European authorities say they have rounded up a criminal gang who stole rare antique books worth €2.5 million from libraries across Europe. Books by Russian writers such as Pushkin and Gogol were substituted with valueless counterfeits

A cosmetic process known as a “vampire facial” is considered to be a more affordable and less invasive option than getting a facelift […] During a vampire facial, a person’s blood is drawn from their arm, and then platelets are separated out and applied to the patient’s face using microneedles […] three women likely contracted HIV from receiving vampire facials at an unlicensed spa in New Mexico

Are women’s sexual preferences for men’s facial hair associated with their salivary testosterone during the menstrual cycle? […] participants selected the face they found most sexually attractive from pairs of composite images of the same men when fully bearded and when clean-shaven. The task was completed among the same participants during the follicular, peri-ovulatory (validated by the surge in luteinizing hormone) and luteal phases, during which participants also provided saliva samples for subsequent assaying of testosterone. […] We ran two models, both of which showed strong preferences among women for bearded over clean-shaven composite faces […] the main effect of cycle phase and the interaction between testosterone and cycle phase were not statistically significant

The effect of sound on physiology and development starts before birth, which is why a world that grows increasingly more noisy, with loud outdoor entertainment, construction, and traffic, is a concern. […] exposure of birds that are in the egg to moderate levels of noise can lead to developmental problems, amounting to increased mortality and reduced life-time reproductive success.

For the first time in at least a billion years, two lifeforms have merged into a single organism. The process, called primary endosymbiosis, has only happened twice in the history of the Earth, with the first time giving rise to all complex life as we know it through mitochondria. The second time that it happened saw the emergence of plants. Now, an international team of scientists have observed the evolutionary event happening between a species of algae commonly found in the ocean and a bacterium.

physicists have succeeded in building an artificial synapse. This synapse works with water and salt and provides the first evidence that a system using the same medium as our brains can process complex information.

The man, who is referred to as “Mr. Blue Pentagon” after his favorite kind of LSD, gave researchers a detailed account of what he experienced when taking the drug during his music career in the 1970s. Mr. Pentagon was born blind. He did not perceive vision, with or without LSD. Instead, under the influence of psychedelics, he had strong auditory and tactile hallucinations, including an overlap of the two in a form of synesthesia.

In the 1979 murder trial of Dan White, his legal team seemed to attempt to blame his heinous actions on junk-food consumption. The press dubbed the tactic, the “Twinkie defense.” While no single crime can be blamed on diet, researchers have shown that providing inmates with healthy foods can reduce aggression, infractions, and anti-social behavior.

A homeless woman who sneaked into a man’s house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing. [2008]

E.T. and the three actors from inside the costume

every day the same again | April 29th, 2024