A study that was released on Monday claims that signs of ageing appear in your early 20s.
Researchers have determined a person’s “biological age” by using 18 measurements for each of the participants in the study at the age of 38. Some of the people in the study registered as being 30 years of age while others appeared to be as old as 60.
When the researchers analyzed in depth the people who had aged a lot quicker, they discovered that signs of aging were visible even at the age of 26. This is the age when they first began to take biological measurements on people.
These findings are based on the analysis of 954 people who were born in New Zealand in the years 1972 and 1973. The scientists collected information from the metabolism, immune system, dental health, lung, kidney and liver function and blood vessels from the people’s eyes at the ages of 38, 32 and 26. The teams of scientists also analyzed the fitness levels, cholesterol and telomeres length. Telomeres are the caps located at the end of the chromosomes, which serve as protective shells and have been seen to shorten with the time.
Most people in the group were growing old at the normal rate of a biological year for every chronological one, and even less than that. However, there were others that were ageing as quickly as three biological ones for every chronological year. The people who were growing old quicker also had bad results on tests that were typically conducted on individuals over 60 years of age, like solving problems unfamiliar to them, coordination and balance.
A group of students from the Duke University were asked to take a look at photos of the individuals in the study and they pinpointed the people whose bodies were growing old a lot faster than the others as the older individuals of the group.
The authors of the study said that these discoveries will open doors for tests in the future that may become a lot cheaper and easier to apply, in order for individuals to learn exactly how fast they are growing old in their 20s. This is the time when those people may be able to prevent and do something about diseases related to age. Some previous studies revealed that genes are responsible for just around 20 percent of ageing, which means that the rest is up to the environment and people’s behaviors regarding their health.
The study was published on the 6th of July in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A study that was released on Monday claims that signs of ageing appear in your early 20s.
Researchers have determined a person’s “biological age” by using 18 measurements for each of the participants in the study at the age of 38. Some of the people in the study registered as being 30 years of age while others appeared to be as old as 60.
When the researchers analyzed in depth the people who had aged a lot quicker, they discovered that signs of aging were visible even at the age of 26. This is the age when they first began to take biological measurements on people.
These findings are based on the analysis of 954 people who were born in New Zealand in the years 1972 and 1973. The scientists collected information from the metabolism, immune system, dental health, lung, kidney and liver function and blood vessels from the people’s eyes at the ages of 38, 32 and 26. The teams of scientists also analyzed the fitness levels, cholesterol and telomeres length. Telomeres are the caps located at the end of the chromosomes, which serve as protective shells and have been seen to shorten with the time.
Most people in the group were growing old at the normal rate of a biological year for every chronological one, and even less than that. However, there were others that were ageing as quickly as three biological ones for every chronological year. The people who were growing old quicker also had bad results on tests that were typically conducted on individuals over 60 years of age, like solving problems unfamiliar to them, coordination and balance.
A group of students from the Duke University were asked to take a look at photos of the individuals in the study and they pinpointed the people whose bodies were growing old a lot faster than the others as the older individuals of the group.
The authors of the study said that these discoveries will open doors for tests in the future that may become a lot cheaper and easier to apply, in order for individuals to learn exactly how fast they are growing old in their 20s. This is the time when those people may be able to prevent and do something about diseases related to age. Some previous studies revealed that genes are responsible for just around 20 percent of ageing, which means that the rest is up to the environment and people’s behaviors regarding their health.
The study was published on the 6th of July in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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If you’ve missed Facebook’s change of logo, you’re not the only one. For the largest social network whose every step is closely monitored by millions of eyes, it’s a move that went largely unnoticed.
And there’s a reason for that, as it is not really a new logo as much as it’s a subtle tweak of the original. It must be stated that the favicon – the “F” icon that usually represents Facebook – is still here, but that the custom typeface was rounded and slimmed down a bit so it can be easier to read on smaller devices.
To be frank, the changes resulted in something rather plain. But according to logo experts, that was the idea. Josh Higgins, Facebook’s creative director, explained that the subtle update was meant to make the social network’s logo “more friendly and approachable.”
Basically, Facebook looked for ways its logo would work best on mobile, which is where technology is focused nowadays. And it’s long past due, as this is the first update the logo has had in 10 years. The concept of a new wordmark started gaining traction in 2013, but the actual roll out happened this past Tuesday.
Back in 2005, when the original logo was designed, the idea of squared-off letters with thicker strokes was perfectly visible for the desktop world we used to live in. But as technology made its way into our pockets via mobile, the company needed to update the dark, compact logo as to reflect the entirety of what Facebook means now.
As a matter of fact, Facebook’s in-house designers have been focusing on how to make sure the current brand identity is consistent across all the sub-products the company has released in the meantime.
The new logo falls in line with Facebook’s efforts to trim its visual identity. There’s a whole story behind the changing of the ‘a’ letter and the paring down of the other letters, according to Eric Olson, creator of both the original typeface and the slightly refreshed logo. The end target, however, was to make the entire logo friendlier by sending out a sense of sociability.
Making the logo simpler – or keeping it that way – might also have to do with Facebook’s attempt of appealing to such a large market. With 500 million accounts, the tech company had to keep in mind they’re not addressing just to younger generations who are more appealed by personality-based logos.
In the end, the change represents a clear understanding that the overwhelming majority of those users access the site via digital backlit screen, most of which are small. And that’s exactly the strategy Facebook should be adopting in the mobile age.
Image Source: CNN Philippines
V404 Cygni has only been active three times before. NASA’s archives have confirmed that the black hole had similar X-ray outburts in 1938, 1956 and 1989.
According to NASA’s recent information, a dormant black hole wakes up after 26 years to swallow nearby star leaving scientists in awe. The recent discovery gives scientists the possibility to study the behavior of the massive black hole.
The European Space Agency and NASA have managed to capture images of an incredibly unusual space behavior on Thursday evening. Their systems for space investigation reported that an unidentified source began emitting X-rays and gamma rays.
At a closer look, scientists noticed that the source of the rays was the dormant black hole, V404 Cygni, which has been inactive in the past 26 years. Apparently, these pauses are specific for this space phenomenon, which only becomes active when a nearby star gets too close to its atmosphere.
Based on the data that scientists received on Thursday evening, V404 Cygni has even swallowed its orbiting star; thus, explaining the sudden outburst of gamma and X rays. These explosions usually appear in space whenever a star dies or it is consumed by another celestial body.
Researchers have spent the past hour estimating the location of the dormant black hole and figuring out some additional information in relation to its activity. They were thus, able to infer that both the black hole and the orbiting star are located in out Milky Way galaxy, at approximately 8,000 light years away from the Earth.
The first signs of activity were spotted on June 15 in the surrounding area of the Cygnus constellation. NASA and ESA have used all their gamma-ray-based systems of investigations starting on June 18 in order to get more data about the black hole.
V404 Cygni is currently one of the biggest sources of light in space due to the flashes of rays that it is emitting. Normally, Crab Nebula it is the brightest object in the sky, but the recently awoken black hole has managed to outshine it.
The first official accounts on the black hole were registered in 1989 when the space object was last active. Back then, scientists first detected the orbiting star and concluded that it is half the size of the Sun.
By studying its revolving movements around the unidentified object, NASA experts eventually concluded that the object is a massive black hole, whose size could be twice the diameter of the Sun.
Archived documents suggest that the black hole was also active in 1938 and 1956. Given the rare outbursts of the object, scientists will spend the following period investigating its activity.
Image source: www.nasa.gov
The 854 galaxies lack the necessary gas to form new stars; therefore they have only dark matter which renders them almost invisible.
A distant coma cluster holds more than 800 dark galaxies, scientists have informed after analyzing the data sent by the Subaru Telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Based on their explanations, the galaxies are not visible because they are made entirely out of dark matter.
The Subaru Telescope was sent in space in 1999. Since then, it has studied the evolution of the surrounding galaxies sending vital information to the scientists working at the center.
The most recent data is related to more than 800 dark galaxies that appear to co-exist in a distant coma cluster. Researchers have also managed to conclude that the island formations are hard to notice because they are entirely made out of dark matter.
Apparently, the galaxies have lost great part of the gas that they normally require to create new stars and now the galaxies have to function in dim space. Nevertheless, the structure of many of the stars that exist in these galaxies is very similar to the ones in our very own Milky Way.
According to astronomers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the said galaxies have only 1 percent visible matter, whereas the rest of 99 percent is made out of dark matter. The light that the stars therein has emitted allowed scientists to better understand the form and evolution of the galaxies.
They have all concluded that the 854 galaxies have more or less the same structure as our own galaxy, but they could be just as well fueled by another matter outside the coma cluster. Another difference would be that there are far lesser stars in these island formations than the Milky Way holds.
More precisely, the dim galaxies can only hold 1/1,000 of the stars that exists in the Milky Way. For that matter, the galaxies appear to be very extended and airy as they do not contain too many stars. More likely, these stars would also disappear in time as the galaxies lack the necessary gas to give birth to new ones.
The Subaru Telescope has spent 16 years in space, so far, and its mission will continue for many more years to come. The findings of the recent research will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Image source: startistics.com
Fitbit One has proven itself useful in encouraging women to take up additional physical activities.
Given the recent hype caused by Apple Watch accessories and health-oriented devices, scientists wanted to find out whether fitness chronometers can really improve people’s health. They have found out that Fitbit One can increase physical activity, new experiment confirms.
Fitbit One is one of the many health and fitness chronometers that has been recently launched on the market. Medical experts were particularly interested to see why this device is so expensive compared to other similar gadgets available on the market.
They have, thus, carried out a small experiment with the help of 51 overweight women, who have already reached post menopause. The study was carried out during a four-week interval, during which the respondents were asked to perform various physical activities.
Cadmus-Bertram, the leader of the experiment and other colleagues, who have contributed to the study, asked the women to walk at least 10,000 steps per day and to perform a total of 150 minutes of intense physical activity per week.
Half of the women were handed the Fitbit One tracker to monitor their physical state, whereas the rest of the women in the study group were given another tracking device. Results have shown that women, who used the Fitbit One tracker increased their physical activity from one day to another. The other respondents, on the other hand, did not register significant growth of their physical activity.
Before the experiment, all female participants walked only 6,000 steps and carried out approximately 33 minutes of exercise per week. At the end of the study, figures showed that women wearing the Fitbit One tracker added 789 steps per week to their total amount.
They have also reached a total of 38 minutes of physical exercises per week, even though they did not meet the official requirement of 150 minutes per week that has been set at the beginning of the experiment.
Nevertheless, scientists have concluded that the improvement that was registered among the first group of female participants is noteworthy. Cadmus-Bertram is, therefore, of the opinion that wearing a fitness tracker like Fitbit One is indeed helpful to those who want to improve their physical activity.
The researcher further added that the positive feedback that users constantly get from the small device is the main factor encouraging users to keep up the good work. The chronometer sets new goals for users and congratulates them whenever a previous goal has been met.
Fitbit One is somewhat expensive compared to other similar devices on the market. It costs $100, whereas the majority of the fitness trackers are labeled at around $20. Cadmus-Bertram has chosen this device because it was the only one available when he started his study in 2011.
Image source: www.dcrainmaker.com
Oculus Rift plans to bring people coser together with their new VR headset.
After the recent launching this week, Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset gets good reviews from most tech analysts. The prototype that the company has presented at this year’s San Francisco event has been well-received by the market as the headset has been significantly improved.
The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has been announced at the beginning of the year when the company promised users that they will deliver them improved virtual technology. The product has been put on the market at the beginning of the week, when various tech savvies visited the San Francisco studio of the company to get their hands on the product.
Based on their first impressions, the new headset should get good reviews as there are new tasks now that the product can fulfill. Apparently, the developing team has designed a new software to enable the headset to better reproduce the surrounding reality.
The first tests have shown that, indeed, the system can recognize many human movements that players make. The hands of the players appear on the screen at all times. Players can shake hands, can give thumbs up or thumbs down to the other participants and the software will automatically recognize them.
Facial expressions have also been improved, according to the good reviews that Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has received. Tech analysts have subjected the software to numerous tests and they were thus able to see that the new headset can recognize all sorts of facial movements from smiles to frowns and other possible unique expressions.
The developing company is very satisfied with the results that the headset has had. In their opinion, the virtual reality system will inspire many other developers to produce better products in the future.
For the moment, Oculus Rift has only limited its production of VR accessories to a number of consoles. The half-moon shaped consoles have been purposefully designed to facilitate users’ movements during games. Many more additional options are expected in the future as the company will also launch VR software applications.
Oculus Rift has been recently purchased by Facebook in exchange of $2 billion. The social network has made this move in order to enrich its online services with additional capabilities.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to take social networking to the next level. He has, therefore, purchased the virtual reality company, Oculus Rift as he believes that this technology will bring people closer together.
Both Zuckerberg and Oculus Rift’s CEO, Brandon Iribe think people can control their avatars to perform various activities thanks to the new recognition technology that has been embedded on the new headset. They have already suggested people to use the headset for business meetings or live chats and to provide their feedback to the company for additional improvements that the latter can make.
Image Source: Gaming Bolt
Google’s new Nest security camera will sport many more options due to the upcoming Nest app.
Rumors that Google’s Nest will unveil new wireless security camera are closer to becoming reality as a new photo has leaked on the company’s Droid-life website. While not revealing enough, the image contains sufficient information to at least hint to some features that the new security camera from Nest will have.
Google has been trying to get into the home security zone for a long time now. The company has developed previous other projects in the past in order to design an online app that efficiently monitors the activity in a person’s home.
The next step that the search giant developer planned on doing was to launch a high-tech security camera. Many rumors have circled the Internet since the company first made the announcement, but no official declarations have been yet released.
Tech analysts, on the other hand, have taken the time to closely analyze the situation. They have thus, managed to get their hands on the first picture of Google’s Nest security camera.
Based on their declarations, the wireless security camera was produced by the company after the acquisition of Dropcam in 2014. Google paid approximately $555m back then to get full access to Dropcam’s tech projects and one year later, the new wireless security camera is about to be launched.
According to the image that was accidentally released on the Internet, the camera will sport a 1080p video recorder and will be compatible with Bluetooth technology. Producers think the Nest camera will be much more popular than other products on the market as it gives users the possibility to add many more services with the help of Google’s apps.
The search company has in fact announced a new Nest app which will link the security camera with other devices in the house. The Nest app controls the sensors in all home gadgets enabling customers to program various electronic devices to perform certain security actions, such as, lock the doors, surveille the rooms and turn on the heat.
Project Brillo is another software that Google has announced during their Google I/O Developers’ Conference. The program is meant to facilitate communication between various devices, but spokespersons did not specify whether the new Nest security camera will be endowed with this software.
Image Source: Android Authority.net
Connection between creativity and mental illness
Recently, the connection between creativity and mental illness was finally defined, as studies show the there is an undeniable link between being creative and thus thinking differently than the majority of the people, to showing signs of being mentally disturbed to a certain extent.
The strange connection between the two aspects of a person’s psychic structure relies on genetic components, according to the journal Nature Neuroscience.
The study was conducted in Iceland and over 86 000 people took part in it, persons belonging to such areas of society such as musicians, painters, writers and related professions, generally artists. And the results were striking, namely that 17% of the persons in question studied, showed more chances of developing mental disorders, in comparison to regular people.
Researcher Kari Stefansson argued that the studies represented no surprise for her, because creativity is always a proof that you are different somehow. Sometimes, unfortunately, in a negative sense. As everything is based on genetic predisposition, the chances of facing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder is quite increased among this segment of the population.
The same study was conducted in Netherlands and Sweden, were 35 000 people were tested. The results were even more compelling, showing that almost 25% of the studied people were prone to develop some form of mental derangement.
However, Dr. Alan Manevitz, a New York City based psychiatrist, was a little skeptical about the study and stated that there the question of ambiguity regarding this study, emphasizing the fact that there was a huge difference between people that considered themselves to be creative, and others that actually worked in the respective fields.
Creativity is not irrational and it definitely occurs in rational thought structures while a full psychosis will surely deteriorate a person’s state and alter his creativity as well, he later added.
As a conclusion, only genetic variants responsible for mild forms of mental disorder still allow the person to continue to lead an artistic, creative life, as more serious ones would damage this thought pattern in an irreversible manner.
Image source: media.npr.org
The perfect fire shape has been discovered
Researchers have found that the perfect fire shape has been discovered, as campfires around the globe have had this shape for centuries, but no one could explain why exactly. Adrian Bejan, researcher at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, claims that its secret is based on the Constructional Law.
This law, devised in 1996, that deals with flow system, refers to the fact that the cone shape is the one that helps out the best with the prolongation of the fire.The ratio between the base of the fire and the height seems to be the entire secret : “The reason is that this shape is the most efficient for air and heat flow. Our success in building fires in turn made it possible for humans to migrate and spread across the globe, heat flow from fire facilitates the movement and spreading of human mass on the globe.”
The wider the base of the fire is, the longer the fire will last, given that the height is proportional to it.The Constructional Law states that flow systems are better perpetuated in shape that allow the access the particular fluid that is being conducted.Also, the wide base allows the fuel to be transported and heat to be lead upwards.
This represents the main reason why this fire shape has always been by various people throughout the world. Tall fires are not the most appropriate ones because they lose a lot of heat during the process. Now that the key to building the perfect fire has been unlocked, everyone will be able to build themselves a good campfire, even those that believed that they were not gifted at it.
However, the most important aspect of the discovery is that it affects the phase change energy storage that is vital to the energy storage process. These will all prove to be very useful when projecting man made designs, because of this principle is going to be used as the underlying theory for several other types of studies that are already being conducted, from “snowflakes to airplanes” as stated in the above mentioned Constructional Law.
The secrets of energy storage will prove soon to bring essential benefits to many branches of technology.
Image Source: thetimes.co.uk
SAT exam books have a different time interval allotted for each section.
Based on an official press release issued by the national educational institution, the College Board Apologizes for SAT Printing Error, Student Will Not Be Affected, the committee reassured. The mistake was signaled by the U.S. educational facilities conducting the tests after noticing that students were allotted a different time interval than it was initially expected.
Students across the United States have taken part in the national evaluation program on June 6. The SAT books, however, contained a printing error which might now affect students’ scores. More specifically, the time interval allotted for the solving of a given section on the SAT books was set to 25 minutes instead of 20 minutes, as the rules say.
The College Board was forced to adopt new measures after the printing error has been signaled by many educational institutions taking the test on June 6. Students were particularly interested to find out what will happen with their tests now that the time interval has not been correctly observed.
The College Board published an official statement on their website on Monday afternoon. The committee apologized for the SAT printing error and reassured students that they will adopt the best measures to avoid any possible problems and inconveniences.
Based on the press release, the section that was attributed an incorrect time interval will not be taken into consideration for the total scores. The board concluded the declaration by saying that the commission has sufficient data to correctly score students without the answers they have provided on that specific section.
As one might expect, the board’s decision triggered a powerful wave of discontent on behalf of students and professors, who have been preparing for the SAT exam for a long period of time. In their opinion, the new SAT scoring can and will most likely affect students as they might have provided good answers in that particular section.
The SAT board college, however, claims that the SAT tests were purposefully designed to cover all sorts of unexpected incidents, such as the recent printing error. They have provided numerous examples of cases when the SAT exam may not be properly conducted, such as, for instance, power outages and fire drills.
Scores will be provided within the same deadline, the commission has further added in the end of their official statement. Additional information may be found on the official website of the College Board.
Image Source: Trinity News Daily