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☆ Wind turbines are annoyingly loud. The secrets of owl flight could provide a solution.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

To help solve this issue, Biome Renewables has crafted a quieter wind turbine modeled after owl wings. How owls can help make quieter wind turbinesOwls are master hunters in part because of how quietly they spring up on prey. The researchers found that the fringed wing was up to 6.5 dB quieter than the bare wing, depending on the angle of flight. At these frequencies, Church said the FeatherEdge is 3.9 dB quieter than a standard serrated edge blade, and over 5 dB quieter than a completely bare blade. Due to regulations around wind farm noise in the US, wind turbines often run in a noise-reduction mode, which costs a lot of energy.

Persons: —, Ryan Church, Spikes, Anton Frunze, Church, Jonathan Alcorn, It's Organizations: Service, Business, Reinhardt, Getty, Reuters Locations: North America, Europe

☆ I tried the perfect space meal for astronauts, and it was surprisingly flavorful and easy to make
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Moreover, because of how microgravity affects human metabolism, astronauts need a lot more energy to function than people on Earth. The perfect astronaut meal: space saladNASA astronaut Frank Rubio with tomatoes growing on the International Space Station. How it tastesEmily SwaimI decided to make the meal and determine for myself what this space salad of the future would be like to prepare. Therefore, we can calculate approximately how much nutrition astronauts would earn from eating this space salad. AdvertisementIf you wanted to add meat to your space salad, I'd recommend pairing it with a lighter option such as chicken or tuna.

Persons: —, Frank Rubio, Koichi Wakata, It's, Emily Swaim, Volker Hessel, who's, Lacey Young, Leland Melvin, Hessel Organizations: Service, NASA, Space, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Food Science & Technology, University of Adelaide, Food Systems Laboratory, International, Getty

☆ Mountains are collapsing: A Swiss mountain peak fell apart, sending 3.5 million cubic feet of rock into the valley below. Scientists warn climate change could make more mountains crumble.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Across the world, mountains with permafrost melt have shown larger and more frequent landslides, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported. Sean Gallup / Staff / Getty ImagesBut warming temperatures due to climate change affect more than permafrost. "As mountains get smaller, they reduce pressure on the surrounding slopes, and this is often the trigger for mass movements," Knight said. Climate change puts their lives in danger from mudslides, landslides, rockfalls, and more. The futureAs climate change accelerates, mountain environments change more quickly, as well.

Persons: Fluchthorn, Jasper Knight, that's, Knight, Sean Gallup, SIERRA, Alejandro Argumedo, Tammy Stenner, Stenner, Argumedo, Frédéric Soltan, they're Organizations: Swiss, Service, University of Witwatersrand, Research, rockfalls, Staff, Mount Cook National, South America Locations: Austrian, Southern, New Zealand, Mt, Fluchthorn, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, South Island , New Zealand, South, ANDES, Peru, Yunnan, China, Peru's, Peruvian

☆ A 'Frankenfish' that can live without water for days and officials instruct to kill on sight was spotted deep in Missouri, worrying conservationists
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"They're in the Mississippi River already, so that is a huge highway for the species," Knuth said. Dave Knuth, Duck Creek Conservation AreaWhile northern snakeheads normally avoid humans, they are very protective of their young. In 2019, researchers looked at how the Blackwater River watershed changed before and after northern snakeheads invaded. Dave Knuth, Duck Creek Conservation AreaIf you happen to spot a northern snakehead, the US government recommends killing it right away. If you find and kill a northern snakehead, you can report the capture to your local fish and game agency.

Persons: Dave Knuth, Knuth, White Organizations: Service, Conservation, Missouri Department of Conservation, DC, Washington Post, Fish Commission, Conservation Area, Conservation Center Locations: Missouri, Midwest, Wall, Silicon, Duck, Conservation Area, Asia, Africa, Crofton , Maryland, East, Maryland, Virginia, Arkansas, Northern, Mississippi, Blackwater, North America

☆ Ticks die when they bite him. This man's immunity to ticks could pave the way for a tick vaccine.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He has acquired tick resistance, which may help guide research and development of a tick vaccine. (But don't go searching for ticks just to try and build immunity, since you might contract a debilitating tick-borne disease.) "There clearly has been an increase in recent decades in the incidence of tick-borne disease in the human population. CDCThe latest US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reported 50,865 cases of tick-borne disease across the US in 2019. The Lyme disease vaccine currently in development would only protect against the bacteria Lyme borreliosis, meaning you could still get other tick-borne diseases.

Persons: Richard Ostfeld, welt, aren't, JUAN GAERTNER, Ostfeld, Ostfelt, Lyme, Remus Belododia, haven't Organizations: Service, for Disease Control, National Center for Emerging, Vector, CDC Locations: Lyme, Alaska, Maine

☆ Comparing an orca's brain to a human's explains why killer whales are the ocean's ultimate apex predator
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Orcas also have very wrinkly brains, which enables them to think and process information quickly. Orca and human brains are very similarHuman brains and orca brains have similar regions that make both animals highly sociable, empathetic, and intelligent. Joel W. Rogers/Getty ImagesAn orca's brain is five times larger than a human's, but it has many of the same structures that ours do. In fact, the paralimbic system in orca brains has much more intricate folding and detail than human brains do. Now imagine an orca's brain which is five times larger and has way more wrinkles.

Persons: Orcas, —, They've, Joel W, Lori Marino, Serge Melesan, orcas, Gerard Soury, It's, Marino, South Africa —, Matthew Horwood Organizations: Service, Rogers, The, Sanctuary, Orca Network Locations: South Africa

☆ Inside one of the strangest looking NASA test sites where sound goes to die
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Nicknamed "The Dome", AAPL provides highly accurate sound level readings for aircraft and rockets. Fiberglass wedges inside AAPL absorb sound to prevent any echoes throughout the room during testing. Glenn Research CenterThe source of AAPL's silence is two-foot-long fiberglass wedges — 17,000 of them. Why fiberglass wedges? Obviously, spiky fiberglass wedges would be hard to walk across for anyone who isn't a gymnast.

☆ Humans can't live forever, but we haven't even come close to the limit for how long our bodies could last
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mysteries like cellular senescence, telomere length, and DNA methylation hold the keys to our longevity. But so far, no one has figured out how to completely prevent or eliminate harmful senescent cells. DNA methylation is linked to several age-related diseasesTreating or preventing age-related diseases is one of the keys to unlocking longer, healthier lives. Similar to telomeres, DNA methylation is another way scientists can measure your biological age to help predict your life expectancy. For example, telomere shortening can lead to DNA damage, which in turn disrupts your mitochondria.

☆ How being incarcerated affects your mental health, according to a psychologist and neurologist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Developing or worsening mental health issues: Lack of proper mental healthcare and social isolation from friends and family raises the risk of conditions like depression. Visits from friends or family can make a huge different in a person's mental health while incarcerated. The resulting isolation can raise your risk of mental health issues, which is a major concern considering that two in five incarcerated people already have a history of mental health issues like depression — twice the rate of the general adult population. There are many reasons for this, one being the lack of proper mental health care and adequate medication. But a big determinant may also be a lack of socializing with friends and family.

☆ Does bottled water go bad? When it's safe to drink expired water and what to do with a contaminated bottle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Bottled water can have an expiration date, though it's legal in the US to sell expired water. Drinking expired water probably won't harm you, especially if the water was stored properly. So while an expired water bottle from the fridge may be safe to drink, the bottle you forgot in your hot car trunk or on a sunny shelf probably isn't. What to do with an expired water bottleIf you suspect your water is bad, boil it to kill off any potential pathogens. Oliver Rossi / Getty ImagesIf you're a frugal or environmentally-conscious person, you may wonder how to salvage your expired bottled water.

☆ I make about $6,500 donating plasma over 100 times a year, but I don't do it for the money
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Emily Swaim | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Patrick Herdener donates plasma twice a week, every week and makes between $50-$70 per donation. Herdener said he started donating for money but the spirit of being helpful motivates him now. To be honest, when I first started donating plasma, the main thing that motivated me was money. I started donating more often when I learned where my plasma was going. Patrick Herdener has been donating plasma twice a week for 13 years.

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