Summary: The insect population, including that of pollinators, is constantly declining. Insects have important functions in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Pollinators, in particular, are responsible for the fertilisation and consequent growth of many plant species. One-third of the agricultural products we consume comes from plants whose survival is at least partially dependent on animal pollination. Wasp, honeybee, or bumblebee? […]
Summary: Blue light is emitted by artificial and natural light sources alike. For example, by screens and some LEDs but also by the sun. Prolonged exposure to very bright blue light can cause harm to the eyes. TVs, computer- and phone screens are not bright enough to cause damage. Exposure to blue light late in the evening can result in […]
Summary: There are numerous speech stratagems which can be used to win an argument or influence the audience. Moral equivalence (or false equivalence) is a fallacy which consists in drawing false equivalence between two things based on shared characteristics. Moral equivalence arguments also take the form of whataboutism or whataboutery. The goal of using the false equivalence fallacy is to […]
Summary: The common cold is not a name of one disease but a group of mild upper respiratory illnesses resulting from infection with different viruses. There is no prevention or treatment for the common cold. Currently used medications only treat symptoms of the disease. Vitamin C is an essential part of our diet. However, it does not prevent or treat […]
Summary: Scientists use a formalism called the Scientific Method to gain new insights into how the world works. The Scientific Method consists of asking a question, formulating a hypothesis, testing it, and re-evaluating it based on the outcome of the test. Scientific hypotheses can never be proven, but can always be disproved. If a hypothesis has been extensively tested, it […]
The side effects of CRISPR / Cas9 and the current strategies to mitigate them Summary: The CRISPR/Cas9 system often not only cuts at the intended site of the genome, but also in other unwanted places, which are called off-targets; Off-target events are mainly due to sequence homology between sgRNA and genomic DNA other than the target one, as well as […]
Summary: There are numerous speech stratagems which can be used to gain advantage in an argument or pull the audience to one’s side. Argument from authority is one of the most common logical fallacies. The argument is often a part of authority bias, which itself is considered to be a cognitive bias. Argument from authority (a. k. a. appeal to […]
Summary: RTS, S (Mosquirix) is the first vaccine against malaria with WHO recommendation for widespread use. RTS, S vaccine provides 36% protective efficacy against malaria after 4 doses. Malaria is far from being eradicated and still more effort is needed to relieve the world from its burden. In recent weeks, the world was struck with very exciting news related to […]
Summary: Presence of intelligent life on other planets appears likely. Several planets that might support intelligent life could be within observational range of Earth. Current alien observation of Earth is unconfirmed. UFO sightings, although numerous, are currently unexplained, and do not necessarily indicate non-human origin. A framework is needed for sharing data with the public. Monoliths found in California, Utah, […]
Summary: High numbers of infection with the Delta virus variant have been reported in Israel despite the vaccination rate of over 50%. The number of hospitalized people was smaller than in the previous wave. The vaccines are highly effective against infections and hospitalizations but the effectiveness against infection wanes over time. Since the approval of the vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, multiple […]