Amazing fact

Platypus ni***es are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of interesting animal facts. But the fact that the creature has none is actually pretty wild.

We might think of ni***es as something less than wholesome, but they serve a purpose – to feed the young.

How does a platypus feed their young without ni***es?
In what may be one of nature’s strangest oversights, platypuses so have a milk duct, they do produce milk from their young, but there’s so central “outlet” from which to feed.

And while it’s bizarre to picture (but we swear this is how it works), the mothers secrete milk through their mammary glands, and it then rolls down their skin, collecting in the little grooves on their bodies. And that’s where their young find it to feed. In cases where there are patches of fur, the babies simply suck the milk out of those soaked fur patches.

It seems…less than efficient. But the platypus still exists, so it must work just fine for their species!

Platypus birth is also unique
The platypus is a monotreme – a creature in which reproduction takes place by females laying eggs. That might not seem like a big deal, but these are mammals. So it’s actually incredibly rare. Vertebrates (which are animals like birds, fish, reptiles, etc. all lay eggs), but the platypus and echidna (or spiny anteater) are the only common mammals that do it.

When it’s born, the baby platypus cuts its way out of the egg using an “egg tooth” that grows on the end of its nose. This “tooth” is made of keratin (just like fingernails), and it falls off not long after.

Other fun facts about the platypus
According to the American Museum of Natural History (cited below), other fun facts about the platypus include:

“A female platypus usually lays only two eggs at a time and rarely leaves her stream-side den while nursing her young. When she does leave, she plugs the den opening with dirt.”

and…

“A platypus’s bill can sense tiny electric currents produced by the bodies of small animals, helping it hunt in muddy water.”

To be honest, we never gave much thought to the platypus. They’re not much to look at (though some might say they’re cute), but they’re certainly interesting from a biological standpoint!

One thing we all know about sloths is that they’re slow. In fact, it’s pretty rare to witness a sloth moving at all, much less making the effort to mate. But female sloths have found a solution that allows them to find a partner with relatively little effort – screaming.

The s*x of sloths
Three-fingered sloths, in particular, are hard to tell apart when it comes to determining their s*x. According to Sloth Conservation (cited below) “Both s*xes have a shaggy black mane around their necks. The appearance of the mane is unique to each individual, and it is not currently obvious if there is any s*xual dimorphism in regards to its appearance.”

That doesn’t mean two-fingered sloths are any easier to tell apart. “In two-fingered sloths, distinguishing between males and females is notoriously difficult. This has led to some embarrassing mistakes at zoos and rescue centers, where two sloths thought to be of the same s*x have been put into the same enclosure, only to produce a newborn baby some months later!”

The mating female sloth
One way you can tell male and female sloths apart is their mating behavior. It’s unknown if sloths have a specific mating season, but they’re fertile for about one week out of every month. And they let everyone know about it!

While their activity level increases during fertile periods, it’s mostly to produce vocalizations. Female sloths don’t walk around looking for mates – they sit in trees and scream incredibly loud to let males know they’re “available.”

The Sloth Conservation Foundation confirms: “These vocalizations, or “screams”, sound like bird calls or shrill whistles. She will do this for eight to ten days every single month, with the vocalizations increasing in frequency until she is screaming every 10 to 15 minutes. The male three-fingered sloths get very excited when they hear this call and will go in search of the female making it.”

We need more large-scale studies to make definitive claims, but mindfulness meditation seems to have some cool cognitive benefits. In fact, we can see on brain scans that people who practice mindfulness meditation experience changes in their brains.

Minding your thoughts
Mindfulness practice encourages people to stop and spend time noticing their thoughts and then letting go of the ones that are negative, disorganized, or aren’t serving a positive purpose. It’s designed to help us notice and control our thinking. (As opposed to most meditation practices, which center around emptying the mind of thoughts.)

The part of the brain affected by mindfulness practice is called the amygdala. This is also called the “fight or flight” center because it is linked to fear and emotional responses. Brain scans have shown that mindfulness practice helps shrink the amygdala. While that may sound like a bad thing, an overactive amygdala can be bad for concentration, mood, and emotional regulation.

Regulating the amygdala
However, mindfulness has been shown to help increase the connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. That’s a good thing because those connections help us regulate our emotional responses.

We need our amygdala, we just don’t want it to be hyperactive. And when we practice mindfulness, our bodies get better at regulating those emotional responses.

While some of the effects of mindfulness have been overstated in the press, there is evidence that it can modestly increase physical health and compassion and even reduce bias in addition to negative thought patterns.

The popularity of mindfulness meditation
A U.S. survey found that the percentage of adults practicing some type of mantra-based meditation, mindfulness meditation, or spiritual meditation in the previous year tripled between 2012 and 2017 (from 4.1% to 14.2%). Even among children (4 to 17 years of age), the percentage increased from less than 1% to over 5%. These emotional regulation techniques continue to grow in popularity.

Of course, there’s a lot we still don’t know about mindfulness and meditation in general, and they’re not always the best practices for everyone.

There are also different types of mindfulness meditation to practice, each with slightly different outcomes. For example, body scanning can help reduce negative thoughts. But practices in which participants are asked to observe their thoughts can sometimes lead to more negative thinking, especially among those who have just started practicing the skill and can’t let go of those thoughts easily.

Scientists believe that releasing a “tick map” each year (or as often as needed) would be a great public health strategy to allow people to ward off tick-borne diseases. Now, researchers are trying to make it happen.

Why a tick map?
From hikers to vacationers, each summer and fall people head out to new locales without quite knowing the dangers that lurk in tall grasses and forests. These days, tick-borne diseases are spreading more rapidly than ever and it’s causing some big concerns for health professionals. Some of these diseases can be debilitating, and in many cases, a bit of Deet spray just isn’t enough to avoid the danger.

Enter the tick map. If a map of locations where ticks are common (and commonly associated with particular diseases) was available ahead of time, it would not only help raise awareness of the need to avoid ticks but help people take better precautions.

Knowledge is power, after all. But simply telling people there are risks out there does not lead to enough action to stop the spread of diseases that take major resources to treat.

How does a tick map work?
A tick map would involve some predictions, so researchers are still trying to come up with the ideal way of forecasting the locations. And it’s complicated.

According to Scientific American (cited below): “Many factors, not all of them well understood by scientists, shape where and when disease-carrying tick species will thrive—and if they are likely to carry a pathogen at all. Every year people are diagnosed with and treated for tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. For Lyme disease alone, the annual figure is nearly half a million, according to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And that number is expected to rise as many tick species continue to expand their ranges.”

The only system we have now is relying on people to know where ticks may be a problem so that they can use tick repellant, wear long sleeves, cover their ankles, and perform tick checks on themselves and their pets.

But if we had a tick map, things might be different: “If hikers, for example, have a forecast indicating that the woods they are passing through are likely to have dangerous ticks, they can take extra steps to protect themselves with bug repellent, long sleeves and tight pant cuffs. Local health care providers can make sure they are looking out for symptoms of tick-borne illnesses. Local officials can advise citizens on how to take care outside during the danger season. But making accurate predictions is complicated. Many factors, not all of them well understood by scientists, shape where and when disease-carrying tick species will thrive—and if they are likely to carry a pathogen at all.”

The other cool thing about having a tick map is that it would show when risks are low, allowing people to relax some of those protocols when they aren’t necessary.

Why is it so hard to build the map?
Risk levels can be hard to gauge, however. Ticks need humid summers, enough animal hosts, and the right habitat, for starters. They don’t like cold winters and hot, dry summers. But there’s way more that goes into creating a predictive model that’s actually useful to people, including specific tick species that carry different diseases or thrive in slightly different environments.

To add to the complexity, we’re still learning about the other kinds of flora and fauna that are abundant in tick-heavy areas, such as a specific type of acorn that one type of tiny mouse feeds on – they’re common when ticks are abundant and they’re a reservoir for Lyme disease. All of those elements need to go into the model. And to top it off, we don’t entirely understand how Lyme disease works.

At the moment, the best data we have is only for one tiny area of the country. Other areas may need different predictive models. According to SciAm, “Data collection is one piece of that puzzle, but another is a better understanding of how ticks interact with host species, both human and nonhuman, and how the arthropods act as conduits for disease.”

Ten fun facts about Nectarines

Fact 1
Peaches and nectarines are the same species; although peaches have fuzz, it is because the gene is dominant while in nectarines, the 'fuzz gene' is recessive.

Fact 2
Its name came from Ancient Romans, who called it the "Persian apple", but later from the French word 'peche'.

Fact 3
Though studies suggest peaches have been cultivated in China since 2,000 B.C., peaches are mentioned in Chinese writing back in the 10th century B.C.

Fact 4
Peach trees need nitrogen rich fertilizers like bone meal or blood meal, or they may not grow successfully.

Fact 5
Like apples and bananas, nectarines are climacteric, or they continue to ripen even after they are picked from the tree.

Fact 6
Nectarines are often considered a cross between a peach and a plum, even though they come from the same tree as a peach.

Fact 7
Though Georgia is known as the "Peach State" in the U.S., China is the top peach producer with over 11 million tons.

Fact 8
The ancient Chinese believed the peach possessed more vitality than other trees since the blossom sprouts before the leaves.

Fact 9
In South Carolina, there is a water tower that is 150 feet tall which resembles a peach.

Fact 10
Nectarines possess a bit more Vitamin C, more potassium and twice the amount of Vitamin A than a peach.

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Ten fun facts about Drew Bledsoe

Fact 1
Bledsoe is best known as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots from 1993-2001.

Fact 2
During the 1990s, Bledsoe was considered the face of the Patriots franchise.

Fact 3
Bledsoe was drafted first overall in the 1993 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.

Fact 4
In July of 2012, Bledsoe was named the thirteenth greatest quarterback of the NFL's post-merger era, according to Football Nation.

Fact 5
Bledsoe was a star quarterback at Washington State University before he skipped his senior year to go professional.

Fact 6
After his retirement in 2007, Bledsoe founded the Doubleback Winery along with a close friend.

Fact 7
In his spare time, he also works with many philanthropic organizations.

Fact 8
Drew is now the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Summit High School in Bend, Oregon.

Fact 9
Drew Bledsoe is married to Maura Healy; the couple has four children.

Fact 10
In keeping with their tradition of giving New England sports figures parts in their films, the Farrelly brothers intended Drew Bledsoe to play the part in “There's Something About Mary” that eventually went to Brett Favre. Bledsoe passed.

Ten fun facts about Qatar

Fact 1
Doha is the capital of Qatar. It was once a fishing village where pearl fishers were looking for fortunes. The national name of Qatar is Dawlat Qatar.

Fact 2
The currency in Qatar is the Riyal.

Fact 3
The official language is Arabic and English is the common second language. The government is a constitutional monarch.

Fact 4
The country is rich in oil and 90% of all its exports to other nations are oil-based. They have the world’s largest Gas Reserves and are the single largest supplier of liquefied natural gas. Other exports include petroleum products, fertilizers and steel.

Fact 5
The temperature in Qatar averages 13 degrees (minimum) in winter, 41 – 50 degrees in summer. It receives only 70mm rain per year. The terrain is mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel.

Fact 6
Qatar gained independence from Britain in 1971 and Independence Day is celebrated on 3rd September each year.

Fact 7
Industries include crude oil production and refining, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars and cement. Agriculture comprises of fruits, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, beef and fish.

Fact 8
Qatar is the home of Al Jazeera, the popular and controversial Arabic satellite television network.

Fact 9
The largest Sports Dome in the World is located in this country.

Fact 10
The highest elevation is Qurayn Abu of Bawl at 103m and the lowest is the Persian Gulf at Om.