Science and Technology links (June 25 2023)

25 June 2023 · 2 min

1. Women in highly religious relationships report the highest levels of relationship quality.
2. US politics is largely divided into two parties (Republicans and Democrats). People who are affiliated with the Republicans have many more kids.
3. The Antartic ice shelves gained 661 gigaton of ice over the past decade.
4. A low protein diet increases mortality among older men.
5. Consuming magnesium may preserve your brain, especially if you are a woman.
6. A third of the planet around common stars in our galaxy could be in the habitable zone.
7. Taurine (a supplement) might keep you young. It works, in some ways, in different animals. McGaunn et al. (2023) make a case for human beings, but they do not have much in the way of quality clinical trials.
8. Older people often lose their thymus, a gland that plays an important role in your immune system. Sandstedt et al. report that about two-third of their middle-age subjects had lost entirely the thymus (complete degeneration). However, a small percentage (7%) has maintained the thymus. These lucky people had much lower abnominal fat. The authors conclude that obesity might be driving immunological aging.
9. Online shaming is motivated by schadenfreude (pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.).
10. Obese people tend not to feel satisfied even after eating. This phenomenon remains even after they have lost weight.
11. Oral contraceptives may increase the risk of depression (HR=1.7).
12. Trees are growing at higher and higher altitudes.
13. Female conservative candidates are usually more attractive. Conservative candidates are more likely to express happiness.
14. 80 % of participants rated their intelligence as above average.