Learn One Thing A Day

Today I recommend you another interesting video from scishow. It's about the "old", "vestigial" parts that we still carry in our body. Enjoy the view!

After the yesterday's post on the two billion nuclear reactor , here is the story of the first human-made nuclear reactor, the Chicago-Pile-1. Enjoy the view!

Some time ago I prepared a draft-post to tell you about the 2-Billion-Years-Old nuclear reactor in Oklo (Gabon, in Central Africa). However the scishow guys come first with an episode on the subject, an episode that I warmly recommend you  :) Bonus info: To get a "controlled" and self-sustained nuclear fission requires extremely care! The first nuclear reactor was turned on 2 December 1942 by Enrico Fermi, at  University of Chicago. It was called the Chicago Pile-1 and it was built under the west viewing stands of a football field! (No joke!)... tomorrow you'll find a post about it :) Other references: http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.4948 https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/in-the-1970s-scientists-discovered-a-2-billion-year-old-nuclear-reactor-in-west-africa-4472460b82c2

Here are some facts about Dust Mites, your unwanted bed companions! Warning : this video can be pretty disturbing!

Here are some interesting facts about pigeons ;) Have a nice watch ... and do not forget to subscribe the awesome youtube channel scishow

Hello internet! Here are four objects which come from NASA :) Thanks to SciShow Space for this very interesting video! Subscribe, it's totally worth it!

Today I want to talk you about milk! If you are an adult and you can still drink milk, well you and Wolverine have something in common, you are both mutants! In other ways, lactose intolerance is a normal thing. But let's go in order... Lactose intolerance is an impaired ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products. Lactose is normally broken down by an enzyme called lactase, which is produced by cells in the lining of the small intestine. Lactose intolerance in adulthood is caused by reduced production of lactase after infancy (lactase nonpersistence). If individuals with lactose intolerance consume lactose-containing dairy products, they may experience abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence, nausea, and diarrhea beginning 30 minutes to 2 hours later.... [ Genetic Home Reference ] Did you know that it is estimated that about 70% of adults worldwide show some decrease in lactase activity during adulthood? 70%!!! But also, did you ...

Another interesting and scary video from scishow!

Why do we yawn? Short answer: to keep cool our brain. Long version: watch the nice video below from scishow.

Does Alcohol Really Keep You Warm?  Short answer: no.  For the long answer I refer you to the nice video from the SciShow channel :)  

 (image from http://uweanimation.blogspot.com ) "I was born not knowing and have had only little time to change that here and there." Richard Feynman (1918-1988), Letter to Armando Garcia J , December 11, 1985 ... and just to remind us how awesome Richard Feynman was,  here is a very interesting video from scishow !   ---> For other posts on this blog about Richard Feynman click here

Today thanks to Hank Green (video below) I learnt something interesting about blood transfusions. The first experiments were performed in the 17th century by William Harvey (1578-1657) and they were between animals, specifically dogs. The first documented transfusion  involving humans and animals (yes... animals!) were performed in France by  Jean Baptiste Devys (1643-1704).  On June 15, 1667,  he successfully transfused the blood of a sheep into a 15-years old boy, who, surprisingly , suvived! His survival was probably due to the small amount of blood tranfused. Richard Lower (1631-1691) in England also performed similar experiments between animals (especially sheep) and humans. The reason behind these experiments was the belief that blood was responsible for the personality  person. So getting a bit of blood from a gentle animal might quiet the tempestuous spirit of an agitated person and that the shy might be made outgoing by blood from more so...

Today I learnt why cats do purr. In a nutshell: purring is a kind of self-medication. Probably. Let's see why. Cats purr not only when we stoke them but also in other moments in their life, as when they nurse their kittens or ... when they are in pain or near to death! These facts seem to tell us that purring has nothing to do with happiness, or with the pleasure to be with us... Cats purr by pulsing muscles in their larynx and diaphragm. The resulting vibrations have frequencies between 25 and 150 Hz.  Interestingly, scientific studies have shown that exposure to this frequency range can improve bone density and promote healing... hence the conclusion: purring is a kind of self-medication! This makes a lot of sense, since these adorable creatures are quite lazy (unlike dogs, cats do not like to chase balls) and nevertheless they stay healthy (even without physical exercise!) Amazing! References: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ SciShow Video