It turns out that the bonds between a mother and her child are not merely psychological or even genetic: During pregnancy, the mother and the fetus literally exchange cells, leaving identifiable bits and pieces of the child inside the mother – and vice versa – for decades after birth.
science
Amazing and weird science facts: biology, chemistry and much more.
Electric brain stimulation improves maths performance
Scientific evidence proves why healers see the ‘aura’ of people
Researchers in Spain have found that many of the individuals claiming to see the aura of people –traditionally called “healers” or “quacks”– actually present the neuropsychological phenomenon known as “synesthesia” (specifically, “emotional synesthesia”).
Aspirin burns fat
It may be great for curing a splitting headache, but scientists have now discovered that aspirin also activates an enzyme that burns fat, a finding that could unlock its cancer fighting properties, according to a new study.
New car smell is bad for you
The “new car smell” is mostly caused by an additive in plastics called plasticizers, but some variations of the additive are endocrine disruptors.
You can grow your fingers together
If you cut off all the skin between your index finger and your middle finger, and then kept the two fingers in constant contact with each other during the healing process, the skin would heal the two fingers together and thus creating one superfinger.
20% of children report hearing voices
Researchers carried out psychiatric assessments of almost 2,500 children aged between 11 and 16 in Dublin. They discovered that 21%-23% of younger adolescents, aged 11 to 13, had experienced auditory hallucinations.
Drinking alcohol may significantly enhance problem solving skills
Professor Jennifer Wiley of the University of Illinois at Chicago discovered that alcohol may enhance creativity problem solving by reducing the mind’s working memory capacity, which is the ability to concentrate on something in particular.
Weak handshake can indicate stroke risk
Not only is a firm handshake a sign of confidence, but doctors say it may be a barometer of your health, too. Researchers followed nearly 2,500 men and women for more than a decade, according to new research presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting, and linked the risk of dementia and stroke to how strong their handshakes were at the beginning of the study.
Fast food makes you depressed
According to a recent study headed by scientists from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Granada, eating commercial baked goods (fairy cakes, croissants, doughnuts, etc.) and fast food (hamburgers, hotdogs and pizza) is linked to depression.
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