Heads up: Today is April 1, which means it’s April Fools’ Day, which means you should probably think twice before taking what you hear or read at face value. The silly, unofficial holiday is at least several centuries old — some link it to the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria (meaning “joyful”), while others say its roots are in the 16th century, when Pope Gregory XIII moved New Year’s Day from late March to January, but, as legend has it, not everybody got the memo. Learn more about the history and look back on some of the most iconic April Fools’ pranks.
Must Reads
In the wake of the devastating Myanmar-Thailand earthquake, here are ways to help from afar
Happiness expert Gretchen Rubin has a new book out today — learn her “simple truths” for navigating our complex lives
Health
No Gym? No Problem: Climbing Stairs With Intensity Can Build Strength in Older Adults
everything bagel/ iStock
If you want to shake up your exercise routine without necessarily joining a gym or investing in fancy equipment, consider turning to a good old-fashioned set of stairs. A recent study found that running up and down stairs as fast as possible may improve muscle power in older adults. To test this, researchers in Belgium assigned 46 healthy adults between the ages of 65 and 80 to one of two leg workouts: using a leg-press machine or intense bursts of stair-climbing. The study found that both groups gained muscle power and functionality — two things that tend to weaken with age. The participants also saw improvements in their walking speed and time required to stand up from a chair. Notably, the more powerful muscles are, the easier it is to react quickly and catch yourself if you start to fall, a skill that can be lifesaving, especially for adults over 60. “If you’re not able to move fast, even if you’re strong, you will still fall down,” lead study author Evelien Van Roie told The Washington Post. “This is something we really need to train.” The takeaway: “You don’t need a fancy gym” or hours upon hours of exercise to get stronger, according to Van Roie. Get the science-approved stair-climbing workout.
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Culture
Archaeologists Unearth Rare Physical Evidence of British Control in St. Augustine
City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program/ Facebook
It’s a well-known fun fact that St. Augustine, Florida, is the nation’s oldest continually inhabited city, founded by a Spanish soldier in 1565. Less talked about is that the coastal city was under Great Britain’s control for a brief stint in the 1700s, a period of history that has been mostly forgotten, with little evidence to show for it. That changed last fall when archaeologists identified the dry moat of a 1781 British redoubt, a fortified military outpost. “St. Augustine had a 20-year British period,” city archaeologist Andrea White told the Associated Press. “They came, and they built seven of these redoubts, and nobody has ever found any archaeologically. We have rough ideas of where they were, and they show up on historic maps. But we’ve never found actual, tangible, archaeological evidence for any of them until recently.” She added that “they’re the only defenses that the British built themselves.” Archaeologists completed the newly found structure’s excavations in March,clearing the path for the construction of a new single-family home. They were given time to learn more about the surrounding area’s history before the project moved forward, thanks to an archaeological preservation ordinance adopted by St. Augustine in 1986. Although this ordinance undoubtedly caused construction delays, Jason Heidgerken, the contractor working on the lot, said he isn’t complaining: “I actually think it’s pretty cool what the city does. I’m a history nut myself,” he said. “I think it’s pretty neat.”
Science
Genomic Sequencing Reveals Genes That Make Microbes Resistant to Drugs
fatido/ iStock
This article was written by Nneka Vivian Iduu, a graduate research assistant in pathobiology at Auburn University, for The Conversation. In the 20th century, when a routine infection was treated with a standard antibiotic, recovery was expected. But over time, the microbes responsible for these infections have evolved to evade the very drugs designed to eliminate them. Each year, there are more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections in the United States, leading to over 35,000 deaths and $4.6 billion in health care costs. As antibiotics become less effective, antimicrobial resistance poses an increasing threat to public health. Antimicrobial resistance began to emerge as a serious threat in the 1940s with the rise of penicillin resistance. By the 1990s, it had escalated into a global concern. Decades later, critical questions still remain: How does antimicrobial resistance emerge, and how can scientists track the hidden changes leading to it? Why does resistance in some microbes remain undetected until an outbreak occurs? Filling these knowledge gaps is crucial to preventing future outbreaks, improving treatment outcomes, and saving lives. Over the years, my work as a microbiologist and biomedical scientist has focused on investigating the genetics of infectious microbes. My colleagues and I identified a resistance gene previously undetected in the U.S. using genetic and computational methods that can help improve how scientists detect and track antimicrobial resistance — learn more.
In Other News
A hopeful new study found that smartphone usage among tweens may not always be harmful (read more)
This summer, Minneapolis is scheduled to open the first biochar facility in North America (read more)
Since 2000, India has achieved a 70% decline in child mortality and a 61% reduction in neonatal mortality (read more)
The FDA authorized the first at-home test for three common sexually transmitted infections (read more)
Real-life Rosie the Riveters were honored for their service at a museum in New Orleans — see the pics (read more)
Inspiring Story
Helping “through play”
Two sweet sisters from Florida — 11-year-old Kenzie and 9-year-old Kayleigh — wanted to help victims of Hurricane Helene. So they set out on a mission to deliver customized American Girl dolls to children affected by the disaster. “I love her so much,” said Addie, one of the doll recipients. “And she looks just like me.”
Photo of the Day
VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images
Most of the time, it’s impossible to see the island of Corsica from Nice, France, as the two locations are separated by nearly 150 miles of Mediterranean Sea. But on a few days out of the year, including this past Sunday, meteorological conditions create atmospheric refraction, allowing residents of the French riviera city to see Corsica’s mountains in the distance.
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