If you love science, technology, new inventions and discussing them with your friends and colleagues then Twitter would be your favourite. The microblogging site has a section in its Moments Things To Make You Sound Smarter This Week. It is engaging and intriguing to know what developments are happening in the scientific sphere. If you are someone who gets easily attracted by ‘Did you Knows’ and How then the list is for you! Let us take a look at some of the things that have been researched on in the week.

  1. Egg smashing by ancient birds:

    (Photo credits: Twitter/newscientist)

    The ancient birds were too heavy-weight, so much so that when they sat on their eggs, they would smash it. These are the Archaeopteryx, meaning the bird-like dinosaurs. They had mixed features of dinosaurs and modern birds. Compared to today’s breeding in birds, the incubation is provided when the birds sit on their laid eggs. Today the bird eggs are comparatively hard-shelled. The ancient birds had hipbones that forced them to lay small and weaker eggs, which broke once a little weight was put on them.

  2. Are bees going extinct?:

    The western honeybee (Photo credits: Twitter/DrBicentenario)

    If you have been following with nature news then you might know this discussion has been ongoing whether bees are going extinct. And it is not at all a good news since bees act as pollinators for crops, 35% worldwide to give an estimate. The lessening of the number of bees is called Colony Collapse Disorder, wherein the worker bees are just abandoning the hives, thus affecting the entire number. Common pesticide chemicals are largely responsible for the near extinction. It is the Western honeybee which is facing this problem, although measures are being adopted, they are not enough. And even if bees are not the only pollinators in nature, it has come to light that other insects are also at risk.

  3. Americans ate pigeons and it might continue:

    A vintage postcard of a pigeon plant.(Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons)

    In the 1970s a French restaurant in New York used to serve pigeon meat. Squab meat as it is called was said to be a source of protein in the United States. After the post-World War II ear, it was replaced by the farmed chicken. But the squab meat is said to be making a comeback in French and Chinese restaurants around the country. It may sound condemning but in the early days, a young pigeon’s meat was revered. But Asian markets in the United States have a demand for the squab. The increasing demand is, in fact, raising the price of these pigeons too! We are not too sure how to feel about this but those who have been cooking and serving it, say it tastes too yummy!

  4. Stabbing Voodoo dolls of boss eases stress:

    Voodoo doll (Twitter/MTTMETS)

    Most employees have a certain dislike for their bosses at work. A study, published in the journal The Leadership Quarterly, said that stabbing voodoo dolls with boss’s name on it, helped in a better quality of work from the employees. It served as an effective retaliation to abuse faced from a superior at work. Damage to voodoo dolls helped in boosting morale. 

  5. Fitbits not great at tracking heart rate:

    A fitbit keeps tab on some health parameters (Photo credits: Twitter/lucismorsels)

    The extreme health-conscious people use fitbits to keep a tab on their activities- step count, heart rate, steps climbed and other metrics available in the wearable band. Scientists and doctors too have been using them to monitor patients but a new study has claimed these devices are not reliable. The researchers found heart rate measurements taken by the Fitbit Charge 2 were routinely different than those taken by the ECG. The average heart rate recorded by the Fitbit was around 6 beats per minutes (BPM) slower than the average collected by ECG. It shows activity trackers are not accurate for some features at least.

  6. Babies who look like dad are healthier:

    Representational Image (Photo credits: twitter/Funny_Videos_ch)

    A constant debate that goes in every family after the birth of a new child is who does the child resemble- the mother or father. A study conducted at Binghamton University, State University of New York found that the babies who look like their father are healthier. It also stated that the resemblance makes the father spend more time with the child and resulted in the positive result for the child. Read the entire explanation here.

Which of these findings and study interests you the most? Is there anything other than this that caught your eye and would love to discuss it with others? Do let us know.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 12, 2018 03:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).