Drinking tea at least three times a week could increase your chances of living longer, according to a new Chinese study by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The study found that people who habitually drink tea were more likely to have a longer life expectancy. Researchers estimated that 50-year-old habitual tea drinkers would develop coronary heart disease and stroke 1.41 years later than other people, as Yahoo News details: 

they found that those who maintained their regular tea consumption at both surveys had a 39 percent lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, 56 percent lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 29 percent decreased risk of all-cause death, compared to consistent never or non-habitual tea drinkers.

"The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea drinking group," said senior author Dr. Dongfeng Gu. "Mechanism studies have suggested that the main bioactive compounds in tea, namely polyphenols, are not stored in the body long-term. Thus, frequent tea intake over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect."

The findings also suggest that drinking green tea was linked with around a 25 percent lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, fatal heart disease and stroke, and all-cause death, however, no significant associations were found for black tea.

Dr. Gu points out that a preference for green tea is unique to East Asia. "In our study population, 49 percent of habitual tea drinkers consumed green tea most frequently, while only 8 percent preferred black tea. The small proportion of habitual black tea drinkers might make it more difficult to observe robust associations, but our findings hint at a differential effect between tea types."

image via wikimedia commons

Emirates Airlines has been named as the best airline in the world by Condé Nast. While some of us can’t really afford to board the airline’s first-class section, Buzzfeed’s Farrah Penn does the research for us. How are the services and accommodations inside the famed airline? For an example, the airlines’ first-class comes with a shower, as Buzzfeed details: 

First, I learned that this is what first class looks like. If you're ballin', you get a nice little pod, complete with cozy lamp lighting and a drawer for storage. It also comes with everything you need to get ready for bed, including moisturizer and eye cream.

Anyway, the bathrooms in first class come with a shower, but you have to reserve a time slot in order to take advantage of it. It's not a bad size for a plane shower, though!

Both first class and business class receive access to the Emirates bar and lounge. This area contains snacks, seating, and, of course, drinks.

image via wikimedia commons

One Million Moms, a “pro-family” organization has launched a campaign against Burger King’s Impossible Whopper commercial. The ad includes a man saying “damn, that’s good,” as a reaction to the plant-based patty. According to One Million Moms, that part of the ad will ruin the children of today. This is not the first time the organization has campaigned against various media, as Vice detailed: 

One Million Moms is the same organization that protested the Zola commercial that featured a lesbian couple trying to plan their wedding, and yes, it threw such a fit that the Hallmark Channel temporarily pulled the spot from its broadcasts. (The network then reversed that decision, following significant backlash.) It has also gone after Kit-Kat for using the Missy Elliott song "Work It" during one of its own commercials. "The focus of the commercial is the sexual message and not the product itself," the Moms harrumphed.

One Million Moms is a division of the Mississippi based American Family Association (AFA), which has been designated as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. One of the AFA's recent initiatives was to contact Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy to express its concern over the restaurant's decision to stop donating to organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights, and to question its financial support of Covenant House, an organization that refuses to discriminate against LGBTQ youth.

a big deal just became a bigger deal. the Impossible Whopper is available nationwide starting 8/8. pic.twitter.com/TpFQenSLFQ

— Burger King (@BurgerKing) August 1, 2019

image via wikimedia commons

Xenobots are the newly-discovered, first living and self-healing robots constructed from frog stem cells. Xenobots are named after the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), the source of stem cells. These robots can walk, swim, survive for weeks without food, and work in groups. The University of Vermont, along with Tufts University, label these new machines as a programmable organism, as CNN detailed: 

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to develop into different cell types. The researchers scraped living stem cells from frog embryos, and left them to incubate. Then, the cells were cut and reshaped into specific "body forms" designed by a supercomputer -- forms "never seen in nature," according to a news release from the University of Vermont.

The cells then began to work on their own -- skin cells bonded to form structure, while pulsing heart muscle cells allowed the robot to move on its own. Xenobots even have self-healing capabilities; when the scientists sliced into one robot, it healed by itself and kept moving.

Xenobots don't look like traditional robots -- they have no shiny gears or robotic arms. Instead, they look more like a tiny blob of moving pink flesh. The researchers say this is deliberate -- this "biological machine" can achieve things typical robots of steel and plastic cannot.

image credit: Douglas Blackiston, Sam Kriegman via CNN

To help the visually-impaired to admire the huge tourist attractions, miniatures of these attractions are created. They are placed near the attractions themselves, including information in Braille to help more people read about the monuments or entire city centers. This wonderful addition helps the blind and the visually-challenged to appreciate tourist attractions better, as My Modern Met details: 

“When blind people finger their town for the first time it is a completely new experience for them,” Broerken writes. “Before they could feel the walls of the town but only the model gives them a chance to understand the dimension of the town they live in.”

By bringing architecture to life on a small scale, visitors can take a walk through the city using their fingertips and marvel at the incredible detail they might have otherwise missed. Of course, new technology like 3D printing has made scale models more affordable and so tactile models have become increasingly commonplace. So the next time you walk past one of these beautiful miniatures, take a moment to consider its important role in unlocking the details of the world’s greatest architecture.

image via My Modern Met

Whether it’s simply doodling on your notepads, or creating elaborate drawings or paintings, creative work helps us to be healthy and connected to the world. There’s the feeling of elation and a burst of creativity every time we try to create anything, regardless of form. NPR has more details:  

"Anything that engages your creative mind — the ability to make connections between unrelated things and imagine new ways to communicate — is good for you," says Girija Kaimal. She is a professor at Drexel University and a researcher in art therapy, leading art sessions with members of the military suffering from traumatic brain injury and caregivers of cancer patients.

image via wikimedia commons

In a time where we are getting more driven to preserve and protect the environment, we aim to reduce our carbon footprint, one action at a time. Using gadgets consume the environment’s resources, and some can do lasting damage to the planet. So what can we do, as consumers, to protect the environment and get to use a smartphone as well? Grist shares their tips on how to pick a environment-friendly phone. If we want to reduce our carbon footprint from using gadgets, the trick is to pick a phone that will use as long as possible: 

No two-year upgrade, no succumbing to the shiny new release, no giving up as soon as the screen is cracked. To that end, you also want to look for items you can fix when something goes wrong with them. A phone with glass on both sides is twice as likely to crack. A used phone or refurbished phone is going to be more eco-conscious than a new one, for obvious reasons. And a phone with a more efficient battery won’t need that battery replaced as often — assuming you can replace it.

image via wikimedia commons

Josh McConnell finds an interesting object in the pizza joint he went to. In the men’s washroom, a hole in the wall was framed. The framed fracture is titled as “fragile masculinity”. The pizza joint sure has a sense of humour, framing something that was broken instead of fixing it. They sure won’t let the person responsible for it ever forget! As to who did the hole in the wall, no one knows.  

The pizza joint I went to framed a hole in the wall in the men’s washroom and called it “Fragile Masculinity” pic.twitter.com/ZTxO2BsWMH

— Josh McConnell (@joshmcconnell) January 10, 2020

image via Josh McConnell on Twitter

The EAT-Lancet Commission generated targets for a sustainable and nutritious planet-wide diet, aimed to preserve the world we are living in. The Commission, a team of 37 experts, aim to feed ten billion people by 2050 without destroying the environment. From doubling the consumption of fruits and nuts to reducing the amount of meat and sugar that we eat, National Geographic presents their worldwide diet plan in well-visualized infographics. 

image credit: screenshot via National Geographic

No one would have expected a remake announcement for the recent Pokemon direct, where the expansion pass for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield was announced. However, fans and gamers were surprised to see a reveal trailer of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, a remake of  the Rescue Team games released on the Gameboy Advanced years ago, Now this game is definitely going to be in my wishlist! 

New York City has established a program that allows people arrested for minor offenses such as fare beating, painting graffiti, shoplifting, and trespassing to avoid jail by taking a two-hour course at the Brooklyn Museum. After the course, the cases would be dismissed, and no criminal court record is registered. The program, called Project Reset, has shown an improved view of criminal justice agencies, as Hyperallergic detailed: 

“It’s about holding people accountable, but doing it in ways that promote human dignity,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez at a press conference at the Brooklyn Museum on October 21. “It requires individuals to view and discuss a piece of art with people they don’t know,” he added. “They’re asked to create their own art, to think and find meaning in that art.”

image via wikimedia commons

Spanish startup Novameat has revealed a plant-based steak, claiming it to be the most realistic yet. Novameat’s Steak 2.0 looks like the steak you can find in stores, but it is made of peas, seaweed, and beetroot juice. Not exactly the tastiest combination out there, but it is an option for vegetarians. The company used a 3D printer to produce the fibers out of the ingredients, giving the fake steak its “meaty” appearance. 

(via Futurism)

image via Futurism

The heart-wrenching, nightmare-inducing game that took the gaming world one sneak attack at a time will now be available to play on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. Five Nights At Freddy‘s 1-4 will soon be available for the consoles, according to Clickteam,the developer of the franchise. That’s more consoles to play the game with, besides the PC. 

(via IGN)

image via IGN

Animals are capable creatures. While their intelligence is different from humans, that doesn’t stop them from doing things that a human can do. Watch as this octopus unscrews a lid from the inside of a jar. Twitter user wonderofscience clears up that the lid was not water-tight, so the octopus would not be suffocated.  

Octopuses can solve complex puzzles requiring pushing or pulling actions, like this octopus unscrewing the lid of a jar… from the inside.

Credit: Enoshima Aquarium. https://t.co/Lm5r7R4U3g pic.twitter.com/Wude2guIJo

— Wonder of Science (@wonderofscience) January 9, 2020

image credit: screenshot via Twitter

Fact checking politicians isn’t enough, according to The Digital News Project 2020. The Project predicted that politicians may take on misinformation or disinformation tactics in the coming elections. In a survey of 233 executives in traditional and digital publishing companies, 85% agreed that while fact checking is essential for assessing politicians, there should also be another way to ensure that politicians would be of good faith. Rappler has the details: 

There needs to be a more nuanced response, they said. "We certainly need to offer fact checks and reality checks. But we also need content which explores good faith politics, what might be working, how policy develops and makes a difference," the report quoted BBC World Service's Mary Hockaday as saying.

Tech platforms are also at fault, said publishers, with Facebook (17%) receiving the least credit among publishers for their fight against misinformation and disinformation. Facebook is followed by YouTube (18%), Google Search (34%), and Twitter (41%).

image via wikimedia commons