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Pesticides May Be Harmful to Animals Even at “Safe” Levels

Even when used at low concentrations, some pesticides can still cause unintended consequences

Bullies are Now Using Their Victims’ Allergies Against Them

Nearly one in three kids with food allergies has been bullied because of it, often with the food they’re allergic to

A New 3D Map of the Universe Covers More Than 100 Million Light-Years

The map makes infinity seem comprehensible by depicting the structures of galaxy clusters, dark matter and open patches of lonely space

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Working In a Creative Field? Despite What You May Think, Coffee Is Not Your Best Friend

By focusing your mind, caffeine may actually stand in the way of your creativity

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Where Did the Phrase “Hubba Hubba” Come From?

Where did this odd little set of sounds come from, and how did it become associated with pretty ladies?

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That “Old Book Smell” Is a Mix of Grass and Vanilla

Smell is chemistry, and the chemistry of old books gives your cherished tomes their scent

Unless You Like Toxic Chemicals, Skip This Chinese Delicacy

Thirty Chinese preserved egg companies are being shut down for using toxic chemicals to expedite the egg-festering process

Frowning at the Sun Makes You Angrier Overall

One recent study tried to figure out whether frowning at the sun actually makes you angrier overall

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The Unique Vibrations of Your Skull Affect How You Hear Music

Your skull bones interact with sound waves to change the way you hear music

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No, Legalizing Rhino Horn Probably Won’t Save Animals from Poaching

Legalizing trade didn’t deter poachers from killing more tigers and elephants, and it won’t help the rhinos, either

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Supreme Court Hands Big Loss to Big Pharma

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against big pharmaceutical companies, saying that the Federal Trade Commission could indeed sue companies who engaged in “pay to play” deals

A slum in Nairobi

In Kenya, Where One in Four Women has Been Raped, Self Defense Training Makes a Difference

After a short training course, rape in a group of adolescent girls dropped from around 25 percent to under 10 percent

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Where Would You Put a 51st Star on the U.S. Flag?

If you wanted to make a 51-star American flag, or a 76-star American flag, how would you arrange the stars?

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One in 10 Adopted Pets is Lost or Returned After Six Months

Of the one in ten adopted pets that were not longer with their adopted parents six months later, about half of them had been returned to the shelter

Can We Blame Men for Menopause?

It’s hard to see how a genetic predisposition to sterility would be helpful

Biotech Companies No Longer Have the Right to Patent Human Genes

Companies can still patent DNA they build themselves, methods for isolating genes or specialized knowledge they gain through genetic research

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At Least 400,000 Hungry Seabirds Drown in Fishing Nets Each Year

The gillnets used by local or artisanal fishers are a big threat to seabirds

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Spaceships Made of Plastic Could Carry Us to Mars

Plastic is way better than aluminum at blocking cosmic rays

A tar sands mine in Alberta

2.5 Million Gallons of Toxic Waste Just Spilled in Alberta

Both Alberta and the company responsible, Apache Corp, held off for more than a week on publicly disclosing the information about the spill

The RoboRoach

Cyborg Cockroaches May Become New Teaching Tools in Neuroscience Classes

Roach neurons aren’t that different than human neurons, making the RoboRoach a learning tool for all sorts of basic principles of neuroscience

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