Okay, I was browsing some of Mitti's old photos, and this one remains my favorite by far. She has expressive eyes and body language; oke dhongi bolle seta compliment hisebe boli.
And no more Bhondu pic dumps until next Wednesday; wait for the next Bhondu Album entry.
Deleted last time in a lapse of concentration
Screen time has a bad reputation for damaging cognition, but an eight-year longitudinal study on kids in Finland points in a different direction.
Surprisingly, more screen time beginning in childhood benefits cognitive processing during adolescence, according to the study. The analysis included 124 girls and 136 boys, with an average age of 15.8 years.
However, the essence of the study lies in how we approach the concept of "screen time"—what is being done on a screen should precede how long a child is on a screen. Digital activities that involve solving puzzles, learning a new language, and promoting creativity can lead to better cognitive abilities.
Screen time also links to lifestyle: whether someone is sedentary or physically active. The results in the study reveal that the relationship between screen usage, physical activity, and cognitive processing is complex and needs more research to establish a "cause and effect" relationship.
While brainrot and AI slop masquerade in our feeds, if properly used, digital systems can actually make the coming generations have better cognition. Finding a balance between physical activity and quality screen time is the key, states Doctoral Researcher Petri Jalanko from the University of Jyväskylä.
May the Science be with You!
A bit of quirky news, but alarming nonetheless.
Illegal mummy trading puts buyers, sellers, and everyone involved in transit at risk of contamination from dormant microbes. Lord Carnarvon, the financial backer of exploring the tomb of Tutankhamun, is believed to have died from a severe case of aspergillosis, which is often cited as proof of "mummy's curse"— an ensuing ominous event after a tomb is excavated.
The researchers involved in the study reported seeing mummy displays left out in the open— no glass covers or temperature control. The secret trades mainly took place over social media and e-commerce sites, and there are many more posts yet to be unearthed.
An AI chip modelled after the cerebellum detects an anomalous heartbeat with 98% accuracy, and does so twice as fast as existing models.
The device, modelled after the cerebellum (the brain's muscle coordination center), can be the forerunner of a highly responsive, low-power AI system that ignores routine information and flags unexpected events— without relying on huge amounts of computational resources from data centers.
The technology addresses a major problem: background noise filtration. By focusing on the cerebellum, instead of the cerebrum, the scientists have mimicked instinctive motor skills that do not require much conscious thought.
The device can reduce the reliance on data centers and, at the same time, help us to fit neuromorphic computing into real-world applications— from self-driving cars to point-of-care monitoring.
To visualize, let's assume Society A hates tomatoes, and Society B loves tomatoes. In a case that leads to massive interbreeding between the two, what will be the genetic (or epigenetic) chances of how the whole demography evolves its affection or aversion to tomatoes?
I don't have a psychology/psychiatry background, so I ask that everyone who comments understand that the question I pose comes from curiosity about human nature, and not any sort of prejudice. Thanks in advance!!
A policy that ignores evidence can have a profoundly negative impact on the lives of millions.
NIH had a strong reputation for funding projects that resonate with policymakers, including the health impact of environmental protections and pollution regulations.
"Policymakers are not considered a stakeholder group within the scope of NIH’s mission,” the internal documents say. “NIH-funded research must empower decision-making by NIH mission-relevant stakeholder groups”, which the documents list as including patients, health-care workers, hospitals and scientists.
The US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, for example, has repeatedly recommended that researchers study how policies on topics such as cannabis legalization and housing affect the health of people in the United States. Top NIH officials label flagged proposals as "lobbying", which they define as using federal funds to pay someone to influence a federal employee or member of the US Congress.
Scientific insights and policies are symbiotic, in a way. Trying to take one out of the equation lends a free hand for making uninformed decisions.
As always, May the Science be with You!
While COVID-19 stole the spotlight in a flash, antibiotic resistance slowly rose, kept a low profile, and is now labelled as the "silent pandemic" by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2021.
In 2021 alone, over 840,000 kids aged under 5 years succumbed to the effects of antibiotic resistance. And the curve can become steeper at the current pace.
The data on antibiotic resistance in kids often paints an incorrect picture, for two reasons:
Pediatric data for antibiotic resistance is compared against adult data, which do not account for how an infection behaves in a child.
The visibility of antibiotic resistance in kids is lower, despite it being a real problem.
Antibiotic options in kids are much fewer than in adults, making antibiotic resistance worse for them. The study here portrays the severity of the incidence of antibiotic resistance in kids, and what's actually happening around the world to deal with the crisis.
May the Science be with You!
Seeing marmots on OnlyFans was not on my bingo card.
Dr. Daniel Blumstein, the head of a long-running field study of marmots, was stressed out when federal funding to universities was cut. Fret not, for desperate times need desperate measures, and so, when Daniel raised the idea with his lab students, OnlyMarms started its journey. Till now, it has made over $5,000, with "no diff".
The Marmot Project is the second-longest study on individually identified mammals. It has been running for more than six decades, second only to Jane Goodall's chimpanzee study in Tanzania.
It studies yellow-bellied marmots, one of the 15 recognized species in the Northern Hemisphere. They hibernate for around 5-8 months, and interestingly, they do not biologically age during that period.
Back to the marmot shenanigans, we have "uncensored" footage of marmots being the perfect ratio of chunky and cute. And if you have a personal favorite, you can vote for your chubby champ in the Fat Marmot Week.
That's it, folks! May the Science be with You!
Data suggests that nearly all sexually active Americans have at least had a run-in with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is flushed out of the body by most people, but in a few people, it can lead to oropharyngeal cancer. In fact, oral cancers have a fairly large rate of incidence in young and middle-aged adults.
Lablab bean gum contains a compound known as FRIL, which has previously been tested to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 and various influenza viruses. The active ingredient, in this case, cleared 93% of HPV in saliva samples.
Given HPV's nature of transmission through mucous membranes, a chewing gum that can act as a prophylactic measure against the virus might be a move forward in maintaining hygiene during sexual activity.
Please note: I declare that the information provided is true to my knowledge, and it's a sponsored post from the linked website. I assure that my opinion holds no bias for or against the linked article.
A biological catastrophe may be looming, and we are not taking it seriously enough. The aftermath of the Hormuz Strait reopening, through the lens of ecology.
Personally, I would like this to be a discussion, too. How badly will the post-Hormuz blockade snowball?