of foamed polystyrene, also …
New Skull Shows Decapitation May Date Back 9,000 Years
Editor’s note: This post has been updated and broken links removed. Please see our policy on broken hyperlinks for more. Researchers everywhere rejoiced last month when they unearthed a 9,000 year-old skull, and not just because it was old. Instead, the skull represented what might have been the first case of decapitation in human history. But let’s …
How Is The Great Barrier Reef Handling Climate Change?
If you keep up with environmental issues, you might already know that the Great Barrier Reef has been a primary concern for scientists. Global warming and changing ocean temperatures have directly impacted the reef and its eco-system, but conservation efforts have been in full swing for years. That being said, how is the Great Barrier Reef these …