Biology Bytes
Teisha
Our Microbiomes: Who Are Our Microscopic Neighbors?
Our bodies are made up of many more microbe cells — bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic critters — than human cells. These microscopic organisms are clearly important for making us who we are. And yet, there’s so much we don’t understand about them. How do our microbiomes help keep us healthy, and why do they … Continue reading
Magnetoception and Changing Geomagnetic Poles
You may have heard the news that the Earth’s magnetic field (also called the geomagnetic field) is changing. (The field itself is created by the molten iron in the Earth’s outer core and other factors.) Specifically, it’s been significantly weakening over the last 200 years (by about 15%), and the geomagnetic North pole has been … Continue reading
The Importance of Getting an Uninterrupted Night’s Sleep
A new study may not only make you want to head to bed on time tonight, but also try to make sure you don’t get any interruptions during the night. Why is that? It turns out that not getting enough sleep can be just as detrimental as repeatedly getting woken up at night. (This may … Continue reading
The Hobby Lobby Ruling: Contraceptives and Abortifacients
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that, due to religious objections, Hobby Lobby (and other for-profit companies) does not have to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives that are part of the Affordable Care Act. Specifically, Hobby Lobby objected to four contraceptive methods – Plan B, Ella, and two intrauterine devices (IUDs) – because Hobby … Continue reading
Creating Lucid Dreams
Have you ever had a lucid dream? Lucid dreams can be quite fun and freeing — they are when the dreamer realizes that they are in a dream, and can control the dream to be what they want it to be. And recently, researchers found out how they could cause somebody to have a lucid … Continue reading
Life Beyond Earth
Are we alone, or is there life beyond Earth? It’s a question we’ve been trying to actively answer for decades now, with increased interest in more recent times. While there almost certainly is life outside of our world, we have yet to find it. Based on our understanding of the spectrum of organisms that live … Continue reading
Alzheimer’s Updates: Why It’s Important to Eat Healthy and Other Findings
In the past six months, several interesting and promising studies have been published on Alzheimer’s disease. They’ve ranged from how what we eat might affect our odds of developing it, to discovering the underlying mechanisms. Taken together, researchers are definitely making progress in developing treatments — and preventative measures — for Alzheimer’s. For those of … Continue reading
Bacteria and Stress May Trigger Heart Attacks and Strokes
Heart attacks and strokes have been thought to be prompted by stress. But why is this — why does stress trigger these dangerous medical events? Based on a study published earlier this month, a key player may actually be some specific species of bacteria. Certain bacteria species (like the Pseudomonas aeruginosa shown here in brown) … Continue reading
Making Plastic from Food
As we become more aware of the resources that we’re quickly using up, we increasingly look for ways to recycle and reuse what we’ve got. For example, some people have been figuring out how to “reuse” food waste by turning it into plastic. And not just any type of plastic — it’s actually biodegradable plastic, … Continue reading
Drinking Green Tea May Repair Your DNA
How our diet affects our health is a very complicated topic. For example, while drinking tea is thought to possibly help reduce the risk of a number of diseases and health conditions, many studies have had inconsistent results, and the chemical mechanisms that go on in our bodies are not well understood. However, a recently … Continue reading