Science #3

 

Source

 Some more "sciency" articles that have caught my attention recently:

• I didn't say that all the science would be nice: "Disturbing new details show how CIA drugged and tortured Americans in secret mind control program MKUltra"--Daily Mail. From the lede:

    Newly declassified bombshell records of an infamous CIA mind control program, MKUltra, reveal how Americans were drugged and tortured more than 60 years ago.

    The collection of more than 1,200 pages detail how the CIA used induced sleep, electroshocks and 'psychic driving' on drugged subjects who were psychologically tortured for weeks or months to reprogram their minds.

    The subjects included criminals, mental patients and drug addicts, but also Army soldiers and average citizens who were given drugs without their knowledge.

And to think that at one time, MK Ultra was itself a conspiracy theory (see, e.g., Mel Gibson's film, Conspiracy Theory).

• Related: But how could anyone do that to another person, you might ask. "CIA operative reveals mental disorder agency 'actively seeks to hire' because it makes for better spies"--Daily Mail. 

    John Kiriakou, who had a 14-year career as a CIA officer, said the agency 'actively seeks to hire people who have sociopathic tendencies,' but avoids individuals with a full-blown disorder.

    A 'sociopath' is someone who lacks empathy, disregards the feelings of others and may manipulate or harm people without remorse, often for their own personal gain.

• Hmm: "Covid Vaccine Scientists Creating New Shot for Bubonic Plague."--Legal Insurrection. The story notes that "[t]here is no vaccine in the UK for the plague, which has killed around 200 million people worldwide throughout history." Well, that is because it is a bacterial infection typically controlled with antibiotics. There are non-MRNA vaccines, but apparently these can only be found in China and Russia, which take the plague more seriously than in the West.
  
• "Scientists solve the mystery of the widespread plunge in IQ across Europe 2,000 years ago"--Daily Mail.  The scientists are blaming it on widespread lead pollution caused by the mining and processing of silver (with lead as a byproduct). The researches used ice core samples to analyze air bubbles trapped in the ice to show that lead emissions increased after 15 B.C. and lasted for 150 years until the Empire started to decline. It's long been known that the Roman made use of lead water pipes and drank from lead vessels, but research has shown that that Romans started using lead pipes around 200 BC, and stopped around 250 AD, or well outside the period cited in the Daily Mail article. It is notable that major silver mines in the empire started to be exhausted in the second century A.D.
• "The Blaze Star Will Soon Explode After 80 Years of Waiting"--Discover.  A periodic nova, T Coronae Borealis, that last brightened in 1946 is expected to brighten in late 2025.
• More Leftist lies: "Snail darter revisited: Famous fish that halted a dam's construction is not endangered after all"--Phys.org. Key part: "After conducting standard species identification and classification testing, they discovered that the snail darter was not a unique or endangered fish after all. Instead, it was a member of the stargazing darter species, which is present and plentiful in many places in the U.S."
• "A Mysterious Cult That Predates Stonehenge"--BBC Travel (via Get Pocket). Describing the archeological remains of a culture in northwest Saudi Arabia that flourished during the neolithic period (i.e., prior to 4,500 BC), including monumental architecture consisting of squares made up of blocks of stone. 
• More Leftist lies: "Your Cotton Tote is Pretty Much the Worst Replacement for a Plastic Bag"--Quartz (via Get Pocket). Although the horrible plastic pollution that we are harangued about is almost entirely from Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, we are told we shouldn't be using the plastic shopping bags offered at stores, but should use reusable bags. But, this article relates, when you "account other factors, like the impact of manufacturing on climate change, ozone depletion, water use, air pollution, and human toxicity, those classic, plastic shopping bags are actually the most benign of the current common options." 
• "Walking Backwards Has a Surprising Number of Health Benefits"--The Conversation (via Get Pocket). From the article:

    One of the most well-studied benefits of walking backwards is improving stability and balance. Walking backwards can improve forward gait (how a person walks) and balance for healthy adults and those with knee osteoarthritis. Walking backwards causes us to take shorter, more frequent steps, leading to improved muscular endurance for the muscles of the lower legs while reducing the burden on our joints.

    Adding changes in incline or decline can also alter the range of motion for joints and muscles, offering pain relief for conditions such as plantar fasciitis – one of the most common causes of heel pain.

    The postural changes brought about by walking backwards also use more of the muscles supporting our lumbar spine - suggesting backwards walking could be a particularly beneficial exercise for people with chronic lower back pain.

    Walking backwards has even been used to identify and treat balance and walking speed in patients with neurological conditions or following chronic stroke. 

The article also states that walking backwards burns more calories helping with the loss of body fat. Backward running has additional benefits, which are discussed in the article.

•  "Hubble’s biggest image yet, of Andromeda"--Behind the Black. Image at the link.