Under a microscope a doctor in Hong Kong discovered 4 small bees living under the lid of a woman’s eye. While weeding a garden the woman felt what she thought was sand and tried to remove the irritation. Her eye became swollen and so she sought medical assistance. Sweat bees from the halictid family, primarily live on pollen but need salt from humans or animals and are attracted to tears and sweat for sodium. They are about a quarter of an inch long. Fooyin University Hospital where the bees were removed said that it was a first as far as they know in the case of humans. The bees were alive and well after being removed.
Author: Lenny Variano
3-D Printing and a sustainable Future…
Married couple, Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello of Oakland Calif., whose profession is architecture, have created a world around them making the utmost use of 3-D printing. The two have developed a unique technique for manufacturing almost any component for the home out of discarded waste. By using mud, dirt, nutshells, coffee grounds, grape skins, sawdust and other discarded waste they have managed to produce everything from tile to roof shingles to a small free-standing adobe structure. Unlike traditional methods of spraying layer upon layer of plastic, the two have developed a method in which a type of mud from all these waste products can be layered. At present they are busy with scientists rebuilding some of the dying coral reefs with their unique method. The couple feel that traditional methods of producing objects from plastic will only add to the ever-growing problem of waste. Hopefully their work will be an inspiration to others.
Just Improvise It…
What fascinates and draws some people to jazz? What is the neurobiology behind the freedom that these musicians possess? What happens when the brain is freed from having to follow rules and is allowed to just invent at the spur of the moment? Improvisation usually goes hand and hand with the element of surprise. Studies have shown that improvisation relies on the medial pre-frontal cortex of the brain while turning off that part of the brain that is responsible for self-monitoring. Improvisation is not unique to jazz musicians it is also evident in rappers, comics, classical musicians and people who are able to think within the moment. One myth is that only certain people have the ability, but the truth of the matter is that it has taken certain people years to develop. The more you perform any task, the source of raw material you have to draw on increases. If we look at improvisation as the mere act of being creative, we can see that we all possess the talent. It is just a part of being human. It may be important to give yourself a “yes” day every now and then. That is say yes to whatever you feel like doing at whatever time you like as long as it does not hurt anyone. In other words, improvisation is both healthy and relaxing.
Is it a Hand Grenade or a Nut Cracker?
In 2016 a man living in Shaanxi, China who goes by the name of Ran from Ankang C
ity was using what he thought was a nut cracker but was instead a stick grenade. The device was given to him by a so-called friend during the holiday season in 1991. He learned what he had been using when leaflets were passed out concerning the possibility that some of these devices may still be around and that caution was advised. According to the authorities the device was still capable of being detonated. Ran, no doubt, feels he is lucky to be alive.