Cave News

Peter Fonda, star of 'Easy Rider' dies of lung cancer at 79

Peter Fonda, the actor son of movie titan Henry Fonda and brother to Jane Fonda, has died of respiratory failure from lung cancer in Los Angeles, his family announced Friday. He was 79.

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Study blames disturbing rise in teens who need glasses on excessive screen time

According to the report released by United Kingdom-based eye care company Scrivens Opticians, the percentage of 13-16 year olds in the U.K. who need glasses has nearly doubled over the past seven years — from 20% in 2012 to 35% in 2018. Two-thirds of those teens were diagnosed as being myopic, or short-sighted.

Researchers theorize that this significant increase in eye problems among young people is likely linked to excessive time spent staring at screens, which can lead to eye strain, shortsightedness, and blurred vision. In fact, the study also found that the average 13-16 year old spends around 26 hours per week staring at a smartphone, playing video games, or watching TV.

Full report here.

Scientists have reversed the aging process in rat brain cells

Brains get stiff with age just like muscles and joints, scientists have said.

New research indicates that increasing brain stiffness with age causes brain stem dysfunction.

But scientists have demonstrated ways to return older stem cells to a younger, healthier state, potentially affecting future treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS).

The team, based at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (University of Cambridge), studied old and young rat brains to understand the impact of age-related stiffening on oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs).

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Putin may be covering up a nuclear disaster in northern Russia

Suspicions are growing today that Russia has suffered another nuclear accident after ambulances covered in protective film were seen transporting six people with serious radiation poisoning in a mystery explosion at a military base.

Alarming footage in a report at the link below shows men in protective clothing loading casualties into the vehicles in the wake of a blast at the Nyonoksa weapons testing site in the sub-Arctic Arkhangelsk region yesterday.

Earlier the clothes of the victims and the medics who first treated them were destroyed, it was reported, before causalities were transferred for treatment at the Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Centre in Moscow.

Moscow has thrown a veil of secrecy over the explosion, which killed two and left six injured on Thursday.

Full report here.

A ‘robot tail' could help reduce risk of falling for elderly, say Japanese scientists

Japanese researchers have created a robotic tail which they claim can be used to improve human balance and help elderly people reduce their risk of falling over.

The tail prototype, called Arque, is based on a seahorse’s tail and uses a series of artificial vertebrae and four pneumatic muscles to move.

Researchers from Keio University say they hope the 71cm tail will have a range of applications including helping people to balance when carrying heavy loads. The tail's modular construction means that vertebrae can be added or removed as needed to make it longer or shorter.

Would you wear one? Me neither.

Full report here.

Lecture by Elizabeth Warren

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As rodents become epidemic in California, State moves to ban powerful pest killers

From a report at the link below:

In California, the rats that come with rampant filth and food-waste infused garbage are making an impressive comeback, as many large cities continue to fall into greater disrepair due to homelessness fueled by high real estate costs and illegal immigration. Now, environmentalists in the state are moving to take away a huge weapon in California’s war against the rats.

It’s not just Los Angeles and San Francisco, either. Those two hubs of homelessness are disgusting enough all on their own. But the State Capital in Sacramento is now in the throes of its own rat problem. Recently, the outdoor playground adjoining the Cal EPA building in downtown Sacramento had to be closed for fear that children playing there could be infected with rodent-borne diseases.

The building’s officials decided to set out powerful poison, as any normal organization would. You know, to kill the rats so they could allow their children to use the playground without worry.

Unfortunately, the poison was not allowed to do its work because environmental activists accosted the state’s top environmental regulators and let them know that the poison they were using — although effective — was on a list of do-not-use substances. Cal EPA, good leftists that they are, backed down immediately.

Effective rat poisons will no longer be used in California.

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Report: Millions should stop taking aspirin for heart health

A report at the link below says millions of people who take aspirin to prevent a heart attack may need to rethink this procedure,

A daily low-dose aspirin is still recommended for people who have already had a heart attack or stroke and for those diagnosed with heart disease.

But for the otherwise healthy, that advice has been overturned. Guidelines released this year ruled out routine aspirin use for many older adults who don’t already have heart disease — and said it’s only for certain younger people under doctor’s orders.

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Swearing can actually increase pain tolerance

From a report at the link below;

Researchers from Keele University’s School of Psychology have determined that swearing can have a ‘pain-lessening effect’, according to new study published in the journal NeuroReport.

While swearing is often a common response to pain, Dr Richard Stephens and his colleagues, John Atkins and Andrew Kingston, were surprised to discover that no links had been established between swearing and the actual experience of physical pain.

Since swearing often has a ‘catastrophizing’ or exaggerating effect, serving to embellish or overstate the severity of pain, Stephens and his team hypothesised that swearing would actually decrease the individual’s tolerance of pain.

Full report here.

Report: Scientists close in on blood test for Alzheimer’s

Scientists are closing in on a long-sought goal — a blood test to screen people for possible signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

On Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, half a dozen research groups gave new results on various experimental tests, including one that seems 88% accurate at indicating Alzheimer’s risk.

Doctors are hoping for something to use during routine exams, where most dementia symptoms are evaluated, to gauge who needs more extensive testing. Current tools such as brain scans and spinal fluid tests are too expensive or impractical for regular checkups.

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