Illustration of the spreading of data online like a giant web expanding

How to Protect Your Data Online

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<p>You’ve probably heard it countless times: your data is out there. “Every time you open an app, you send about maybe 500 kilobytes of data to their servers,” says Patrick Jackson, chief technology officer at the tracker protection company, Disconnect. “That is equivalent to about 125 pages of text that you would print in a printer.”</p><p>Companies are capitalizing on all that data. The data broker industry, which consists of companies that collect your information and sell it, is worth about $200 billion dollars. Your data is a valuable commodity.</p><p>In today’s day and age, even signing up for an app means you may be agreeing to share your data. It may seem like the only option to protect your privacy is to go off the grid, but as digital privacy and anti-surveillance advocate Matt Mitchell says, “privacy isn’t a switch, it’s a dial.” There are easy steps you can take to protect more of your data.</p>
<p><b>Clear your activity history</b></p><p>Accounts like Google and LinkedIn store your data and search history. You can manage and erase some of this information by going to myactivity.google.com or an applications’ privacy and security settings.</p><p><b>Get a browser extension</b></p><p>One of the main ways your data is tracked and shared is through cookies. When you click “accept cookies,” you give permission for browsers to track––and potentially sell–– your information to data brokers.</p><p>However, there are browser extensions such as Privacy Badger that “eat” these cookies, getting rid of tracking cookies and stopping websites from seeing what other sites you might be browsing. This can help mitigate further tracking.</p>
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<p><b>Choose a safe password</b></p><p>Even if you think you have a clever password, hackers are very good at getting information about you from data brokers, such as your hometown or street name.</p><p>You should opt for a strong and unique password that uses a combination of both words and numbers. It should also be long: seven character passwords can be figured out in a few seconds, whereas 12 character passwords with a mix of uppercase letters and numbers can be a lot harder to crack. A passphrase consisting of a string of random words is even more secure, and easier to remember.</p><p><b>Use two factor authentication</b></p><p>Even if hackers can somehow guess your password, you can also add an extra layer of security: two-factor authentication.</p><p>Two factor authentication requires you to have both your password and a one-time code or other verification method in order to log into your account. You can either get the code through a text message, or an authenticator app, such as <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2&amp;hl=en_US&amp;pli=1">Google Authenticator</a>.</p>
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<p data-block-key="ndbdo">Practical tips for creating a strong password and keeping your data safe online.</p>

Why the Sky Changes Colors at Sunset

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<p>There’s truly nothing like a pretty sunset. As the sun sets, the heavens above are like cotton candy: lighting up with a beautiful display of deep reds, vibrant oranges, and intense pinks. Simply put, the sky seems to be on fire.</p><p>The reason we see different colors at different times has to do with the physics of light.</p><p>Visible light travels in electromagnetic waves, which we see as the colors of the rainbow.</p><p>Different colors have different wavelengths of light. Violet and blue have the shortest wavelengths, whereas red and orange have the longest. Gas molecules in the atmosphere are even smaller than the wavelengths of light. When light enters the atmosphere, it gets scattered by molecules like nitrogen and oxygen. And because blue wavelengths are the shortest, they get scattered more, resulting in a blue sky.</p><p>During a sunset, however, light scattering works differently. The sun’s light has a lot further to travel. Blue wavelengths are filtered out, and so the red and orange wavelengths peer through the atmosphere. In fact, everyone who is in the same latitude is looking at the same rays of light, it just appears like different colors because of the atmospheric scattering.</p><p>And while some believe that extremely bright and beautiful sunsets are a result of dust and pollution, that isn’t the case. If that were true, cities with high levels of pollution like New York and Los Angeles would constantly have colorful sunsets. Dust and pollution <i>could</i> potentially influence a sunset’s vibrancy, but most of the scattering happens at the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere.</p>
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<p>That being said, there are some reasons why a sunset might be brighter than others. Temperature is one major factor at play, as winter sunsets tend to be more vibrant. Cold air has less water vapor, which can cling to particles in the air like dust and pollen, causing them to block sunlight. Not to mention, colder air typically comes from areas like the Arctic, where there are fewer trees and less pollution to create the particles that would block light.</p><p>Clouds also affect what a sunset will look like. If the sky is full of clouds and overcast, from the ground you won’t see that pretty of a sunset. But if you hopped on a plane, crossing the boundary layer of the atmosphere, you would probably get to see a more colorful display.</p><p>Not all clouds block sunset light though. The wispy and feathery cirrus clouds are high enough that they reflect the last red orange rays of a setting sun back to the ground.</p><p>Finally, weather can also influence the sunset. The contiguous United States is situated under a jet stream, or a band of air that flows from west to east. Certain weather patterns, such as rain showers or blizzards, affect that jet stream. If the disturbances happen in the east, the cooler air will worsen weather conditions. But on the western side, the air will clear and dry, allowing for a nice sunset. This is why there is often a beautiful sunset after a storm.</p>
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<p data-block-key="f80np">What causes those beautiful reds, oranges, and pinks at sunset?</p>

A bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) stands in the forest watching an impala (Aepyceros melampus) in Gorongosa National Park

A bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) stands in the forest watching an impala (Aepyceros melampus) in Gorongosa National Park.

Is Fear Contagious?

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<p>Think of something that scares you. Your heart starts to pound, you break into a sweat, your muscles start to tense. This classic fear response is important so that you can take action - “fight or flight” - and it can help protect you in a life-threatening situation.</p><p>It might also be contagious. You might think of fear as a personal emotion, but scientists have discovered that your fear can affect those around you.</p>
<p>This effect is clearest in animals. Animals have special chemicals called pheromones that they secrete in bodily fluids, and these chemicals are a way of communicating with other members of the same species. Pheromones can communicate many different messages, and fear is a common one. Imagine a bee that encounters a threat: It releases an alarm pheromone, which helps alert its colony to impending danger. The fear spreads, triggering a fight or flight response, and the bees are able to protect themselves as a group.</p>
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<p>Humans also release chemical signals when they’re scared. When others smell these signals, research suggests they might also sense and experience heightened feeling. In one small study, researchers collected sweat from under people’s armpits after they had run on a treadmill and after they went skydiving. They made other people sniff both types of sweat to see their reaction. The scientists found that those who sniffed the skydiving sweat had more activity in the part of the brain called the amygdala, which is responsible for emotion processing.</p>
<p>Smell isn’t the only way that fear can be transmitted. As social beings, humans tend to mimic others. You’re more likely to smile if you see someone else smiling, and seeing someone else cry might also trigger your own tears to fall. That phenomenon is called emotional contagion, where a feeling (positive or negative) spreads between two people or throughout a group of people. Some emotions appear to spread faster and more effectively, though. High-arousal emotions like awe, anger, and anxiety or fear may be more likely to spread.</p>
<p>Many modern triggers that set off our stress response (such as work, dating, or the news) aren’t imminent dangers, and following the feelings of others may not help us. So can we resist emotional contagion? Researcher Sigal Barsade, who has studied emotional contagion for two decades, suggests creating a distraction from the source of contagion, projecting your own positivity, and speaking up if others are projecting negative emotions without realizing it. You don’t want somebody to bring down the vibe of a conversation if it means you’ll be brought down, too.</p>
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<p data-block-key="2nrym">How pheromones and emotional contagion can make fear spread through a group–for better or worse.</p>

Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

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<p>It’s not uncommon for a dog to sniff around a yard, come across a pile of poop, and gobble it up. Or even to eat its own poop. It might sound quite disgusting, but lots of dogs will eat poop at <i>some</i> point in their lifetimes. It’s common enough that it’s even acquired a technical name: coprophagia.</p>
<p>Mothers often eat their puppies’ poop. Scientists believe this behavior is beneficial to avoid parasites that are commonly found in stool. Most carnivores, like dogs, will defecate away from where they live so they don’t come in contact with parasites that could be dangerous. But because puppies can’t leave the den, mothers will chomp up the fresh feces before the parasite eggs become infectious. Puppies learn from their mothers, so they’ll often do the same until adulthood.</p>
<p>That being said, some adult dogs (an estimated 16 percent) still engage in coprophagia. It might have to do with nutritional deficits: the dog might be missing some crucial nutrients, and seek out poop in its stead.</p>
<p>Anxiety and or environmental stress can also contribute to coprophagia. According to the American Kennel Club, if a dog is punished for pooping in the wrong place, it might misunderstand and think it was punished for the sheer act of pooping. The dog might then eat their poop as a way to cover up the evidence. They could also just be eating the poop to get more attention from their owners. Another theory is that if dogs are fed close to where they poop, they might associate the smell of feces with that of food and eat it up.</p>
<p>There’s not a ton that can be done to keep your dog from eating poop––the best you can do is clean up the mess before your pooch takes a bite. And don’t make a big deal if they snack on the stool. After all, it’s only natural.</p>
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<p data-block-key="ljo45">It’s surprisingly common for dogs to eat poop, a habit called coprophagia.</p>

What Your Earwax Says About You

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<p>You might hate the feeling of wax clogging up your ears, but the goo is actually a very important bodily secretion that serves many roles. It flushes dead skin cells out of your ear that don’t need to be there anymore; it prevents dangerous foreign objects from entering your ear and causing damage; and it also has antimicrobial properties that keep out bacteria and other potentially harmful pathogens.</p><p>Earwax also says something about the human body to which it belongs. Scientists have determined that there are two main varieties of earwax. There is wet-type earwax, which is the sticky and yellow/brown earwax found primarily in people of Caucasian or African descent. And there is a light and flaky dry-type earwax, common among people of East Asian descent.</p>
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<p>These different earwax types are caused by different variants of the same gene. The wet-type is likely the original form, and scientists believe the dry-type evolved in the population of early humans who migrated to northern and eastern Asia.</p><p>Earwax type doesn’t just tell you where your ancestors may have come from––it’s also associated with your body odor. The wax is secreted by modified apocrine glands, which are the same glands that release sweat. Bacteria are attracted to apocrine sweat, releasing a pungent smell when they devour it and causing body odor. And people with wet-type earwax tend to be smellier, suggesting the two have to do with each other.</p><p>The wax can also be a useful indicator of many other things. For instance, its smell helps diagnose diseases. In fact, conditions like maple syrup urine disease can be identified with earwax quicker than other methods. And because particles from the environment get trapped in earwax, the secretion can also be an indicator for where someone has been.</p><p>More research is needed to fully understand the potential of earwax. And while it may bother you at times, it’s good to keep it in your ears.</p>
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<p data-block-key="d8own">Earwax reveals more than you might realize, from ancestry to underlying medical conditions.</p>

How Was the Great Pyramid Built?

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<p>The last surviving wonder of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid of Giza has mystified archeologists for decades. But archeological evidence gives clues as to how ancient Egyptians were able to construct something of that scale and complexity. These papyri, which were excavated at the site Wadi al-Jarf, have information about times, dates, and cargo deliveries––almost like an Excel spreadsheet of what the workers received.</p><p>To build the pyramid some 4500 years ago, Egyptians needed high quality tools to cut the massive stones. They imported copper mined from the Sinai and sent across the Red Sea to Wadi al-Jarf.</p><p>The Great Pyramid required three different types of stone. The exterior was made of high-quality limestone, the inner core consisted of a more common limestone, and the chambers for the sacred tomb of the king were made of granite. While the limestones were sourced locally, the granite stones proved more difficult. They came from a quarry in Aswan, 500 miles south of Giza.</p>
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<p>The millions of tons of stone required were brought to the site on boats sailing the Nile. The Egyptians used systems of basins and waterways to deliver the stone directly to the construction site, about 100 feet higher.</p><p>“The major influx of materials– both gigantic stones, timber, wood, grain to feed the people––happened during the flood season, when the Nile rose and covered the valley and filled the deep channel,” says archeologist Mark Lehner.</p><p>To raise the blocks up the sloping sides of the pyramids, they used ramps and embankments. This was before the days of the wheel, but Egyptians used sledges to carry large rocks up.</p><p>While thousands of laborers helped build the pyramid, records reveal there was one man in charge of the successful operation: Ankh-haf. The half brother of the pharaoh, he was essentially the chief of the administration and big boss for building the pyramid. He and the many workers who contributed to the project pulled off one of the greatest feats in archaeological history–a wonder of the world that still stands today.</p>
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<p data-block-key="a10we">Records show how the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid more than 4500 years ago.</p>

Hannah Docter-Loeb