Science

Science

Why You Get Carsick Looking at Your Phone, but Not When You Drive
Why You Get Carsick Looking at Your Phone, but Not When You Drive Rain hammered the car window. The ride-hailing car was stuck in evening rush hour. You sat in the back, head down, replying to a message. The words on the screen blurred. The car ahead braked, and your stomach rose. The car started again, and your temple throbbed. You looked up at the windshield, and it got a little better. The driver rested a hand on the wheel, talking to someone beside him, as if nothing were wrong.
By Jin20 days ago in FYI
The Bloodline of Giants: Why Newton Had No Heirs and Einstein’s Descendants Chose Ordinary Lives
I On March 20, 1727, Isaac Newton died at Kensington. His body was buried in Westminster Abbey. The funeral procession included nobles, scholars, and politicians. But among the pallbearers, not one was named Newton.
By Jin20 days ago in FYI
Stop Chasing 7 Hours of Sleep. Your Watch Is Lying to You.
At 7 a.m. your alarm has not gone off. You reach for your phone. Sleep report: 7 hours 12 minutes, deep sleep 1 hour 48 minutes, woke up 3 times. You stare at the 7 hours 12 minutes. How did I miss 8 hours again?
By Jin21 days ago in FYI
The Night Owl’s Call Isn’t a Death Omen. It’s a Mouse Warning.
On a winter night in the north, wind slipped through the crack in the window. From the old locust tree behind the house came a call. Short. Hoarse. Quivering. Like someone laughing, or someone crying. The old man turned over and said, “The night owl is calling. Bad sign.” The next day someone in the village died, and the saying was confirmed.
By Jin21 days ago in FYI
Seven Things Scientists Learned In 100 Years
Most of these would have had your great-grandparents saying it's impossible, but since about 100 years ago, scientists have made some interesting discoveries.
By Jason Morton22 days ago in FYI
How Much Water Does AI Drink Every Time You Ask a Question?
Artificial intelligence feels almost weightless. You type a question, press enter, and within seconds an answer appears on your screen. There is no factory in front of you, no engine running in the background, and no obvious physical resource being consumed.
By AnthonyBTV22 days ago in FYI
No, You Won't Catch HPV From a Train Seat
A chart has been going around online. It puts high-speed rail seats near the top of a table of HPV sources. Hotel toilet seats, armrests, and tray tables show up too. The chart has arrows, percentages, and a warning tone. That format makes it look like evidence. The science underneath is thin.
By Jin22 days ago in FYI
You Swallow Water. Your Brain Closes the Thirst Tab Before Your Body Absorbs a Drop.
After a run, you twist off the bottle cap. Water enters your mouth. Your throat goes cool. Glug, glug. Two swallows. The water is still in your esophagus, not yet in your stomach, much less in your blood. The burning thirst has already eased.
By Jin22 days ago in FYI
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine Has Two Clear Lanes. One Is a Weight-Loss Drug.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be announced on October 5. This year's award indicators point in two directions. In clinical medicine, GLP-1 research is the leading candidate because of its global clinical impact. In neuroscience, orexin, optogenetics, Rett syndrome, and local neuronal translation form four parallel tracks.
By Jin23 days ago in FYI
I Watched a Headless Roach Keep Walking. Then I Learned Why.
Margaret stood barefoot in the kitchen, the slipper still raised. Her heart pounded from the sudden violence of the act. She had felt the crunch through the rubber sole: the resistance of chitin, the soft give of tissue beneath. It was over.
By Jin23 days ago in FYI
The Clerk Who Mailed a Formula for Pi
In 1913, a letter arrived in Cambridge from Madras. A clerk named Srinivasa Ramanujan had filled pages with mathematical results. Some were wrong. Some were already known. A few were unlike anything G. H. Hardy had seen.
By Jin24 days ago in FYI
Why Men Aren’t YY: The Chromosome Truth That Changes Everything
In ordinary human fertilization, the egg contributes one sex chromosome: X. The sperm contributes either X or Y. The zygote therefore has two standard combinations: XX or XY.
By Jin25 days ago in FYI