Perhaps we need our appendix after all
It’s not entirely clear why we have an appendix. Some other primates don’t have one at all and it seems they are more prone to diarrhoeal diseases, especially when they are infants.
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Each nostril has its own sense of smell
It seems our noses sense smells differently between each nostril.
Keep it clean
Do you wash behind your ears, between your toes and in your belly button? Doing so is good for the bugs that live on your skin.
Magnets in cows: not a conspiracy theory
It’s been rough few weeks and laughs have been a bit thin, so when I saw that farmers deliberately place magnets in cows, it appealed to my slightly odd sense of humour. Turns out its actually quite important.
Let’s talk about Neanderthals
I saw several articles on Neanderthals this week. One showed their continuing influence on modern humans and the other that they were quite sophisticated hunters.
New 16 million year-old spider
I don’t like spiders. But I live in Canberra and we are surrounded by bush so there’s lots of creepy crawlies. Mostly it’s angry-looking black things and huntsmen, which freak me out but I can live with if Other Half shoos them away. So when I read this article about a massive ancient version further north in Gulgong (west of Newcastle), I was very glad it’s dead.
How germ-laden is your phone? You don’t want to know
Your phone is likely to be more germ-riddled than your toilet. Speaking of which, stop using your phone IN the toilet…
Why leaving dog poo lying around is a bad idea
Dog poo left lying around isn’t just disgusting, it’s also potentially dangerous for wildlife and the environment.
We’ve pumped so much groundwater, it has changed Earth’s tilt
What happens when you move too much water around our planet? Like an unbalanced ball, it starts to wobble even more than usual and this affects its tilt.
Old person smell is a thing
Are you imagining that Grandma has a distinctive smell, as do others of her age? No, you aren’t.
Birds are making nests out of anti-bird spikes
Birds are very ingenious creatures and some, especially corvids, are incredibly smart. They have been known to rip anti-bird spikes off rooves but it still came as a surprise when scientists discovered they were making nests out of them *to deter other birds*.
First draft of the human pangenome
Moving on from having sequenced the human genomes from the first time 20 years ago, now we have the first draft of the human pangenome – a much more diverse collection of 47 distinct genomes from different ancestral backgrounds.
Don’t pick your nose, it could cause Alzheimer’s disease
Picking your nose might be more than a habit – it could give you Alzheimer’s disease.
Sleep apnoea causes early cognitive decline
Do you sleep with a snorer? Do they have sleep apnoea? They might be in for early cognitive decline as a result.
Your brain size dictates how long you yawn
A large animal study has found a strong correlation between how long an animal yawns and the size of its brain.