If you have ever heard the figure of speech," I was scared to death!", then you probably may have thought if that is actually physically possible. Believe it or not, being scared to death is a real thing and not necessarily uncommon.
Animals also are susceptible to being scared to death. Wild birds and other small mammals can die of shock from being captured, and while you probably would like that you are tougher than a little sparrow, you really aren't. Any perfectly fit human is potentially one scare away from dying.
A neurological hospital in Boston has recorded hundreds of many different cases of people dying from fright. These range from small children on intense roller coasters, being mugged, and non fatal car accidents. These deaths are correlated with heart attacks, this fear induced heart failure is called Stress Cardiomyopathy. This happens when you are in a potentially life threatening situation or in this case a scary one. Your brain kicks in and alerts you of danger, your handy flight or fight response. Your brain tells your adrenal glands which are on top of your kidneys to release adrenaline.
A huge wave of adrenaline zooms through your body give your muscles extra energy and warming them up for you to spring in or out of action. However, adrenaline contracts your muscles and in times of extreme fright, your adrenaline glands will keep pumping adrenaline and your muscles won't be able to relax. Your heart, which is a muscle, will go into a funky breathing rhythm which will cause the heart attack. This weird heart rhythm is called ventricular fibrillation. So think again when you are going to scare your grandparents.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
3 Of The Coolest Things Built By Bugs
Long before humans were capable of making complex structures such as shopping malls, skyscrapers, and fast food restaurants, some insects dominated the land with their architectural prowess. The following are some of the most amazing structures built by insects.
#1. Geometry of Bees
Everyone has seen the honeycomb and most people recognize the hexagon shape for their little compartments. But do you know why bees choose the hexagon?
Hexagons are one of the only three shapes that can fit right next to each other without leaving gaps, along with squares and equilateral triangles. Bees chose the hexagon because the hexagon has a smaller total perimeter than either triangles or squares which maximizes efficiency. This allows the bees to produce and store more honey.
#2. Termite Mounds
Termites are not something that you want in your home, but it is hard not to give them a little credit for their architectural masterpieces in the wild. There are over 1000 species of termites and, more specifically, the species located in most parts of Africa and Australia develop mounds for their nests. Some of these mounds can surpass over 9 meters in height!
The real masterpiece of these mounds are not the sizes though. The masterpiece is that termites install ventilation systems into the mounds to maintain the internal temperature of the nest to a steady 32 degrees Celsius. This temperature is needed in order to keep the fungus, that the termites live off, thriving. Termites use a special type of fungus that is located at the center of the nest. This fungus is the termites primary food source. As for the ventilation systems, intakes are built at the bottom of the mound taking cool air throughout the tunnels of the mound. The stale and warm air already inside is pushed up and escapes through an opening at the top of the mound. Termites really know how to stay cool.
#3. Cumulative Spider Webs
Everybody has seen a spider web and most people know that spiders usually spend their lives all by themselves and, in most cases, cannibalize other spiders. However, in one extremely rare case in 2007, spiders made a 180 meter long spider web.
A particularly wet summer brought a massive increase of bugs in Texas, instead of fighting over food, over a million spiders from at least a dozen different species cooperated in building this colossal freak of nature. Although it has happened before, cases like these are extremely rare and, well, also extremely creepy. The web was so thick that in some parts it blotted out the sun. Imagine running through that.
#1. Geometry of Bees
Everyone has seen the honeycomb and most people recognize the hexagon shape for their little compartments. But do you know why bees choose the hexagon?
Hexagons are one of the only three shapes that can fit right next to each other without leaving gaps, along with squares and equilateral triangles. Bees chose the hexagon because the hexagon has a smaller total perimeter than either triangles or squares which maximizes efficiency. This allows the bees to produce and store more honey.
#2. Termite Mounds
Termites are not something that you want in your home, but it is hard not to give them a little credit for their architectural masterpieces in the wild. There are over 1000 species of termites and, more specifically, the species located in most parts of Africa and Australia develop mounds for their nests. Some of these mounds can surpass over 9 meters in height!
The real masterpiece of these mounds are not the sizes though. The masterpiece is that termites install ventilation systems into the mounds to maintain the internal temperature of the nest to a steady 32 degrees Celsius. This temperature is needed in order to keep the fungus, that the termites live off, thriving. Termites use a special type of fungus that is located at the center of the nest. This fungus is the termites primary food source. As for the ventilation systems, intakes are built at the bottom of the mound taking cool air throughout the tunnels of the mound. The stale and warm air already inside is pushed up and escapes through an opening at the top of the mound. Termites really know how to stay cool.
#3. Cumulative Spider Webs
Everybody has seen a spider web and most people know that spiders usually spend their lives all by themselves and, in most cases, cannibalize other spiders. However, in one extremely rare case in 2007, spiders made a 180 meter long spider web.
A particularly wet summer brought a massive increase of bugs in Texas, instead of fighting over food, over a million spiders from at least a dozen different species cooperated in building this colossal freak of nature. Although it has happened before, cases like these are extremely rare and, well, also extremely creepy. The web was so thick that in some parts it blotted out the sun. Imagine running through that.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Why Do We Laugh When Someone Falls?
Why is it funny when someone falls? Why is laughing usually our first response?
Well, according to William Fry, founder of gelatology (the study of laughter), the fall happens in a "play frame". This is a real life event in a non serious situation. The situation has to be non serious because if someone fell off a skyscraper, it would be life threatening, serious, and, well, not very funny. However, if someone is just walking casually and falls it creates a "play frame". It is something that happens that is not serious because I know the person isn't hurt so I can safely laugh at them.
But why is laughter the first response? Laughing is often thought of as a way for the body to release cognitive energy. Our brains are constantly calculating and predicting events that will happen in the next couple of second. For example, if someone throws you a ball, your brain calculates where it will land and puts your hand their so you can catch it. So laughter can just be energy being released from our thoughts. But why is laughing such a common response to when a person falls?
Falling is an incongruity to a typical and boring event such as walking. It is something we did not anticipate and, as long as we know the person is ok, then laughter is a way for us to release the energy that our brain produced from that surprise. Laughing is actually a good thing, not only in obvious ways like releasing stress or making you happy but it also has been shown to help your vascular system stay healthy. Laughing is in our blood.
Sources:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ask-the-brains-why-do-we-laugh
http://phys.org/news/2011-02-falls.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110828101806.htm
Well, according to William Fry, founder of gelatology (the study of laughter), the fall happens in a "play frame". This is a real life event in a non serious situation. The situation has to be non serious because if someone fell off a skyscraper, it would be life threatening, serious, and, well, not very funny. However, if someone is just walking casually and falls it creates a "play frame". It is something that happens that is not serious because I know the person isn't hurt so I can safely laugh at them.
But why is laughter the first response? Laughing is often thought of as a way for the body to release cognitive energy. Our brains are constantly calculating and predicting events that will happen in the next couple of second. For example, if someone throws you a ball, your brain calculates where it will land and puts your hand their so you can catch it. So laughter can just be energy being released from our thoughts. But why is laughing such a common response to when a person falls?
Falling is an incongruity to a typical and boring event such as walking. It is something we did not anticipate and, as long as we know the person is ok, then laughter is a way for us to release the energy that our brain produced from that surprise. Laughing is actually a good thing, not only in obvious ways like releasing stress or making you happy but it also has been shown to help your vascular system stay healthy. Laughing is in our blood.
Sources:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ask-the-brains-why-do-we-laugh
http://phys.org/news/2011-02-falls.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110828101806.htm
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Why Are Things Creepy?
As we come up on Halloween we get ready to put on scary costumes, and sometimes some are so good that they scare other people. But why? It makes sense to have fear. It kept out ancestors alive because they would fear things that would be dangerous to them such as spiders or a hungry animal. Natural disasters and famines and death scare us because they affect our survival. But what about when things do not propose a direct threat? Like the photo below. What causes something to be creepy?
The author, Stephen King, gives us three different types of fear. The first one is the gross-out. This is when you see something disgusting or revolting that makes you scared of what you are seeing. The second is horror. Horror is when something unnatural happens such as a larger than average spider crawls on you or being grabbed in the dark from behind when you thought you were alone. The last one is terror. This one is closer to what we are talking about, creepiness. This is the feeling you get when you are all by yourself but you feel like someone is watching you or you feel a breath on your neck but turn around and no one is there.
Not a lot of research has been done on that feeling of terror, but some scientist think that it has to do with vagueness. Masks, for example, hide the persons emotions. That is why children are sometimes afraid of clowns, they do not know whether the person they are looking at is a threat or not. Masks fit perfectly in the description of the Uncanny Valley. On a chart of humanness, starting from looking nothing like a human and going up to looking human, there is a spot called the Uncanny Valley, the place where something almost looks human but it gives you an uncanny feeling.
The author, Stephen King, gives us three different types of fear. The first one is the gross-out. This is when you see something disgusting or revolting that makes you scared of what you are seeing. The second is horror. Horror is when something unnatural happens such as a larger than average spider crawls on you or being grabbed in the dark from behind when you thought you were alone. The last one is terror. This one is closer to what we are talking about, creepiness. This is the feeling you get when you are all by yourself but you feel like someone is watching you or you feel a breath on your neck but turn around and no one is there.
Not a lot of research has been done on that feeling of terror, but some scientist think that it has to do with vagueness. Masks, for example, hide the persons emotions. That is why children are sometimes afraid of clowns, they do not know whether the person they are looking at is a threat or not. Masks fit perfectly in the description of the Uncanny Valley. On a chart of humanness, starting from looking nothing like a human and going up to looking human, there is a spot called the Uncanny Valley, the place where something almost looks human but it gives you an uncanny feeling.
Scientist say that the ambiguity of how things seem give us the creeps. Our inability to decide whether something is a threat or not, confuses our body. Instead of being horrified, we are just disturbed. Between the hills of safety and danger there is a valley of creepy, when our body can not decide if it is in danger or safety. Will looking at this picture make you die in a week? That's impossible.
Right?
Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MarbleHornets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Albert_experiment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear#Common_fears
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/84666-the-3-types-of-terror-the-gross-out-the-sight-of
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/2011/10/31/cant-sleepclown-will-eat-me-why-are-we-afraid-of-clowns/
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/11/health/uncanny-valley-robots
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/38606/what-gave-terrific-a-positive-connotation
Friday, October 4, 2013
Last of Us
Many movies, books, and video games in these modern times like to be based on global pandemics. What I think makes these stories intriguing is the very real possibility of them happening. Of course I am not talking about zombies and mutant people, but actual disease pandemics that can decimate populations. In this article, we will be discussing the possibility of a fungal pandemic like the one depicted in the incredible video game The Last of Us.
In the video game, 60% of the world's population (4.25 billion people) are wiped out by a fungal parasite that takes control of the human brain. Can a pandemic like that actually happen? Well, we only have to go back to 1918 to learn about one of the most deadly diseases in human history, the Spanish flu. This strand of influenza killed an estimated 100 million people in one year, which at the time was 5% of the world's population. To make matters worse, the Spanish flu came right after World War 1 which was not good for countries that were trying to recuperate from the war.
But we are talking about fungal parasites that are able to take control of an organisms brain. Believe it or not they do exist. Cordyceps are a species of fungi that take control of insects, the most common one being Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis. This fungus lands on ants and infiltrates the body of the ant. It then proceeds to take control over the ant and makes the ant move to a desirable location. Usually this location is near an ant hill where the fungus can spread to more ants. This fungus has been known to decimate entire colonies. Fortunately for us it only infects ants, so we have nothing to worry about. Right?
Wrong. 60% of modern diseases come from animals. For example, we get measles, tuberculosis, and smallpox we get from cattle. Additionally, we get the flu from pigs and birds, and we get AIDS from chimpanzees. So it is not entirely crazy to think that this fungus might someday evolve into something that can infect humans. The spread of disease may also be easier know due to the fact that anyone can travel from one side of the world to the other in a matter of hours. So when 60% of the world's population is wiped out from disease, society breaks down and the only thing left is, the last of us.
In the video game, 60% of the world's population (4.25 billion people) are wiped out by a fungal parasite that takes control of the human brain. Can a pandemic like that actually happen? Well, we only have to go back to 1918 to learn about one of the most deadly diseases in human history, the Spanish flu. This strand of influenza killed an estimated 100 million people in one year, which at the time was 5% of the world's population. To make matters worse, the Spanish flu came right after World War 1 which was not good for countries that were trying to recuperate from the war.
Influenza Hospital
But we are talking about fungal parasites that are able to take control of an organisms brain. Believe it or not they do exist. Cordyceps are a species of fungi that take control of insects, the most common one being Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis. This fungus lands on ants and infiltrates the body of the ant. It then proceeds to take control over the ant and makes the ant move to a desirable location. Usually this location is near an ant hill where the fungus can spread to more ants. This fungus has been known to decimate entire colonies. Fortunately for us it only infects ants, so we have nothing to worry about. Right?
Infected Ant
Wrong. 60% of modern diseases come from animals. For example, we get measles, tuberculosis, and smallpox we get from cattle. Additionally, we get the flu from pigs and birds, and we get AIDS from chimpanzees. So it is not entirely crazy to think that this fungus might someday evolve into something that can infect humans. The spread of disease may also be easier know due to the fact that anyone can travel from one side of the world to the other in a matter of hours. So when 60% of the world's population is wiped out from disease, society breaks down and the only thing left is, the last of us.
Sources:
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Why is Yawning Contagious?
Why is that when you see someone yawn or even think about yawning, you want to yawn? Why is yawning contagious?
Well, first of all what is yawning? When you yawn, you are inhaling air and at the same time you are stretching your eardrums. This is why you sometimes pop your ears while you yawn. Furthermore, if you yawn and at the same time stretch your body, that is called pandiculation. Now, why do we yawn? Well, the researches think that their are many reasons and the first one relates to how cool you are. When you are tired or exhausted, your brain temperature will increase, just like when computers heat up after being used a long time. The oxygen that you breathe in when you yawn will help cool down your facial blood, which unsurprisingly, helps cool down your brain.
Another reason why we yawn ties up with you stretching while you do it. When you pandiculate, you strech out your muscles and cool down your brain, allowing your brain to be more alert and your muscles ready to react a moments notice. This is why yawning being contagious makes sense. For example, let us say we have a herd of gazelles grazing in some tall grass. The first gazelle to yawn will serve as a reminder to the rest of the group to stay alert. This is one of the reasons yawning is contagious. Yawning being contagious helps the herd stay alert and ready to act a moment's notice.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/15/yawn-brain-head-02.html
Well, first of all what is yawning? When you yawn, you are inhaling air and at the same time you are stretching your eardrums. This is why you sometimes pop your ears while you yawn. Furthermore, if you yawn and at the same time stretch your body, that is called pandiculation. Now, why do we yawn? Well, the researches think that their are many reasons and the first one relates to how cool you are. When you are tired or exhausted, your brain temperature will increase, just like when computers heat up after being used a long time. The oxygen that you breathe in when you yawn will help cool down your facial blood, which unsurprisingly, helps cool down your brain.
Another reason why we yawn ties up with you stretching while you do it. When you pandiculate, you strech out your muscles and cool down your brain, allowing your brain to be more alert and your muscles ready to react a moments notice. This is why yawning being contagious makes sense. For example, let us say we have a herd of gazelles grazing in some tall grass. The first gazelle to yawn will serve as a reminder to the rest of the group to stay alert. This is one of the reasons yawning is contagious. Yawning being contagious helps the herd stay alert and ready to act a moment's notice.
(FYI these are gazelles)
Sources:
Friday, September 27, 2013
What Happens if You Are Struck by Lightning?
Lightning strikes somewhere on the earth around 100 times a second which adds up to around 3 billion times a year. Statistically speaking, if you live in the US you have a 1 in 100,000 chance to get hit by lightning in a single year, and a 1 in 3,000 in your entire lifetime. Of course, your actual chances are determined on by where you live and what your habits are. For example, if you like to hold golf clubs above your head on top of the Empire State Building during a lightning storm, chances are you are stupid. But would happen if you got hit by lightning?
There are two different types of lightning strikes: direct and indirect. Direct lightning strikes would be, for example, when Zeus hits you on top of the head with a lightning bolt. Indirect lightning strikes are when lightning strikes the ground next to you or hits a tree near you. Most lightning strike survivors were hit by indirect strikes since the chances of getting hit directly are very, very small.
If your assuming that a lightning strike will hurt you, you are wrong. It will hurt a lot. One lightning bolt contains over 300 KV of electricity and can super heat the air around it to over 27,000 degress Celsius which is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. So, what happens to you when the fire of 5 suns hits you on the head?
Well, the worst case scenario is you die, but assuming you do survive, which 70-90% of people do survive, a number of things can happen to you. Assuming that it doesn't cook your brain, you can experience the following: your clothes being shredded or catching on fire, severe burns, your shoes will most likely fly off, permanent numbness, inability to feel different temperatures, partial paralysis, muscle twitches and Lictenberg scars. For those of you who don't know, Lictenberg scars are probably the sickest scar you could ever get. They happen when blood vessels in your skin burst underneath your skin, and the most interesting thing is that they scar actually looks like lightning as seen below.
The trauma of being hit by lightning also does produce some long-term effects for some victims such as memory loss, sleep disorders, tremors, loss of balance, intense headaches, chronic irritability, and depression. Due to the rarity of lightning strikes, doctors do not fully yet know how to treat the victims of these ordeals so suicide rates for lightning strike victims are usually very high. So, lesson of the story, don't go to the Empire State with a golf club in your hand.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120926-what-causes-lightening/2
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/2005/06/dont_stand_by_me.html
http://mddirect.org/2012/08/06/when-lightning-strikes/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/05/08/ten-shocking-things-that-can-happen-if-you-are-struck-by-lightning/
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