What Dreams Mean, Microwave Worries, Pompeii Survivors
Plus: Do Biden or Trump Use Performance Enhancing Drugs?
Is My Microwave Nuking Me?
The claim that microwave ovens cause cancer goes back to what scientists might call a "non-finding" in the 1970s, when the revolutionary new appliances were just becoming common. But is there anything to it? The writer, who is among those who keep their distance when using a microwave, looked into the science, turning up a smorgasbord of ways to use your microwave cleverly and safely, and fascinating details on how microwave ovens actually work.
Microwaves have many safety features. For instance, to prevent radiation escape, microwave ovens are encased with a metal mesh or shield on five sides and a partial shield on the front (the lattice pattern you see through the window). This mesh creates what is termed a Faraday Cage, which distributes charges in such a way that it traps the electromagnetic energy and stops it from leaving the oven.
—Annie Foley
The Debate Debate: Do Biden or Trump Use Performance Enhancing Drugs?
When millions of Americans tune into the presidential debate tonight, all eyes will be on two old guys who've both been accused—often in partisan attacks—of using stimulants or other drugs to help them look and sound sharp. Our resident neuroscientist/psychiatrist has studied the candidates eyes and movements and has a pretty good idea of the truth, and he'll show you how you can figure it out for yourself.
The performance-enhancing drugs most likely to be used produce observable, physiologic responses. Evidence indicates that one of the candidates has consumed such medications on several occasions. Understanding how stimulants affect the body will make you a better informed observer on debate night.
—John Kruse MD, PhD
What Do Dreams Really Mean?
She wanders through her house, noticing a strange, unfamiliar door. Pushes it open and is struck by a blinding white light and a violent gust of wind. Ack! What's it mean?! The writer digs into the science of dreams to interpret her own long-ago nightmare which has since morphed into something else altogether. Here’s one theory among several:
One view of dreaming is the threat simulation theory. This argues that the brain responds to potential future danger by running various simulations or “fire drills” — allowing us to test different responses and imagine the consequences while we sleep.
—Kathleen Murphy
My Son Really Wants A Puppy. But, Imagine the Downsides!
This is a story about whether a man should buy his son a puppy, taking into account all the benefits and challenges of having dogs. It might seem just a personal tale. But this writer, and his son, have an imaginary debate over the question, each attacking the other with real science.
It turns out that the science is a little fuzzy on the benefits of owning a pet for the general population. But, on the subject of pets and children, the evidence is rather compelling – pets are good for kids.
—Warren Thurlow
Wait. People Survived Pompeii?
The Mount Vesuvius eruption is depicted as a tale of annihilation. Nobody survived, except as stone figures to be dug up and gawked at by tourists. But recent research reveals stories of people who survived and went on to rebuild their lives. The tale, based on the research of this writer and told in a new PBS documentary, is one of desperate migrants and ancient human generosity.
Survivors were not isolated into camps, nor were they forced to live indefinitely in tent cities. There’s no evidence that they encountered discrimination in their new communities.
—Steven L. Tuck
Fly Through the Pillars of Creation in Stunning New Video
Three decades ago, the Hubble Space telescope made the Pillars of Creation among the most iconic space images of all time, a photo (above) of unprecedented detail that captured our imaginations and the very essence of the grandeur of the cosmos. Now…
Fasten your cosmic seat belts — scientists today released a new 3D visualization that flies through the pillars.
—Robert Roy Britt
Do Eye Exercises Really Improve Sight?
Ads promote quite a vision for improving your eyesight. Putting pressure on or palming the eye. Eye movement exercises. Straining to read by using the wrong prescription glasses to "train" the eyes. This ophthalmologist sees clear problems with the claims, however.
The lack of evidence holds true for virtually all eye conditions and diseases, including common afflictions such as myopia, or nearsightedness, which refers to when closer objects are clear, but distant objects are blurry. It’s also true for farsightedness — also called hyperopia — which happens when objects are clear in the distance but blurry up close. Nor do these eye exercises help with presbyopia, or the need for reading glasses, which generally begins at around age 40.
—Benjamin Botsford
In addition to this weekly newsletter, I also post cool science news briefs and amazing new images to the Aha! Science Substack site…
That’s all for this week!
Cheers,
Rob