No, it's not a virus that turns humans into vampires although that would be terrifying and cool at the same time, if the vampires get superpowers. But the vampire part is just an analogy used to describe the behavior of a particular bacteriophage which latches itself onto the 'neck' of another bacteriophage and leaving what looked like bite marks where its tendrils had been attached.

The bacteriophage, dubbed MiniFlayer, was first discovered by Tagide deCarvalho, the Assistant Director of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Maryland. At the time, she was supervising an undergraduate class wherein two students, Jenell Lewis and Hira Ahmed, had isolated and named their phage MindFlayer. However, when the genome sequencing turned out some odd and perplexing results, suggesting a contamination, deCarvalho looked at it, and found that there wasn't one phage, but two.

Bacteriophages usually infect bacteria in order to replicate themselves, but MiniFlayer had lost that ability, so instead, it found another method of reproducing through hijacking another virus' genetic machinery. DeCarvalho and her collaborator Ivan Erill have published a paper describing what they have observed, but they also hope that some other researchers who use a different form of electron microscopy could help illuminate what exactly is going on between MiniFlayer and MindFlayer.

(Image credit: Tagide deCarvalho/University of Maryland)

There have been a lot of comparisons between Gen Zs and other generations, it's like they're the new millennials except, according to a survey by the American Enterprise Institute's Survey Center on American Life, there are stark differences between experiences of Gen Z teens from the previous four generations as well as distinctive patterns that separate them from the usual experiences other generations had during that period in their lives.

The most salient point is how many Gen Z teens and adults have become accustomed to loneliness. The reason being that this generation grew up during the pandemic years, which contributed to feelings of isolation and challenges in socializing with others. Add to this the fact that they are the first generation to be true digital natives. They have become used to being on the phone all the time or developing parasocial relationships with other people online. Moreover, Gen Zs also struggle with finding meaning in life as well as personal identity and a sense of self.

The survey also indicated that, despite a growing detachment to religious activity, Gen Zs are less likely to use drugs, tobacco, or alcohol, which is completely the opposite from previous generations. Gen Z teens are also more likely to have gone to therapy. All this may be signs that young Americans are going through a major cultural shift beginning with Gen Zs. There were more insights gleaned from the survey and you may read about them on Deseret News.

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Making books is a fascinating art. It's not simple but as Adam Savage says in the video, it is accessible. That is, with the right materials and equipment, anyone should be able to make a book on their own. My parents used to gather scraps of used paper and bind them to make notebooks for me when I was younger. That would probably be the rudimentary process of bookbinding, but in the video above, Adam Savage makes a book that looks as though it has been weathered through time. However, the process is pretty straightforward, though not perfect or efficient, he was still able to craft an old-looking tome.

The gist of the bookbinding process can be summarized into three parts. The first step is to sew the pages together, the second step is to make the book covers and gluing them onto the bounded pages, and finally, the finishing touches. The final product really looked as though it's an old leather book from the 19th century. For more DIY videos, you may check out the Tested website or the Youtube channel.

(Video credit: Adam Savage's Tested/Youtube)

CinemaScore has surveyed audiences coming out of movie theaters to see what their reactions are after the film using a letter grade system since 1978. The results are then used to forecast box office performances. Sometimes, the data would reflect how majority of audiences will receive the film and thus, be a great predictor of how the film will fare throughout its run. However, that doesn't always happen. But there are a select few movies which have been given the rare "F" rating, and The Music Box Theatre in Chicago will be screening some of these movies again starting on December 5th.

Currently, there are 22 films which have received the "F" rating, and one might think that it means those are some of the worst movies ever made. However, Jeremy Marder and Matt Cipolla from The Music Box beg to differ. They argue that the CinemaScore rating simply reflects how audiences reacted to the film, and how they fared compared to people's expectations. They think that it is a testament of some brazen filmmaking, and that filmmakers should embrace the "F" rating as a badge of honor. For some cool stats on the CinemaScore ratings, you may check out this thread on Reddit by SanderSo47.

(Image credit: M@sh/Wikimedia Commons)

We all need cheering up once in a while, especially when we feel absolutely awful. Sometimes, words don't even need to be said, but simply having someone there for you is enough. We might have a few friends who would take us out to eat or bring us somewhere else as a change of pace, or do some fun activity that could help us take our minds off our circumstances. However, there are times when people try to give words of consolation, and instead of cheering us up, it ends up backfiring.

Preply, an online tutoring company, conducted a survey where they asked around 1,000 Americans what they thought about some popular positive phrases. And the consensus was that these 10 phrases are the cringiest and most annoying positive phrases. And it's understandable why people would feel that way. Some people don't want to be told to "choose joy" when obviously all they feel is sorrow, grief, loss, or anger. How can anybody choose joy in that kind of situation? Another phrase is just like it: happiness is a choice.

Anybody would be hard-pressed to find any comfort when being told such banal and inconsiderate words. Sometimes, I find it a lot easier to listen to words wherein you know people empathize or try to empathize with you like "that sucks" or "I hear you". And sometimes, actions speak louder than words, a hug or a gentle back message can be more palatable for some people. For the rest of the positive phrases, Reader's Digest lists them here.

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Hopefully none of us will have any use for the tips outlined in this article, but just in case we find ourselves in a plane that's about to crash, these could be life-saving tips, so it won't hurt to know them. Despite the horrific scenes and images we watch on TV about plane crashes, the data indicates that the survival rate from plane crashes was 95.7% according to the National Transportation Safety Board. That was from an analysis of plane crashes which occurred between 1983 to 2000. Furthermore, the odds of a plane crash even happening are rarer than we think. Not only that, but out of all the fatalities that did happen, 40% of those could have been prevented or survived, if proper actions had been taken.

Several of the tips are things that are probably common sense. Brace positions, reading the safety card, listening to the flight attendants, and putting on oxygen masks are perhaps stuff that we have heard numerous times every time we get on an airplane, however, they are quite necessary measures in case an emergency happens. Some of the uncommon tips include the Plus 3/Minus 8 Rule and the 90-second rule.

The Plus 3/Minus 8 Rule simply states that the chances of accidents happening on a flight are higher during the first three minutes after takeoff and the last eight minutes before landing. The 90-second rule refers to the amount of time that passengers have to evacuate a plane which has survived an emergency landing or crash. The reason being, a plane that has crashed will usually be on fire, and the fire will consume the entire plane in 90 seconds. For the rest of the tips, check them out on Art of Manliness.

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Whenever I went to the bookstore, there was always one aisle which I rarely looked at, and that was the romance novel section. There was just something about the concept of mainstream romance novels that never quite appealed to me. To be clear, I have no qualms about reading romance stories, and I would happily read one. But the type of romance stories that I prefer reading are stuff similar to Jane Austen's books.

Perhaps, my bias against romance novels of today are getting in the way as I have never attempted to read any of them. Maybe, it also has something to do with their covers. If you have walked through the romance section of a bookstore, then you'll most likely see a lot of clinch covers. In fact, The Pudding illustrates the history of romance novel covers, and mentions that clinch covers have been the staple for quite some time. However, in analyzing 1,400 romance novels from the past decade, they looked at several visual elements of the covers and how those remained or changed through time.

When in the 70s and 80s, clinch covers dominated the romance genre, these days, they have seen a decline in popularity. Publishers nowadays have opted for more illustrative covers with 72% of the books analyzed by The Pudding to have that kind of style in 2023. I think it just goes to show how the tastes and preferences of the culture has shifted. Romance is more than just the raunchiness of the characters, it's more to do with the emotion and the development of the characters, their relationships, and the dynamics of that. Still, it might take a little bit more persuasion for me to read some of the romance novels of today.

(Image credit: Reader's Digest)

I saw an infographic on RBTH which showed the Russian writers with the longest lives. The photo above is that of Leo Tolstoy, who is one of the few Russian writers I know. He's arguably one of the most famous figures in Russian literature, and although he lived to the ripe age of 82 years, his was not the longest. That title belongs to Daniil Granin, who lived to 98 years. Now, I got curious because the RBTH article mentioned that some of the most famous Russian writers and poets died young, and so I did a little bit of digging.

Some of the great Russian writers who tragically died at a young age were Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Anton Chekhov, Osip Mandelstam, and Daniil Kharms, who all died before reaching 50 years. Particularly, Pushkin and Lermontov had very painful deaths, only dying a few years apart and from the same cause. Lermontov even wrote about the death of Pushkin and immortalized him in a poem, despite not knowing Pushkin personally.

They both died from duels - Pushkin from a disagreement over a woman, and Lermontov because a military schoolmate took offense with a comment Lermontov made about him - but theirs were not the only terrible deaths that Russian writers have suffered. This article lists the most dreadful ways Russian writers have died, and includes two other writers mentioned above - Daniil Kharms and Osip Mandelstam.

(Image credit: Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii/Wikimedia Commons)

199 and counting. That's how many members the late Pu Ziona's family has. He died at the age of 76 in 2021, with 38 wives, 89 children, and 36 grandchildren, arguably the world's largest family. It's enough to fill a whole town, but they all live in one big mansion in the village of Baktawng, located in the northeastern state of Mizoram in India.

Ziona was the head of the Christian sect Chhuan Thar Kohhran or Church of the New Generation, after his father Chana died in 1997, who also succeeded his elder brother Khuangtuahthanga in 1955. The sect promotes polygamy and believes that they will live in a utopian society during a golden age period after the end of time, where they will be spared from wrath as well as receive rewards and privileges.

Right now, the family is being managed by Ziona's eldest son, Nunparliana who feels that he will not be able to live up to the legacy that his father left behind. Furthermore, the family has started to undergo changes with Nunparliana being the only one among his half-siblings who has continued the practice of polygamy. For now, Ziona's family has lived peacefully but only time will tell what the future holds for them. At the very least, Nunparliana hopes that he and his siblings, and future descendants would remain a tight-knit unit and live happily together. -via Oddity Central

(Image credit: Jugo Tlana/The Straits Times)

The condition called uterine didelphys or double uterus happens in less than 1% or about three per 1,000 women according to Dr. Richard Davis, and the chances of getting pregnant in both uteruses is even rarer. Kelsey Hatcher from Alabama is one such medical rarity and although it's a cause for celebration for her and her husband, Caleb, her ob-gyn, Dr. Shweta Patel, considers it a high-risk pregnancy as it is unknown how the baby in each womb would come out at the end of their term.

Doctors are monitoring the growth of each baby and they will especially focus during labor as, depending on the contractions for each uterus, the babies might be born together or separately. It is possible, according to Davis, that the twins will be born hours, days, or weeks apart. At the moment, the tentative date for her babies' birth is December 25th. Currently, the couple already have three children and are considering this to be their last pregnancy.

(Image credit: John Looy/Unsplash)

Some children are prodigies in math, music, or chess, displaying capabilities far beyond what children at their age normally can do. Other children are physically gifted, being able to perform amazing feats like acrobatics or gymnastics as early as three years old. But this two-year-old girl from Utah, Mayzee Evans can apparently ride full-grown horses. Her mom, Brynlee Evans, has dubbed her a 'horse whisperer' because she seems to share a bond with the horses.

Having lived at the family farm, Mayzee has been around animals since she was born. Her mom is also a horse-lover and has shared that passion with her daughter from such a young age that Mayzee has become accustomed to the routine of grooming and cleaning up after the horses. Mayzee's first contact with a horse came when she was just three months old and spends almost half her day with them when she was a baby. No wonder why Mayzee has formed a special relationship with the horses.

(Video credit: We Love Animals/Youtube)

In the video above from The Infographics Show, they try to explore the scenario in which the entire human race gets wiped out and only two people survive, one male and one female who are unrelated to each other. The question is whether they will be able to repopulate the earth. And the answer has several layers to it, using a hypothetical couple named Aiden and Ellie to sort out the intricacies of the scenario.

The primary consideration was the effects of inbreeding in future generations. There have been a lot of cases documented in which children born from first-degree parents had short lifespans, birth defects, or other anomalies that hampered their physical, emotional, and mental development. However, there were cases in which they lived long and had no glaring issues. But one can argue that that must have been a matter of luck in which they were simply the statistical outlier. Still, if the Aiden-Ellie couple had many children and those children had just as many children as well, there was a greater probability that some of their grandchildren would come out okay.

There have been previous studies however, which examined the minimum number of people to repopulate the earth after an apocalypse scenario. The video above actually states 98 unrelated individuals is the minimum number. In any case, the answer to the question is a hesitant yes but with many caveats. Hopefully, we won't have to face such a situation.

(Video credit: The Infographics Show/Youtube)

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call a couple weeks ago from a young boy at around 12:41 PM, and soon thereafter, Deputy Scott Pracht went to the house to respond to the call. However, when he arrived, the boy's mother was perplexed why there was an officer at the door. Deputy Pracht said that they had received a 911 call from their residence, specifically from her son.

In disbelief, the mom called out to her son, and went to check their phone records as she believed it must have been a mistake, saying that she doesn't think her son even knows what 911 is about. Her son, running toward the door, happily confirms that he did call the police officer, not for any kind of emergency but because he simply wanted to hug an officer. Afterward, Deputy Pracht explains to the little boy what the purpose of 911 was, the boy apologized in return, and the office told him not to worry about it.

It's great that the little boy wanted to give out some positive vibes to a police officer but it's also important to note that 911 is mainly for emergencies. Nevertheless, it's nice to be able to be surprised like this once in a while and receive some appreciation from the public. No harm, no foul.

(Video credit: NBC 6 South Florida/Youtube)

I love free things. If somebody were to stop me on the street to give me a free sample of a product, then who am I to refuse? Now, there's a new vending machine installed at the Tokyo Department Store in Kichijoji, Tokyo. At first glance, it looks like a very simple vending machine. But upon a closer look, you would find that there's no slit where coins, bills, or cards can be inserted so that you can pay for your purchase. Instead, there are instructions printed on the side which tells you what you need to do to get something inside the vending machine.

The vending machine is called "Moraeru Jihanki" which loosely translates to "the vending machine where you can get" or "you can have what's inside vending machine". It was created by Sukima Design Lab, and the process of using the machine is by adding the official Moraeru Jihanki account online, answering a short survey, and using the QR code sent to you to scan on the machine. Afterward, the machine will drop the item at the receptacle.

It's actually a very cool marketing concept since the main point of the vending machine is to get consumers to answer the survey. As for what kind of products are being given away, they have a selection of skin care and hair care products including masks, essences, serums, and a shampoo and treatment set.

(Image credit: Moraeru Jihanki)

How can a game in which the objective is to simply name all the stations on London's Tube map be so popular? That's probably the charm in it. It's simple and addictive, and it taps into the deeper part in our psyche wherein we want to test our knowledge about something that is part of our daily routine, which for many Londoners is going through the London Underground. There are currently 500,000 players who are obsessed with the game, and with the popularity that it has now, that number might grow even further.

The creator of the Metro Memory game, Benjamin Tran Dinh, says that the game was brought about by his memories of his time studying in London when he was in his twenties. The memories form another means by which players can connect deeply with the game, because as they look through the map and try to remember the names of different stations, they inevitably draw from their experiences through the years. Perhaps, a similar thing can happen if one were to make a game on the New York subway, the Chicago L, or the Washington Metro. You may check out the game here.

(Image credit: Felix Hanspach/Unsplash)