Robert Roy Britt / is on Nostr

I'm an independent #health and #science journalist and author of “Make Sleep Your Superpower: A Guide to Greater Health, Happiness & Productivity.”

I'm also a past editor-in-chief of Live Science and Space.com, a former newspaper editor, and a recovering media executive.

On Mastodon, I write short news briefs about new research into physical #wellbeing and #mentalhealth, including the #wellness pillars of #sleep, #diet, #exercise & #fitness, and #stress & #anxiety management.

Last Notes

2024-10-01 20:32:35

Like many people, I’m often confused by the competing and conflicting claims about what we should eat. So I reached out to 10 dietitians and nutrition experts and asked:
What handful of #food items would you put at the top of your personal list of a core diet, if you had to choose?
The result is a healthy, no-hype selection of 28 foods (plus snacks!) to draw from and build upon for a healthy #diet packed with good #nutrition for better #health.
https://medium.com/wise-well/the-28-best-things-to-eat-according-to-10-nutrition-experts-660acb8ec903

2024-09-27 02:23:12

Earlier today I published a story about hurricanes intensifying faster and becoming stronger, on average, and dumping more rain, than in the past. I had #hurricane #Helene in mind, because rapid intensification was in the forecast.
The forecast was right.
So I've updated my story to fold Helene's remarkable, rapid growth into the narrative.
And yes, this is a story about #climatechange.
https://medium.com/aha-science/hurricanes-are-off-the-charts-eb4927690693?sk=446358984f8b5f65e1218b16be42422c
(This is a "friend link" so you can read it even if not a @npub1u00…pzgc member.)

2024-09-26 16:22:01

With #hurricane #Helene expected to rapidly intensify, here's a look at how stronger winds, heavier rains, and rapid intensification are fueled by warmer seas.
The intensification of hurricane behavior is so stark that experts have begun pondering addition of a 6th category to the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, as the era of superstorms is expected to bring even more storms that are literally off the charts.
https://medium.com/aha-science/hurricanes-are-off-the-charts-eb4927690693
#science #climatechange #weather

2024-09-04 18:51:51

They say it’s a dry heat here in Phoenix. That’s sometimes true. But whatever you call it, and whatever you think about #ClimateChange, 100 straight days of this extreme heat is simply insane. It’s too damn hot. And not just here. Our outlandish record reflects dangerously rising temperatures across the planet.
https://medium.com/aha-science/100-straight-days-of-100-degrees-0c047555819e
#science

2024-08-30 20:08:31

Um, beans and rice, anyone?
"Federal meat inspectors documented black mold, water dripping over meat and dead flies at a Virginia Boar’s Head deli meat plant that has now been linked to nine deaths from listeria, according to records."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/30/health/listeria-outbreak-boars-head-deli-meat.html
#food #health

2024-07-24 19:19:13

Sometimes you don't know you have a question until some scientist poses it.
https://medium.com/aha-science/how-was-popcorn-discovered-3cc9c9899a6e?sk=5d849e6a12fc5e603991efde39a51fc8
#food #science #anthropology

2024-06-20 21:53:48

Chimpanzees eat a lot of different sorts of plants, so it can be hard to know why they pick one over another. But when scientists in Uganda observed wild chimps that were sick or injured eating plants the healthy chimps eschewed, a light bulb went off. Were the chimps self-medication? And can we learn something from them?
https://ahascience.substack.com/p/chimps-apparently-self-medicate
#animals #nature #science #medicine

2024-06-15 01:08:35

Remember that incredible solar storm last month, when the northern lights reached so far south I'm the only idiot in America who didn't see them? Well, be glad you were not on #Mars, where there's no protective magnetic field.
https://ahascience.substack.com/p/mars-slapped-by-that-solar-storm
#space #science #astronomy

2024-06-12 18:18:21

Evolution made us naturally drawn to foods that are fatty, sweet, rich and complex. Pizza is all that. And while it might seem like a simple food, the #science that goes into making #pizza amazing is pretty complex.
https://medium.com/aha-science/why-does-pizza-taste-so-good-42b48ef73a41?sk=408a7ced51455f79544a9b40c5f113da
#food and #cooking

2024-05-06 16:22:43

Humans feared #wolves, then domesticated them and created #dogs, then nearly wiped the wild wolves off the planet. And now the wolf is back, and so is the tension. Here's a fascinating tale of the relationship between two apex predators who learned to cooperate yet never seem to fully reconcile their differences.
https://medium.com/aha-science/humans-vs-wolves-a-history-of-mans-best-frenemy-4eab77efbc7f?sk=dec4c9fe3e4f43bf7c2346433144c5ff
#animals #science #rewilding #nature

2024-04-24 16:22:21

Jalapeños have a reputation for heat, but they can't hold a candle to the hottest peppers. Learn what makes peppers hot, which ones are the hottest, and how scientists measure the heat.
#food and #cooking #science
https://medium.com/aha-science/whats-the-world-s-hottest-pepper-2e5c6f3a87d7

2024-04-22 13:36:03

In general, people view the beginning of old age as coming later in life than it used to. But that trend, rooted in life-expectancy increases, is slowing, while the gap between lifespan and healthspan has become significant.
#aging #longevity #health
https://medium.com/wise-well/is-80-really-the-new-60-bfa98b7d1a7a

2024-01-03 19:29:03

While our daughter was visiting Australia, I asked her to flush some toilets and fill some sinks then pull the plugs to verify what we all know: Water rotates counterclockwise in a bathtub drain in the Northern Hemisphere — just like a hurricane—and clockwise south of the equator, right?
I love busting myths...
https://medium.com/aha-science/which-way-does-water-drain-in-the-northern-hemisphere-deb8c57c5628
#physics #science

2023-09-23 01:19:19

- reply

@npub1typ…c8hh Yuk. I have had tinnitus for several years, and for a while it grated on my nerves. Mindfulness meditation does not fix it, but it helped me pay less attention to it, and when I do consciously notice it, well, there it is — I’m not consumed by it. I hope you find some peace with it.

2023-04-29 21:00:38

Assuming you heard about the tragedy in Texas today, as a man with an AR-style assault rifle allegedly shot and killed several of his neighbors, including an 8-year-old child, after they'd asked him to stop shooting in his yard, due to the noise.
I had been planning to publish tomorrow the latest research on #guns and child deaths and suicide, so I edited it slightly and posted it today instead. I hope it offers some helpful perspective on such a sad, awful day.
https://robertroybritt.medium.com/guns-and-child-deaths-in-america-e9102d90eb5c

2023-04-27 00:12:41

#Suicide has become the leading cause of death among teens ages 13 to 14," with the rate doubling between 2008 and 2018, new study finds. It's the 2nd leading cause of premature death among those ages 10 to 24.
"Our data show that non-metropolitan areas have higher rates of teen suicide, regardless of method, and rural areas have higher rates due to #firearms,” said co-author Charles Hennekens, MD at Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine.
https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/teen-suicide-study