1. The part of the brain that regulates reasoning, impulse control and judgment is still under construction during puberty and doesn't shift into autopilot until about age 25.
2. The 8-foot-long tooth emerging from the head of the narwhal whale is actually a type of sensor that detects changes in water temperature, pressure and particle gradients.
3. Cheese consumption in the United States is expected to grow by 50 percent between now and 2013.
4. The U.S. government has paid about $1.5 billion in benefits to thousands of sick nuclear-weapons workers since 2001.
5. Scientists have discovered that certain brain chemicals in our tears are natural pain relievers.
6. Wasps spray an insect version of pepper spray from their heads to temporarily incapacitate their rivals.
7. Ancient humans from Asia may have entered the Americas following an ocean highway made of dense kelp.
8. An impact crater 18 miles in diameter was found 12,500 feet under the Indian Ocean.
9. A new planet described as a "super-Earth," which weighs 13 times as much as our planet, exists in a solar system 9,000 light-years away.
10. At least once a week, 28 percent of high school students fall asleep in school, 22 percent fall sleep while doing homework and 14 percent get to school late or miss school because they overslept.
11. Women gain weight when they move in with a boyfriend because their diet deteriorates, but men begin to eat more healthy food when they set up a home with a female partner.
12. Just 30 minutes of continuous kissing can diminish the body's allergic reaction to pollen, relaxing the body and reducing production of histamine, a chemical cell given out in response to allergens.
13. DNA analysis determined the British descended from a tribe of Spanish fishermen who crossed the Bay of Biscay almost 6,000 years ago.
14. Marine biologists discovered a new species of shark that walks along the ocean floor on its fins.
15. Most of us have microscopic, wormlike mites named Demodex that live in our eyelashes and have claws and a mouth.
16. The common pigeon can memorize 1,200 pictures.
17. Sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday can disturb your body clock, leaving you fatigued at the start of the week.
18. During the past five years, the existence of a peanut allergy in children has doubled.
19. One of the most effective ways for athletes to recover after exercise is to drink a glass of chocolate milk.
20. Researchers from the University of Manchester managed to induce teeth growth in normal chickens - activating genes that have lain dormant for 80 million years.
Courtesy of TBO.com
4 comments:
I love reading stuff like this. So cool. I wonder what they'll discover next year.
"Super Earth" sounds incredible. Have to look into that one for sure!
It's amazing when you think of how much we still don't know.
Well, that was really interesting! The one about pollen allergies made me think maybe I do need a boyfriend after all... and it was odd to read about narwhals only hours after seeing a cartoon narwhal in a movie, saying "narwhal" out loud and then wondering where the heck that came from and whether it was a real or mythical creature, and here's the answer just like that!
Well, I'm always happy to be of service me lady.
Post a Comment