LONELINESS AND BONE DENSITY

A new study on loneliness is showing it may not only affect mental health, but it may also be bad for the bones. However, the study found it impacts one group in particular: men. Amid concerns about the rising epidemic of loneliness, researchers wanted to take a closer look at its effects.

Those working on the study exposed adult mice to social isolation and found that there were significant reductions in bone quality and mineral density, but only in the male mice, not the females. One doctor involved in this research did note that "future research is needed to understand how these findings translate to human populations."

HUMANS TILT EARTH

From 1993 to 2010, humans pumped over 2,000 gigatons of groundwater from reservoirs in the Earth's crust, and it changed the tilt of the earth's axis by 31 inches. According to the authors of a new study by the American Geophysical Union, the Earth's axis changes often, and the melting of the polar ice caps or rise in sea levels makes an impact on earth's rotation.

However, this shows that groundwater use also has an impact. By the way, if you've ever wondered how the planet came to be covered in H2O, a new theory published last week in the journal Nature suggests that 4.5 billion years ago, as Earth formed, it sucked up icy particles from space in a "vacuum effect."

Share:
More In Science
Americans Stress Out Over Inflation, War
A new study shows that Americans feel record levels of stress amid inflation and global uncertainty about the war in Ukraine. Cheddar News speaks with Lynn Bufka of the American Psychological Association about how to best put your worries aside.
Colgate-Palmolive To Invest $100 Million Over Five Years In Oral Health Initiative
Colgate-Palmolive is shedding light on the little-known fact that oral health is integral to overall health. The consumer products company will commit $100 million over five years to transform the way the world thinks about and addresses oral health. Maria Ryan, Chief Clinical Officer at Colgate-Palmolive, discusses why oral health is so vital to our physical and mental well-being.
Concerns Grow After Russian Shelling and Seizure of Ukraine Nuclear Plant
News of Russian forces taking control of a Ukrainian after artillery bombardment of a nuclear power plant raised concerns this week. Nuclear policy expert and Quincy Institute Distinguished Fellow Joe Cirincione joined Cheddar News to discuss the implications for a potential disaster. “I’m with the director general of the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency. He says that he is extremely concerned, and that this Russian attack is a severe risk and that Russia clearly violated the fundamental principle of preserving the integrity of nuclear power plants," Cirincione said.
Space Junk Set to Crash Into Moon
Adam Battle, research assistant at University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, joins Cheddar News to discuss space junk heading to the moon and if more should be done to prevent space junk in the future.
Study Shows Corn-Based Ethanol Could Be Worse for Climate Than Gasoline Alone
Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), corn-based ethanol has been mixed into gasoline sold at pumps in the U.S. since 2005, when a policy was enacted aimed at reducing emissions. Corn-based ethanol had been thought to be a relatively greener energy source compared to other biofuels, but now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports it may be actually worse for the climate than straight gasoline. Tyler Lark, an assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Sustainability, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell and discussed the pushback against the study. "Essentially when you need to produce more corn to meet the demand for use as ethanol as fuel, farmers respond and they switch more crops like soybeans and wheat into corn," Lark said. "They also bring more land into production, so things that used to be pasture grassland, and both those activities are associated with increased greenhouse gas emissions."
Load More