Kevin Burdge along with his colleagues at CalTech have found a binary system, a pair of dwarf stars which are going round each other within a cycle of seven minutes. This would be the first time for us to detect a binary going round under 10 minutes. Though they have found something strange about the pair.

The two stars are strange: the less massive one is colder than we’d expect, and the more massive one is far too hot at more than 48,000° C. Burdge and his colleagues plan to use the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate why.

It’s not clear what the future holds for these two objects: they might smash together and merge in about 130,000 years, or one might start stealing matter from the other, slowing down their orbit and pushing them farther apart.

However, the team has a better solution in finding out the answer to that question. Instead of waiting 130,000 years, they simply need to find other binaries and see if there is one on the verge of merging. If they can't find one, then there is a good chance that such systems don't merge.

(Image credit: NASA/SPL)

Before, doctors recommended adults to take low doses of aspirin starting from their 40s as a preventative measure for developing heart diseases however, a Harvard study has shown that there is no clear medical benefit from it.

The study, which utilized survey data from recent years to paint a clearer picture of aspirin use by the public, shows that a huge number of people are taking aspirin when there is no clear medical benefit. An estimated 10 million people over the age of 70 with no prior history of heart disease still take aspirin daily as a primary preventative measure.

Of course, for those with a history of heart diseases, aspirin would still be beneficial but only under the prescription of a doctor.

(Image credit: Jesse Orrico/Unsplash)

When the Apollo program sent astronauts on moon missions that lasted a week or more, every 12-year-old wondered the same thing- how do you poop in space? We didn't get much in the way of answers, as NASA was fully aware of the public sensibilities of the time. But they had to deal with human body functions along with all the other technicalities of space travel. The system they worked out was difficult, time-consuming, and unpleasant. NASA's history site explains.

The fecal collection system presented am even more distasteful set of problems. The collection process required a great dead of skill to preclude escape of feces from the collection bag and consequent soiling of the crew, their clothing, or cabin surfaces. The fecal collection process was, moreover, extremely time consuming because of the level of difficulty involved with use of the system. An Apollo 7 astronaut estimated the time required to correctly accomplish the process at 45 minutes. Good placement of fecal bags was difficult to attain; this was further complicated by the fact that the flap at the back of the constant wear garment created an opening that was too small for easy placement of the bags.

How bad could it be? Jason Torchinsky decided to find out. Unable to attain an original collection bag, he built one to specifications and tested it out himself. You can read the review at Jalopnik, but be aware the language is graphic, and the description is not for the faint of heart.  -via Digg

With its Artemis program, [NASA is gearing up for a return to the Moon.](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a28364235/nasa-moonbase/) This time around, though, NASA is enlisting the help of major companies to supply technology and know-how. Here are six things that may be true about the first permanent lunar base.

The Zwicky Transient Facility at Caltech recently spotted two white dwarfs, stars in the end stage of their lives, locked in a spiral dance around each other. The pair orbit each other at a rapid pace so one eclipses the other every seven minutes.

Yellowstone National Park may technically belong to the American people, but to the wildlife there, it's home. And you don't negotiate with a bison who might weight 1800 pounds. Despite warnings, tourists often mingle with bison at Yellowstone, which is never a good idea. The incident above happened on Monday.  -via Boing Boing

It's hard to resist wanting to pet a cute and fuzzy feline, and many cats bask in the attention. But we've all known cats who will let you pet them, and suddenly turn and bite you. That doesn't mean the cat is psychotic. It's a communication thing: the cat has had enough, and you haven't taken the subtle hints. Getting a cat involves two, and it's not all about you, the petter.  

The key to success is to focus on providing the cat with as much choice and control during interactions as possible. For example, the choice to indicate whether they want to be petted or not, and control over where we touch them, and how long for.

Due to our tactile nature and love of cute things, this approach may not come instinctively to many of us. And it will likely require a little self-restraint. But it could well pay off, as research shows interactions with cats are likely to last longer when the cat, rather than the human, initiates them.

Read more on how the cat sees your attempts at affection and how they communicate their feelings about it at the Conversation. -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Sean Davis)

After Tim Burton and Michael Keaton brought Batman to the big screen in 1989, they did it again in 1992 with Batman Returns. The difference is that ty2hyq was more about the villains: the Penguin, Catwoman, and a host of other evildoers. Screen Junkies appears to really like the movie, but as always, they can find plenty of weirdness to highlight in this Honest Trailer. -via Geeks Are Sexy 

Minnesotastan recently pointed out that Captain America in his classic suit looks more like Captain Puerto Rico with the single star. The superhero costume has changed, and I had to ask who he was when I saw Infinity War. So how should Captain America look?



A crafty cosplayer named Casey (redditor hotglueburns) made a splash at San Diego Comic Con when he arrived as Captain Native America. Casey is Osage and Oglala and knows about hot glue. He said,

I really appreciate all the comments! And I have to say, the overwhelming response I have received so far, is about the lack of representation in media. It was one of my main motivations in making the costume... I ended up having so many great conversations about this at the convention. And It meant a lot to have people coming and actually asking for hugs because they were genuinely so happy to see my costume. Really rewarding and inspiring experience for sure.  

See more of Captain Native America and Casey's other projects at Instagram. -via reddit

(Top image source: TemporaryTrip)

With data taken from InSight's seismometer, scientists now have an idea of how Mars experiences quakes. The way a quake looks and feels depends on the kind of material it passes through and to simulate a Marsquake, scientists used a quake simulator to compare them with those on the Moon and those we experience on Earth.

By running data from these worlds through a quake simulator, or “shake room,” scientists can experience for themselves how different the earthquakes can be. Researchers had to amplify the marsquake signals by a factor of 10 million in order to make the quiet and distant tremors perceptible in comparison to the similarly amplified moonquakes and unamplified earthquakes.

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ETH Zurich/ Van Driel)

From the panels to the exclusives and from the brand activations to the celebrity signings, there is a  lot to enjoy about the San Diego Comic Con. But perhaps the best part for those who don't get to attend the convention themselves is the chance to see all the amazing cosplays created by so many talented fans. And while it's easy to feel left out because you missed the con itself, the good news about getting to enjoy the cosplays online rather than in person is that you are able to avoid the dreaded Comic Con plague which managed to hit me and my family this weekend, as well as many of our friends who attended. So sit back, enjoy these fun photos and be happy for your good health.

All images by Zeon Santos or myself.

These cosplayers from Fathoms of Fantasy not only look perfect, they even handed out comic strips featuring them in their costumes in a classic Spy Vs. Spy tale.

Whenever you feel stressed or frustrated, one of the best ways to release all that tension that has been built up is through crying. Sometimes, it just feels good to shed some tears for a while when you're alone and pensive. But according to research, crying has other benefits too like helping regulate our breathing.

“We became interested in this topic when trying to understand the different possible ways that crying might function to help us, and to try to get a different perspective on why crying is so widely associated with feeling better,” explained study author Leah Sharman of the University of Queensland.

“One of the main ways that crying is often thought about is that it gets rid of toxins or brings about some kind of biological change that helps us to deal with stressful or painful situations. So we thought it would be interesting to try to test that.”

One of the primary findings of the research is that though crying doesn't help lower our stress levels, it helps in maintaining stability and soothing us by slowing down and regulating our breathing and heart rate.

However, there are limitations to the research as well. For instance, these may not necessarily apply to real world situations such as when people experience grief or loss. They don't account for external factors like having someone with you during your painful moments.

Nonetheless, whether or not we could do research that would determine the exact function of crying, it doesn't change the fact that whenever we want to alleviate stress or pain, crying helps among other things.

(Image credit: Tom Pumford/Unsplash)

Rapid industrialization and urbanization has seen many animals forced to flee from their natural habitats and we can only imagine what the impact of these shifts in ecosystem dynamics will be in the future.

Several thousands of native animals were moved to safety from their home in Western Australia because a new Chevron gas processing plant will start construction. All sorts of creatures from termites and worms to lizards, snakes, and mice were moved to an area about 10km outside the construction site.

During construction of Chevron's massive gas processing facility, 12 kilometres from the tiny town of Onslow, just over 30,000 animals were salvaged from the 1,000 hectare site at the top of Exmouth Gulf.

Graham Thompson, partner and principal zoologist at Terrestrial Ecosystems said it was the largest number of animals he had ever removed from an industrial development site. In all, 240 species were recorded in the mammoth effort to collect and relocate as many animals as possible from November 2011 until July 2018.

(Image credit: Terrestrial Ecosystems/ABC)

The Neolithic people of Great Britain are great builders. The British Isles are a great example of this one — covered with countless ancient megaliths, hill forts, monumental graves, ritual sites, and structures that have baffled archaeologists for centuries.

An entirely different structure can be found in Ireland, and to some extent, in Scotland. The structures on this part of Great Britain are artificial islands known as crannogs which are constructed by “pounding wooden piles into the beds of lakes and waterways and topping them with dirt.”

In places where timber was unavailable, such as in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, crannogs were built entirely of stones. Why did Neolithic people invest so much time, effort and resources hauling stones, some up to 250 kilograms, to build islets at a place where there was no dearth of habitable lands or natural islands is a mystery.

One theory goes that Ireland at that time was densely wooded, and apart from the upland areas, the lakes were practically the only place where one could see the sky. So the Neolithic people started building homes on artificial islands. Being surrounded by water also protected them from wild animals, so crannogs could also have served a defensive purpose. Many crannogs show signs of habitation and over multiple periods of time, starting from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages, right into Medieval times. During Iron ages, crannogs were probably the centers of prosperous farms, where people lived in an easily-defended location to protect themselves and their livestock from passing raiders. The settlement would have consisted of a farm house, with cattle and crops being tended in nearby fields, and sheep on hill pastures.

Crannogs are pretty widespread in Ireland, with an estimated 1,200 examples, while in Scotland approximately 600 sites have been identified. Actual figures could be higher as a lot of crannogs have now been completely submerged. Many are difficult to distinguish from natural islets, unless properly investigated. Millenniums of disuse have cloaked them with vegetation and now they look like tiny tree-covered islands.

Amazing!

(Image Credit: F. Sturt)

The Lizzie Borden murder case is recognized up to this day as one of the most famous in American criminal history. In fact, the case was so famous that it was immortalized through a children’s rhyme passed down across generations. The rhyme goes like this:

Lizzie Borden took an axe,

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty-one.

It is obvious that Lizzie murdered them. However, the rhyme did not get some parts of the story correctly. A hatchet, not an axe, served as the murder weapon. It wasn’t really Lizzie’s mother — the 64-year-old woman, named Abby, was her stepmother. The number of strikes in the rhyme does not match up with the real story, either. Lizzie Borden struck her stepmother nineteen times, and her 69-year old father Andrew she struck ten more. If there was something the rhyme got correct, it would be the sequence of events that happened on the morning of August 4, 1892.

Despite the convincing evidence that were thrown against her, she was eventually pronounced not guilty.

But why was Lizzie pronounced not guilty? Find out on Smithsonian.com.

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Public Domain)