A Man Had a Stroke. Three Months Later His Tongue Turned ‘Hairy’ And Dark

A man in his 50s presented to doctors in India a black, hairy tongue after suffering a stroke, according to a report by JAMA Dermatology. The man had left-sided weakness from a stroke three months prior and was put on a pureed diet, doctors said in the report published Wednesday. A thick, black coating had covered most … Read more

Scientists Identify The Optimal Number of Daily Steps For Longevity, And It’s Not 10,000

Conventional wisdom would have us believe the journey to a long and healthy life begins with 10,000 steps. Each and every day. For those living a more sedentary lifestyle, it’s a goal that can take some effort to maintain. We’ve also known for some time it’s also almost certainly wrong.   By analyzing data on … Read more

This Cool New Imaging Technique Shows Blood Vessels Like Never Before

Blood vessels are pretty important when it comes to the healthy functioning of the body, and researchers and health professionals need to know as much as possible about where these tiny transport channels are going.   A newly developed 3D visualization technique should help. It’s called VascuViz, and it uses a quick-setting polymer mixture that … Read more

These Ticks Can Survive For Years Without Eating, And Live to Nearly 30 Years of Age

When it comes to longevity and surviving extended amounts of time without food, the Argas brumpti species of African tick is hard to beat, newly published research shows. Observed close-up in the lab over the course of 45 years by entomologist Julian Shepherd from Binghamton University in New York, some of these ticks have survived as … Read more

New Evidence Shows When The Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Struck

The Chicxulub asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs is one of the most momentous impact disasters in Earth’s history, and scientists have now identified the time of year when this deadly event took place.   New evidence suggests the asteroid hit in the spring for the Northern Hemisphere, which would be fall (or autumn) … Read more

Two New Studies Just Outlined The Basics of Building an Interstellar Light Sail

For centuries, people have dreamed of being driven at speed across the vast oceans of space by winds of light. As whimsical as the idea sounds, nudging reflective sails slowly towards the speed of light using nothing more than the punch of photons might be our only plausible shot at reaching another star inside of … Read more

The Lost City of Cahokia Was Mysteriously Abandoned, And We Still Don’t Know Why

For a couple of hundred years, Cahokia was the place to be in what is now the US state of Illinois. The bustling, vibrant city was at one time home to some 15,000 people, but by the end of the 14th century it was deserted – and researchers still aren’t sure why.   A study … Read more

The 6th Mass Extinction Really Has Begun, Scientists Warn in Newly Published Study

The signs of death are everywhere, if you look. For years, scientists have rung the alarm bell, warning that grave declines in animal biodiversity around the globe herald the onset of what will be Earth’s sixth mass extinction.   Despite the looming weight of evidence to suggest this grim phenomenon is unfolding all around us, … Read more

This Medieval Italian Man Replaced His Amputated Hand With a Knife

In 2018, archaeologists described a truly fascinating puzzle. It looks like this medieval Italian man went through life with a knife attached to his arm, in place of his amputated hand.   The skeleton in question was found in a Longobard necropolis in the north of Italy, dating back to around the 6th to 8th centuries … Read more

COVID-19 Vaccines Saved Over 240,000 American Lives in Just 6 Months, Study Finds

COVID-19 vaccines saved nearly 241,000 lives in the United States and prevented more than 1 million virus-related hospitalizations in the first six months of the country’s inoculation program, according to a new research model.    A research letter, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Network Open, found coronavirus vaccinations also prevented more than 14 … Read more