It’s time to get your flu shot! But it may not be as effective if you’re overweight. A new study provides evidence explaining a phenomenon that was noticed for the first time during the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak: that obesity is associated with an impaired immune response to the influenza vaccination in humans.
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A group of scientists want to capture a near-earth asteroid and bring it closer to Earth, so we can use it as a platform for future space missions. This is not some wild future speculation: We already have the technology to do this.
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Everyone’s a little bit racist, but it may not be your fault. A research team thinks our culture may be partially to blame. And another team of researchers has found that the perception of race can be altered by cues to social status as simple as the clothes a person wears.
In one experiment, participants were asked to determine the race of computerized faces. Faces accompanied by business attire were more likely to be seen as white, whereas faces accompanied by janitor attire were more likely to be seen as black. Racial categorization represents a complex and subtle process powerfully shaped by context and the stereotypes and prejudices we already hold.
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On first examination, this alien footage appears spectacular, but then the questions start. Some of the children in the foreground turn around and look uneasy. So either they are seeing something or they’ve been told to turn around and don’t know why. The ‘alien’ apparently makes a stilted movement. Even if the videographer did not see the figure, he must have seen the light plainly visible in the forest behind it. But the video doesn’t continue. He makes no effort to walk toward this fantastic apparition or even to zoom in on it. Instead, the video ends abruptly.read more