Author Archive

Weird worm-lizard creature looks like a serpentine centaur

Written by Sarah B. Puschmann

With just its head and front legs peeking out from its underground burrow, the Mexican mole lizard could pass for a slender, pink lizard — until it emerges completely, its body etched with an earthworm-like ring. But despite its regular lizard-like appearance, the reptile doesn’t have any hind legs. To the uninitiated, this lizard-on-top, worm-on-the-bottom creature appears to be a sort of serpentine centaur.

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Cold vs Heat as the Primary Cause of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Written by Dr. Craig Idso

In introducing their study of this important subject, Claeys et al. (2017)* write that “acute myocardial infarctions (AMIs) are the leading cause of mortality worldwide and are usually precipitated by coronary thrombosis, which is induced by a ruptured or eroded atherosclerotic plaque that leads to a sudden and critical reduction in blood flow,” citing the prior pertinent studies of Davies and Thomas (1985), Nichols et al.

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No Direct Human Health Risk Under a CO2 Exposure of 3000 ppm

Written by Dr. Craig Idso

Paper Reviewed
Liu, W., Zhong, W. and Wargocki, P. 2017. Performance, acute health symptoms and physiological responses during exposure to high air temperature and carbon dioxide concentration. Building and Environment 114: 96-105.

At its present concentration (~405 ppm), atmospheric CO2 poses no direct health threat to human or animal life. However, in a world where fake news seems to get more media exposure than the truth, unfounded rumor and false fears are spread that rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are causing a host of human health-related maladies.

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