Blog Posts by Mother Nature Network (mnn.com)

By Melissa Breyer, Mother Nature Network

Our houses are our havens. They protect us from the elements and wild animals, they provide a place to raise our families and keep our belongings, and they offer a little relief from the maddening world. They are our sanctuaries.

But they can also be a menace. Not in the Stephen King or Edgar Allen Poe kind of way - they aren't actively out to get us - but many an accident comes courtesy of the dynamics of the home.

The kitchen offers open flames and honed steel designed to cut through plants and flesh; utility rooms and broom closets provide an array of toxic cleaning chemicals worthy of a Superfund site; halls and stairways are prime tripping zones; and the garage provides auto and gardening chemicals and tools.

The potential for danger lurks everywhere.

But it's the bathroom that we need to worry about. Slips and falls are one of the leading causes of accidental death in the United States, and bathrooms are where these

By Starre Vartan, Mother Nature Network

Invisible bike helmet

Anna Haupt and Terese Alpin were design students who took on an enormous task for their final project a few years ago: how do you create helmetless head protection for cyclists?

Plenty of people who ride bikes don't like to wear helmets because they are uncomfortable, they flatten your hair and make your head sweat. And because bike helmets just look ugly or because riders just like to feel the wind in their hair, the designers wanted to create a solution for all of those people who want to protect their craniums but abhor bike helmets.

Passionate bikers themselves, the designing duo has now taken their initial challenge and spent years perfecting what plenty of people think is a multimillion dollar idea (and gotten some serious financing to bring it to fruition). Their tenacity and perseverance show that even what seems impossible can be done.

The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

By Chanie Kirschner, Mother Nature Network

If you went to elementary school (and I'm making a broad assumption that you went to elementary school), you must have heard that if you swallow gum, it stays in your body for seven years. Well, I got news for you - nothing stays in your body for that long. (Well, maybe the belly fat you earned when you had your third child, but besides that, pretty much nothing.) So I know you're curious - if it doesn't stay in your body, what happens to it?

Turns out that your system doesn't digest chewing gum very well. That's because of what chewing gum is made of. Before World War II, chewing gum was made of chicle, a latex sap from the sapodilla tree. In the middle of the century though, scientists came up with artificial ways to re-create the rubbery substance. That substance, mixed with artificial flavors and sweeteners, is the chewing gum we know today. So why can't we digest it? For the same reason that we can't digest a rubber band all

By Laura Moss, Mother Nature Network

Although it's easy to assume that cats purr because they're content, research shows that purring is likely a means of communication and a form of self-healing.

Yes, your feline friend purrs when you stroke her fur, but cats also purr when they're frightened or feel threatened, such as during a visit to the veterinarian.

Veterinarian Kelly Morgan equates this reaction with smiling. "People will smile when they're nervous, when they want something, and when they're happy, so perhaps the purr can also be an appeasing gesture," Morgan told WebMD.

A cat's purr begins in its brain. A repetitive neural oscillator sends messages to the laryngeal muscles, causing them to twitch at a rate of 25 to 150 vibrations per second. This causes the vocal cords to separate when the cat inhales and exhales, producing a purr.

But not all cats can purr. Domestic cats, some wild cats and their relatives - civets, genets and mongooses - purr, and even

By John Platt, Mother Nature Network

It starts with Earth Day on April 22. What follows every spring and summer is a calendar jam-packed with eco-themed and animal rights holidays. But where do these special days come from? Who creates them and why? Do they all serve good causes, or are some of them just for fun? Sometimes you need to dig to find the answers - but knowing the story behind the occasion can help you to know which ones are worth celebrating.

Government-supported holidays
Like Labor Day or Thanksgiving, some eco-holidays are established by government decree, often after being initiated by a private group or organization. Take Global Tiger Day (July 29) for example. One of the newer eco-themed holidays on the calendar, Global Tiger Day was first proposed in 2010 by the 13 nations where tigers still exist and was created to promote awareness about tiger conservation. The governments of Russia, India, Bangladesh and other nations officially recognized the day,

By Judd Handler, Mother Nature Network

It's common for some women over 40 to experience a sputtering sex drive, sluggish metabolism, lethargic energy levels, fluctuating moods and other cruel machinations of the aging process.

But life after 40 doesn't have to be left to Mother Nature's fate. Consider getting plenty of exercise, modifying your diet and taking these seven best supplements for women over 40:

1. Strontium: Women over 40 with a family history that includes osteoporosis, or risk factors associated with bone loss should take 340 mg a day of this mineral, says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, medical director of the national Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers. "Strontium has been shown to be almost twice as effective as osteoporosis medications in improving bone density - without the side effects," Teitelbaum says. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that postmenopausal women who supplemented with strontium increased bone mineral density of the lumbar

Obama drinking beer
by Michael d'Estries, The Mother Nature Network

For brewers on both sides of the political aisle, the release this weekend of the official recipe for "White House Honey Ale" offered a rare moment of bipartisan "Cheers!"

Since the middle of August, beer enthusiasts have been pressuring the Administration to release the "secret recipe" via signatures on the official White House site and a more formal Freedom of Information Act request.

"In keeping with the brewing traditions of the founding fathers, homebrewers across America call on the Obama administration to release the recipe for the White House home brew so that it may be enjoyed by all," the petition reads.

While the Obama Administration has been enjoying the White House Honey Ale (incidentally, the first beer ever brewed within the White House) since the 2011 Super Bowl, interest over the beverage did not erupt publicly until the President brought some with him on the campaign trail this summer.

"I think I've only tried the

By Chanie Kirschner, Mother Nature Network

Popcorn

What's a movie without popcorn? Turns out that the only reason the dynamic duo came to be was because they both rose in popularity at the same time. In the late 1800s, the portable popcorn machine was invented, about the same time as the motion picture. As movies became increasingly popular, vendors would set up shop wherever there was a crowd (even outside of a movie theater), and popcorn soon became a favorite American snack. It wasn't until the Great Depression set in that theaters themselves started to sell popcorn, desperate to make a buck (or even a penny) and draw struggling Americans inside. Indeed, concession stands account for 40 percent of a theater's revenue these days, and a theater wouldn't be complete without a popcorn machine. So much so that the phenomenon created by theaters was transferred to home entertainment. A trip to Blockbuster (remember the good ol' days of Blockbuster?) wouldn't be complete without a box of