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Picture Show: Real Life Super Heroes

By Patrick James,
Patrick James
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Peter Tangen
Peter Tangen
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Aug 31, 2010

Portraits of the masked members of the Real Life Super Hero Project, by Peter Tangen.

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Woman comes up with creative hack to combat obnoxious (and dangerous) LED car headlights

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Science

A company in England has created a banana that stays fresh 12 hours after it's peeled

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Wild beavers have been released for the first time in a Dorset nature reserve, over 400 years after the semi-aquatic creatures went extinct in England.

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash

Over 400 years after going extinct in England, wild beavers released in nature reserve

Wild beavers have been released for the first time in a Dorset nature reserve, over 400 years after the semi-aquatic creatures went extinct in England. One official at the National Trust, the heritage and nature conservation charity, called the move a "real watershed moment" of the species' history in the country.

Two pairs of Eurasian beavers were released at the 82-acre Little Sea lake within the Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve, which is unrestricted by fenced enclosures. The news arrives one week after a major policy announcement by government agencies DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs) and Natural England, allowing these animals to legally roam here for the first time since the 16th century.

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Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury

www.flickr.com

Noticing her preschooler loves Freddie Mercury, a mom sees surprising benefits to showing him Queen concerts

One of the most dynamic performers in rock history, Freddie Mercury was the beating heart of legendary band Queen. Mercury was a trained pianist and singer with impressive vocal range. In the early 1970s, he met the musicians with whom he would form Queen. Mercury’s iconic, vibrant showmanship blended with the band’s genre-bending sound–“classical to music hall, from glitter to prog rock, eventually even making influential forays into funk and disco,” as AllMusic’s Greg Prato shared–made them both unique and undeniable.

When Queen formed, they were well aware of the multitude of meanings in their name. "It's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it,” Mercury shared in an interview, according to American Songwriter.

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This is the good news we need right now.

Photo credit: Canva/Wikimedia Commons

New MIT study says 'quantified proof' Earth's ozone layer is healing

In 1985, a sizable hole in our planet’s ozone layer was discovered in the Antarctic region, causing ultraviolet radiation from the sun to impact the Earth without the ozone acting as a buffer. Since then, scientists and world leaders have posited theories as how to heal up the hole. Today, a new study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is not only showing that the hole is healing, but it is healing due to mankind’s worldwide efforts.

The ozone layer helps act as a filter or buffer for ultraviolet (UV) rays that come from the sun. While UV rays have some positive effects, there are serious problems when the biosphere is overexposed, according to NASA. Overexposure of UV rays caused by a weakened ozone layer causes issues in the production and yield of crops such as rice, soybeans, and corn. It not only disrupts our food sources, but how other plants and animals eat as overexposure can disrupt photosynthesis in certain plant life and reduce the population of phytoplankton in the ocean. Phytoplankton is not only a food source for many fish species, but also stores large amounts of carbon, which is also an environmental issue.

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You're not getting older, you're getting better.

Photo credit: Canva

Seniors reveal the 5 things that make getting old better than being young

There is one constant that happens the longer you stay alive: you get old. No matter the facial creams, exercise, diet, and pills that show up to promise otherwise, the longer you get to live on this planet, the older you will become. But getting old isn’t as bad as you may think. In fact, you might look forward to it.

Sure, you’ll likely be slower and lose some hair on your scalp while your body grows new ones elsewhere, but there are some perks to getting old that come along with the negative. The older folks on Reddit shared the best parts about being old, and experts have some insight into what makes getting old great.

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Theresa Malkiel

Theresa Malkiel

commons.wikimedia.org

How International Women’s Day reforms history, with roots from one Jewish immigrant

When I first pitched this story, I thought it would be interesting to share an informative biographical sketch of the woman who ideated what was at first called Woman’s Day in the United States. Women's Day was originally celebrated the last Sunday in February--and became the forerunner to global phenomenon International Women’s Day, now celebrated March 8. It also became a lesson in why we celebrate it and celebrate Women’s History Month.

This woman was Theresa Serber Malkiel. According to the Jewish Women’s Archive, she was “the first woman to rise from factory work to leadership in the Socialist Party” in the United States. For decades, she advocated for women’s suffrage, women’s labor rights, and women’s rights to participate in the Socialist Party. She wrote a work of fiction in 1910 called The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker that was considered one of the inciting influences to factory and labor reform in the U.S. (you can read it online here) and was published a year before the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. With her husband, she co-founded The New York Call, a Socialist newspaper, and wrote extensively for it and at least once contributed to The New York Times. In her later years, she advocated for women’s education and even ran for New York State Assembly (it’s reported that she "lost by a small margin").

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AMU is offering a lifeline to American scientists who want to continue their research.

Photo credit: LinkedIn/Canva

French university offers jobs to American scientists afraid of government censorship

As the current federal government in the U.S. has been freezing or cutting funding for several research grants, a French university has stepped in with an offer for American scientists. Aix Marseille University (AMU) is offering a program for them to continue projects that have been compromised or cut off.

“The program is called ‘Safe Place for Science,’ and will provide 15 million Euros in funding for some 15 researchers over a 3-year period,” said Clara Bufi, a spokesperson for Aix Marseille University, in an interview with 404 Media. “It targets, but is not limited to, climate and environment, health, and human and social sciences.”

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The Four Magic Phrases to Use When You’re Stopped by the Cops
Knowing your rights when navigating the unbalance of power in any given police traffic stop.
Image from YouTube video.

The Four Magic Phrases to Use When You’re Stopped by the Cops

Whether it's a traffic stop that turns into "We smell something in your car" or a "driving while black" situation, you have rights when you're pulled over, and it's for the best if you actually use them.

So how does this work, anyway? Well, you have rights when you're pulled over. These have been established via case law, and ultimately, some stem from the Constitution itself. In order, here are the magic phrases, along with some graphics to help you remember.

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Scientists have made a potential breakthrough, discovering a new part of the human immune system.

Photo credit: Canva

Scientists discover a new part of the human immune system that could cure superbugs

Scientists in Israel have discovered a new part of the human immune system, shedding light on a potential "untapped source of natural antibiotics." The research focuses on protaesomes, structures inside cells that, according to the Israel Cancer Research Fund, essentially function as "cellular garbage cans," helping remove "unwanted or damaged proteins and helping the immune system recognize harmful invaders and cancer cells."

Now, as detailed in the scientific journal Nature and illuminated by the BBC, the new study has "addressed a question that remained unanswered for decades," showing that proteasomes can detect bacteria in cells—and then use old proteins as defense against that bacteria."

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