NASA Says Astronaut's DNA No Longer Matches Identical Twin Brother
Space travel CAN alter your DNA. That’s what NASA’s saying upon preliminary review of its Twins Study. As you’ll recall, astronaut Scott Kelly spent a year in space aboard the International Space Station and now that he’s back, about seven-percent of his genes have not returned to normal.
That means Kelly's DNA is no longer an exact match with his identical twin brother Mark, who remained grounded. The landmark study is designed to help researchers understand the possible changes the human body may undergo on a three-year mission to Mars.
Scientists say more research into how the human body adjusts to the stress of long-duration spaceflight as well as weightlessness, isolation, radiation is needed before astronauts can be sent on journeys that would triple the time humans have spent in space so far.
Source: CNN
EVERYTHING YOU THINK IS WRONG DAY – NATIONAL KANSAS DAY – NATIONAL SHOE THE WORLD DAY – NATIONAL PEARS HELENE DAY
Former Zoo Employee Took Some Creatures When He left His Job - A Maryland man is facing charges for stealing some dangerous snakes from a zoo.
Brandon Boyles apparently decided to take some stuff with him when he left a job as a reptile handler at the Catoctin Zoo and Wildlife Preserve. That “stuff” included six rattlesnakes, as well as three alligators and a crocodile.
When authorities caught up with him, they also found him in possession of several other venemous snakes, including some cobras. Boyles lived in an apartment and wasn’t taking good care of the animals.
One of the deadly snakes got out of its cage and was found in the bedroom.
Of course hes being charged. Source: Frederick News Post
Report: Most Bottled Water Has Plastic In It - There may be a reason to rethink how you drink your daily water requirement.
According to a new investigation, nearly all bottled water contains microplastic particles. Researchers examined 250 bottles of water bought in nine different countries. They found an average of ten plastic particles per liter of water. Each particle was bigger than the width of a human hair. The tests were conducted at the State University of New York in Fredonia.
Not surprisingly, the highest amounts were found in the U.S. At issue is the way the bottles are produced and the water bottled.
Now the studies start to find out how the microplastics affect our bodies. It can’t be good… can it?
If this freaks you out, there are plenty of non-plastic options for you to use to drink water.Source: Time
App That Matches You Based On The Sound Of Your Voice
There’s a new app in town, and it just might change the way we judge people. Gone are the days when we look at a picture of someone and swipe left or right – because this app doesn’t even GIVE you a photo of the person. Just a snippet of what their voice sounds like. Crazy, right?
Waving is an app that doesn’t let you see what the people you’re matching look like. All you do is describe the kinds of dates you’re looking for, and the app will give you a selection of people they think would be a good fit. Then, all you do is stalk the people you might want to match with – by listening to recordings of their voice.
The app is kind of crazy if you think about it. But plenty of people are jumping on board. Would you??
Source: Business Insider
United Loses Another Animal
Just 24 hours after apologizing for suffocating a puppy on one of their flights, United Airlines is offering another mea culpa. A west coast family is moving to Kansas – and decided to fly.
They took their German Shepherd, Irgo, along – though he was flying in the cargo hold. Imagine the Swindle family’s shock when they turned up at the United cargo facility…and were given a Great Dane instead.
As for Irgo – he was in the air…and flying to Japan. “He’s a 10-year-old dog,” says Kara Swindle. “I don’t know if he can survive the flight.” We’ll find out later today as United is promising to send the pooch to his humans, but in the meantime – there’s a lot of explaining to do.
"An error occurred during connections in Denver for two pets sent to the wrong destinations,” the company says in a statement. “We have notified our customers that their pets have arrived safely and will arrange to return the pets to them as soon as possible. We apologize for this mistake and are following up with the vendor kennel where they were kept overnight to understand what happened."
And on this flight – there should be a lot less confusion as Irgo will reportedly be flown first class.
Source: KCTV-5
Walmart Grocery Delivery Is Coming To 100 Cities
Walmart is giving Amazon’s new free two-hour delivery on Whole Foods orders some competition with their announcement to start grocery delivery service in 100 metro areas by the end of the year. Walmart’s online grocery delivery is only available in six areas now, but they’re expanding quickly.
America’s largest retailer says that within nine months, their grocery delivery service will serve over 40% of U.S. households, according to their press release. Walmart didn’t give details about where and when the service will be expanded, but they did assure customers who use the service online or via the Walmart Grocery App will “find the same everyday low prices” they see in stores.
But getting Walmart to bring your groceries to your door isn’t free. The delivery service costs $9.95 per order, with a $30 minimum purchase, but it does keep you from having to set foot inside Walmart, and that’s definitely worth something.
Source: Food and Wine
The Grossest Things People Admit They’ve Eaten
When writer Nicole Cliffe asked people on Twitter to tell her about the worst things they’ve ever eaten, you had to know it was going to get nasty. And the people of the Twitterverse did not disappoint. Here are some of the worst of the worst confessions.
- “One time I was removing a tick from a dog and it burst. My mouth was open.”
- “Mom, sister & I split a Ghirardelli Chocolate bar in the dark watching "Cheers" on TV. My dad came down for the last 1/4th, turned on the light, and realized it was crawling with maggots.”
- “I got some kind of fancy organic salad mix, and it had a LIVE BEETLE that ‘DEFENSE MECHANISMED’ in my mouth.
- “I used to watch my grandma’s father chew tobacco, and when I was a very small child, I thought I found some of his tobacco in the yard. It was goat poop.”
- “Once got some powdered donuts from the local hole in the wall convenience store. Got home and my wife put one in her mouth only to discover the white powder was covered in fuzzy white mold.”
- “There was the time I was at a party and we got food from a great Mexican place and the guacamole had a Band-Aid in it.”
- “Sea cucumber. It tastes like the dirty sand at the bottom of the ocean, only 1000x more salty.”
- “Cereal full of bugs. Like, cereal to bugs was literally 50/50.”
Source: Mamamia