There is a breathable liquid!

There is a breathable liquid!

Perfluorohexane is a component in which hydrogen atoms from hexane are replaced by fluorine. It is mostly used as a solvent and coolant. However, one of the coolest things about this component is that due to its molecular structure, it allows space for gas molecules to be lodged into the liquid from the atmosphere. This means that there is oxygen lodged in between its molecules in a higher concentration than the atmosphere. This phenomenom allows for animals to continue breathing and not drown!

The uses for this property are not just a novelty. The liquid is used to treat burn victims, because their lungs can be filled with this liquid and avoid problems like pulmonary edema, which is caused when the inside of the lungs have been burnt.

If a test says a MAN is pregnant, he may have CANCER!

If a test says a MAN is pregnant, he may have CANCER!

There's a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin or hCG, which is produced by the developing embryo when women get pregnant. hCG helps control and regulate other development hormones. Because it appears so early into the pregnancy, it's used as an early indicator of pregnancy by over-the-counter pregnancy tests (the ones you pee on).

However, some types of cancer, including testicular cancer, also produce hCG. This means that if men pee on that same pregnancy stick, and test positive, it might be an indicator that they have developed testicular cancer! This puts the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Junior" in a completely different perspective!

There are more than 20,000 slaves buried in New York!

There are more than 20,000 slaves buried in New York!

Archaeologists in New York have been investigating a burial site located under the busy New York streets. They estimate that about 20,000 slaves were buried under the metropolis. They've found many skeletons with filed teeth, a practice that leads them to believe that they arrived to New York straight from Africa. These slaves helped build the city back when it was becoming the economic center of the United States.

One horrible finding that has been found on these slave burial grounds is that half of the remains were children under 12 years old! Researchers speculate that it was more cost effective for slave owners to work people to death and replace them instead of taking good care of them, so they took people that were young, but ready to work.

A small jolt of electricity in the brain can improve math skills for 6 months!

A small jolt of electricity in the brain can improve math skills for 6 months!

Researchers have discovered that a small jolt of electricity, one that is so small, most patients don't even realize it, can improve a person's math skill. The key is to direct the electricity to pass through the brain's parietal lobe, which is involved in number processing. 

What researchers did was teach the participant a new series of symbols (not our common Arabic numerals) that represented numbers. While their brains were being shocked, they tested their ability to organize the numbers. People who had received the electricity were better than people who weren't.

While there's no safe, practical use for these findings at the moment, scientists are excited at the prospect of being able to improve people's abilities in the future. And while people will still need to put an effort behind these skills, they can still help people. In the meantime, please don't lick batteries before your math tests.

(Source)

Astronauts can see stars with their eyes closed!

Starting with Apollo 11, astronauts have reported that they saw frequent flashes of light, even when their eyes were closed. This was surprising, given that their cabin had low light conditions and was shielded from the outside.

The reason for this is that there are particles called "Cosmic Rays," that travel freely in space, but not get stopped by Earth's atmosphere. They're so small that they pass through eyelids easily and produce this effect. Scientists have 2 possible explanations for this phenomenon: One think that these particles (which are charged) cause the eye's vitreous humor to produce light.   The other is that the flashes are caused by the cosmic rays hitting the retina directly.