YouTube’s algorithms are driving Kyrgyz-speaking kids to Russian-language content. “There is no good way to be a Kyrgyz-speaking kid on YouTube.” Researchers simulated kids’ viewing and found Kyrgyz searches for cartoons and fairy tales often get steered into Russian content […]
Introducing Snoretox-1 for dogs. Top notch drug naming. “The treatment, known as Snoretox-1, is a modified tetanus toxin injection that improves the tone of muscle found in the floor of the mouth, which forces airways to naturally remain more open.” […]
Your sense of smell fluctuates throughout the day. “The results showed that the teens’ sense of smell was at its highest in the evening, around 9 p.m., or what the researchers called the beginning of “biological night.” Brown researchers tracked […]
Neanderthal babies grew fast. “That means that a 6-month-old Neanderthal baby was about the size of a young human toddler over a year old.” Researchers used teeth enamel and long bone measurements from the rare Amud 7 infant to argue […]
Helium is hard to replace. “Liquid helium boils at just 4.2 kelvin (-452 degrees Fahrenheit).” If you need temperatures a few degrees above absolute zero, the article argues helium is basically the only practical coolant, which is why shortages hit […]
Choppelganger. A new word, “a less attractive or worse version of something or someone.” Next time someone tells me I look like someone they know, I will bust this one out. ~ learn more
Autonomous cars are going to clog the roads. “Autonomous vehicles are the centrifugal water pump of the roads.” The piece argues that self-driving will make traffic tolerable enough to overuse, unless we start charging for road access before AVs become […]
How funerals keep Africa poor. “So common is this sentiment that the Akan have a saying: abusua do funu, ‘the family loves the corpse.’” The essay argues that lavish funerals work as a costly signal of loyalty inside intense kinship […]
Penguin relationship flowchart. “The Kyoto Aquarium in Japan keeps a wall-sized flowchart tracking the romantic relationships, breakups, and drama between their penguins.” It has color codes for couples, breakups, and “it’s complicated,” plus notes like one penguin being “basically demonic.” […]