In this day and age, we all have some kind of exposure to artificial intelligence. Take our smartphones, for example, with their built-in smart assistants designed to respond to our every command. But what if someone told you that AI is going above and beyond in the healthcare realm? What if it were possible to …
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."
The Leakey Family: Paleontology’s Power Family
No one family is responsible for more scientific paleontology discoveries than the Leakeys. Husband and wife, Louis and Mary, together with their sons, Jonathan and Richard, Richard’s wife, Maeve, and their daughter, Louise, have helped to advance our understand of our ancestors and proven themselves to be the first family of paleontology with their seventy-plus …
Could This Be the Last Straw for the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef has been subject to coral bleaching for an extended period of time, leaving many to believe that it is a modern marvel that may soon become history. Now, a new threat to the reef is on the horizon – deforestation. But one might ask what deforestation has to do with the …
The WHO Wants to Eliminate Trans Fats, But What Are They?
Trans fats: these are two words that have practically become synonymous with poor health. Now, the World Health Organization (WHO) is out to do something about these fats, which can contribute to a wide array of negative health effects. In May, WHO announced that it intends to eliminate industrially-produced trans fats by 2023. By doing …
Under Pressure: How The Bends Affects the Human Body
Scuba diving is a great way to explore the ocean’s depths and witness all the wonders the undeseas world has to offer. But it can be dangerous, too, and we aren’t talking about man-eating sharks and killer jellyfish. In fact, this treat doesn’t come from the ocean’s water; it comes from inside your own body. …
FDA Approves Aimovig for Migraines, But Can They Really Be Prevented?
Migraines can be downright debilitating, and there is rarely anything you can do to eliminate them once they start. However, researchers have been working on developing a drug that reduces the frequency of migraines for regular sufferers. Now, their end-product has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Howard, 2018). Aimovig is now …
Zero-Emissions Vehicles: Are They Really Good for the Planet?
There is a lot talk about zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) and how they can potentially help us reduce our carbon footprints, but is this really the case? Dr. Jonathan Lesser, the author of “Short Circuit: The High Cost of Electric Vehicles,” recently wanted to figure it out (Lesser, 2018). He conducted his study to determine just …
Fossil Hunter: Mary Anning
The scientific fields of geology and paleontology owe much of their early advancements to an uneducated, impoverished, amateur fossil hunter in the early 1800s. However, much of the credit for Mary Anning’s work was not granted to her during her lifetime. The reason for this was threefold – she was from a poverty-stricken, working-class family, …
Is Tourism Bad for the Planet? One Study Says Yes
You might love to travel, but have you ever stopped to think about the impact your passion is having on the environment? As it turns out, your carbon footprint may be larger than you initially thought. This is according to a new study, which assessed emissions from travel, plus the full lifecycle of carbon in …
How Can Parents Pass on Healthy Relationship Traits to Their Children?
Depending on your relationship with your parents, you may have learned skills to maintain relationships in your own life. At least this is what a new study suggests, as conducted by researcher and graduate student Mengya Xia and her colleagues. The results indicate that depending on how warm and nurturing your relationships with your parents …