Want to lose weight? Diet drinks might not be the sweet spot

A synthetic aftertaste might not be the only side effect of switching to diet soda, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. Drinks that contain the artificial sweetener sucralose may increase food cravings and appetite in women and people who are obese, according to a new study by led by researchers at the Keck School […]

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Ivermectin debacle exposes flaws in meta-analysis methodology

Evidence that anti-parasitic drug ivermectin can save lives in Covid-19 cases has gone up in smoke. Key studies have been deemed suspect or downright fraudulent. Supporters of this anti-parasitic drug pointed to a meta-analysis from the University of Liverpool, which reported that the death rate in those taking ivermectin was 56% lower, but this is […]

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System combines salt and sunlight for off-grid cooling

Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a system that uses endothermic dissolution of a salt in water to cool its immediate surrounding area. Solar energy can then regenerate the solute and means the cyclic system can work without requiring an electricity supply, making it well-suited for users in remote areas. Many areas have experienced record-breaking […]

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Musical, mathematical Minim, Marin Mersenne 

In the seventeenth century, Marin Mersenne (1588–1648) was a very central and highly influential figure in the European intellectual and scientific communities; a man, who almost literally knew everybody and was known by everybody in those communities. Today, in the big names, big events, popular versions of the history of science he remains only known […]

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Just because they’re angry doesn’t make them guilty

Toronto – Computer equipment is missing from a company storage room. Of the three employees who have access, two respond calmly when questioned by management. A third yells and swears. Who is most likely guilty? If you chose the angry one, you’re not alone. New research shows we tend to equate guilt with an angry […]

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Memetics and neural models of conspiracy theories

The world is ruled by shape-shifting lizards, the landing on the moon was fake, and a UFO crashed in Roswell. Where do conspiracy theories originate from? Prof. Włodzisław Duch from the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics of the Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) has decided to examine the process of their development in the brain. […]

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Microscopic metavehicles powered by nothing but light

​Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have succeeded in creating tiny vehicles powered by nothing but light. By layering an optical metasurface onto a microscopic particle, and then using a light source to control it, they succeeded in moving the tiny vehicles in a variety of complex and precise ways – and even using them […]

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