Mysterious Green Foam Spews from Drain in Utah

Kacey Deamer, Staff Writer

Kacey Deamer is a journalist for Live Science, covering planet earth and innovation. She has previously reported for Mother Jones, the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press, Neon Tommy and more. After completing her undergraduate degree in journalism and environmental studies at Ithaca College, Kacey pursued her master's in Specialized Journalism: Climate Change at USC Annenberg. Follow Kacey on Twitter.

The green, foam-like substance coming out of a roadway drain was due to nearby moss treatment.

Credit: Bluffdale City/Facebook

This month has brought flora troubles to Utah, with a green foam bubbling through a street vent and a poop-fueled algae bloom covering the state's third-largest lake.

Residents in Bluffdale, Utah, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City, were shocked to find a green, foam-like substance coming out of a roadway drain on Thursday (July 21).

Bluffdale city officials were concerned that the mysterious green blob was related to the toxic algae bloom currently affecting the Utah Lake area, and called the Salt Lake County Health Department to investigate. [Stunning Photos: The Clearest Lake on Earth]

Though results of samples taken from the drain are pending, Nicholas Rupp from the Salt Lake County Health Department told KSL-TV that the foam most likely came from a nearby canal's recent moss treatment — and isn't related to the lake's slimy bloom. The chemicals used to clear canals of moss also foam up, Rupp said.

Donna Spangler, communications director for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (Utah DEQ), told Live Science that the foam "has nothing to do with algae. ... It had something to do with an irrigation cleaning, and it was basically soapy moss."

The canal is connected to the Jordan River, which is connected to the recently algae-covered Utah Lake. The massive algae growth has, at its peak, covered 90 percent of Utah Lake and crept into surrounding tributaries, Spangler said.

Public officials have closed the lake due to concerns about cyanobacteriaalgae, which can release toxins that affect the brain, nervous system and liver function of people exposed to it, Dr. Joseph Miner, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, said in a statement.

The massive algae growth has, at its peak, covered 90 percent of Utah Lake and crept into surrounding tributaries.

Credit: Utah Department of Environmental Quality 

The bloom's growth is due to a combination of high temperatures, low lake levels and a higher concentration of phosphorus, which helps algae grow, officials said. Nearly 80 percent of the phosphorus in Utah Lake comes from discharge by nearby wastewater treatment plants, according to the Utah DEQ.

"It's coming from our waste, human waste — using the bathroom," Spangler said.

Though algae blooms occur naturally, human activity increases their intensity, frequency and scope, said Walt Baker, director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Quality.

"Scientific evidence suggests that people cause increasing intensity of algae blooms by modifying hydrology and increasing nutrient inputs to our waters," Baker wrote in an Op-Ed for Desert News.

Both Baker and Spangler noted that in order to limit the concentration of phosphorus, wastewater treatment plants must be upgraded — an expensive task. But with consistently warmer temperatures worldwide, Spangler said there is concern that the algae bloom will become a more common occurrence, as the algae grow faster in warmer conditions.

Original article on Live Science.

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Family of Exotic Tetraquarks Discovered

Kacey Deamer, Staff Writer

Kacey Deamer is a journalist for Live Science, covering planet earth and innovation. She has previously reported for Mother Jones, the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press, Neon Tommy and more. After completing her undergraduate degree in journalism and environmental studies at Ithaca College, Kacey pursued her master's in Specialized Journalism: Climate Change at USC Annenberg. Follow Kacey on Twitter.

Physicists found the family of tetraquarks by colliding proton beams into each other at near light-speed, inside the circular Large Hadron Collider.

Credit: Maximilien Brice, Courtesy of CERN

A family of related, exotic particles, each made up of four quarks, has been discovered. The finding could hold clues about the evolution of the universe, the researchers said.

The four newfound tetraquarks, now called X(4140), X(4274), X(4500) and X(4700), each are composed of two quarks and two antiquarks (the antimatter partners of quarks). Yet each of the newfound particles has a different mass and different subatomic properties. They are considered a family of tetraquark siblings because of having the same quark composition and arrangement.

Quarks are elementary particles, the building blocks of protons and neutrons. Until the recent discoveries of tetra and even pentaquarks, physicists thought quarks grouped only into pairs or triplets. The newfound tetraquark family is even more distinct because the family members are made up of heavy, exotic types of quarks — known as charm quarks and strange quarks — which are not found in everyday materials.[7 Strange Facts About Quarks] 

Finding tetraquarks

Tomasz Skwarnicki, a physicist at Syracuse University in New York, and Thomas Britton, a Syracuse University doctoral student, discovered these tetraquarks by analyzing data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator. The experiment, called LHCb experiment, is one of seven particle-physics detector experiments in the atom smasher. The LHC brought hundreds of scientists together from around the world to collaboratively study data from the particle accelerator in an effort to understand what happened after the Big Bang that allowed matter to survive and build the universe.

In the LHCb experiment, scientists sent two proton beams zipping at near light-speed around the circular accelerator. When they collided, various exotic particles formed, including the newfound tetraquark family.

The tetraquarks systems are transient, Skwarnicki explained. After their creation, they begin to decay within 10^-24 of a second, a near unmeasurably small amount of time. Tetraquarks are produced in the decay of another known particle, B mesons, which have longer life spans. It is from these decay products that physicists could reconstruct that the tetraquarks existed. Signatures of the B mesons' tetraquarks are applied to the selection criteria when the researchers analyzed data from the LHCb collisions, allowing them to discover the family's existence.

This newfound particles exist in different excited states, which is what gives the tetraquarks different masses.

"When you have a bound system of quarks [in this case, a tetraquark], they also come in these different excitations. Each excitation level will have its own properties," Skwarnicki said. "A whole spectrum of excitations is possible for the same bound system."

While this family could also be thought of as one particle at four different excitation levels, particle physics has historically identified such groupings as "families," the researchers said.

Why care about tetraquarks?

The discovery of these particles could help add to scientists' understanding of the death of stars and the aftermath of the Big Bang, Skwarnicki said.

For example, scientists currently understand that a neutron star, once it burns through its nuclear fuel, will begin a gravitational collapse that squeezes all the atoms in the star into a very tight object that is like one huge nucleus. Skwarnicki said it is possible that some fraction of the matter in a neutron star consists not only of neutrons, but also of tetraquarks.

"Tetraquarks could also play some role in evolution of the universe after the Big Bang," Skwarnicki told Live Science. "Conditions in the early universe were very different than now, and these systems [of particles] could have played some role in early phases of the universe."

Skwarnicki and Britton detailed their discoveries in the June issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

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Earthquake' in Florida Was Actually a Naval Explosion

Published Date

Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor

Stephanie interned as a science writer at Stanford University Medical School, and also interned at ScienceNow magazine and the Santa Cruz Sentinel. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The combat ship, USS Jackson, completed its first of three scheduled shock trials in order to test the ship's ability to withstand the effects of nearby underwater explosion. Apparently, another shock test registered as an earthquake on July 16, 2016.

Credit: Photo by MC2 Michael Bevan, U.S. Navy

A tremor reported on July 16 off the coast of Florida was not an earthquake, but a Naval test explosion.

The U.S. Geological Survey now lists the event on its earthquake hazards page as an "experimental explosion by the U.S. Navy." According to DefenseNews.com, the 10,000-pound explosion was set off to test the resilience of a combat ship, the USS Jackson. Navy officials have told multiple news outlets that they plan to release a statement about the testing.

USGS instruments measured the blast as a magnitude-3.7 earthquake, which would have been a rare seismic event in the tectonically quiet region. Florida sits on the passive margin of the North American continental plate, meaning that temblors are rare. The active margin of the plate is on the West Coast, where the North American plate is slipping under the Pacific plate in a process called subduction. Subduction is why California and the Pacific Northwest experience earthquakes on a relatively regular basis.

There has never been an earthquake with its epicenter under Florida, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection. On occasion, Floridians have felt tremors from quakes centered outside of the state. For example, in September 1886, Florida experienced some shaking from a massive earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina, which had an estimated magnitude of 7.3, according to the USGS. It was the most damaging earthquake ever in the Southeast, according to the agency, and was unusual in that it occurred within a tectonic plate, not at the boundary between two plates.

Scientists don't yet understand why earthquakes sometimes occur within plates, according to the Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology, a consortium of universities that gathers seismological data.

The Florida Navy test, which took place 104 miles (168 kilometers) east-northeast of Daytona Beach, is not the first non-earthquake mistaken for a temblor. A 1997 review of all of Florida's historical earthquake reports suggests that out of about 24 incidents reported since 1727, only about five were probably actual quakes.

Many of the events, rounded up in a 1991 report, are poorly sourced or can't be confirmed. For example, in 1948, people on Captiva Island reported rattling doors and the sound of distant explosions. In 1952, a slight tremor rattled doors and windows in Quincy, Florida. Such rattling could be explained by ground tremors, but small shakes are also caused by construction, explosions and even supersonic flight (first developed in 1948). And though deep freeze is rare in Florida, some colder areas have reported small earthquakes that are actually "frostquakes" — groundwater expanding rapidly in a deep freeze, causing booming sounds and localized shaking. 

Original article on Live Science.

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The Quickest Way to Lose Belly Weight

Exercise is key to losing belly fat quickly. Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images

Losing the spare tire around your waist may not only help you look better, it also can make you feel better. Excessive abdominal fat can increase your risk of developing serious diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and even breast and colon cancer. While there’s no way to spot reduce the fat on your belly, with hard work and discipline you can reduce the amount of fat in your body, including the fat covering your abs, relatively quickly.

Exercise

Engaging in regular exercise is key to burning fat, abdominal or otherwise. You should engage in 30 to 60 consecutive minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise daily. Such exercises may include walking, jogging, biking, stair climbing or using elliptical machines. In addition, you should include resistance training in your routine. Lifting weights burns fat as you exercise but also increases your metabolism, which help the body to continue burning calories well after your workout has ended.

Eat the Right Foods

To lose belly fat quickly you have to create a calorie deficit. Cut between 500 and 1000 calories daily to lose one to two pounds a week. Eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high-fiber foods. These foods have the benefit of being both rich in vitamins and minerals and slow to digest, which keeps you feeling full for longer periods. You may also want to include small amounts of monounsaturated fats in every meal. According to the book “The Flat Belly Diet” by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass, consuming small portions of monounsaturated fats, such as avocados, olives, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, nuts and dark chocolate, can help reduce abdominal fat.

Control Your Portions

Your belly won’t shrink if you don’t limit the size of the portions you eat. The American Dietetic Association recommends using your plate as a guide. Designate half of your plate for vegetables, a quarter for grains and a quarter for lean meat or protein. You can also use psychological tricks to help keep your eating under control. For example, serve food on individual plates rather than leaving the serving dishes on the table. Keeping the serving dishes in the kitchen or otherwise out of view can discourage you from taking second or third helpings.

Drink Water

Water is the perfect beverage when trying to lose belly fat. Water has no calories, helps the body to function efficiently and can suppress your appetite. Moreover, a 2009 study led by Dr. Brenda Davy at Virginia Tech University showed that people who drank two glasses of water 20 to 30 minutes before every meal lost weight more quickly and in more significant amounts than those who didn't.

www.livestrong.com

How to Lose Belly Fat Without Losing Weight

Belly fat can be a nuisance when looking for clothes that fit. Photo Credit Eric Hood/iStock/Getty Images

Unsightly belly fat can ruin your look, especially if you're happy with the rest of your body. Clothes that otherwise fit you are tight around the waistline, creating belly bulge and muffin tops that are hard to hide. But belly fat, sometimes called visceral abdominal fat, can also be dangerous for your health, increasing your risk for diabetes and heart disease, according to the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide. The good news is that belly fat is highly responsive to exercise when performed at the right intensity. Adding resistance training will help you maintain your weight while losing fat.

Step 1

Perform moderate to high-intensity cardio five to seven days per week. Photo Credit Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images

Perform moderate to high-intensity cardio five to seven days per week, for 30 to 60 minutes per session. A 2008 study of middle-aged obese women, published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise," compared the effects of low-intensity and moderate-to-high-intensity aerobic exercise on abdominal visceral fat. Participants exercised five days per week for 16 weeks. The moderate-to-high-intensity group, which alternated between walking and running, realized signifiant reductions in abdominal fat, while the low-intensity group saw no significant changes, even though both groups burned the same amount of calories per session.

Step 2

Intersperse short bursts of all-out intensity with longer bouts of moderate intensity. Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images

Intersperse short bursts of all-out intensity with longer bouts of moderate intensity. Interval training can lead to visceral abdominal fat loss over a shorter period of time. A 2011 review published in the "Journal of Obesity" found that high-intensity interval exercise had significant positive effects on reducing abdominal fat. Most of the studies reviewed used a stationary cycle with subjects exercising at moderate intensity for four minutes, then sprinting all-out for 30 seconds at a higher resistance. The bouts were typically repeated four to six times for a total of approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 3

Engage in total-body resistance training on two to three non-consecutive days per week. Resistance exercise will help you maintain your weight while losing fat. In a 2012 study of young, overweight adults published in the "Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness," subjects who performed one weight training set of nine different exercises three times per week for six months increased their lean muscle mass and lowered their body fat percentage without losing weight.

Step 4

Eat a healthy diet. Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Eat a healthy diet. There is a saying that you can't out-train a bad diet, and it holds a lot of weight. Get rid of junk food, sugary drinks and snacks, and processed foods. Eat plenty of whole fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Stay hydrated by drinking plain fresh water.

Warnings

• If you are a novice exerciser, begin slowly and gradually work your way up to higher intensity levels.
• To learn to use weights safely and correctly, seek guidance from a fitness professional.

Tips

• A convenient way to monitor your exercise intensity is to use a 10-point rating of perceived exertion, or RPE scale. The Cleveland Clinic explains that RPE ranks your level of effort on a zero-to-10 scale, with zero being no effort at all and 10 being extremely difficult. On this scale, moderate intensity would rate a three to four, while high intensity would be rated higher than five.

Things You'll Need

• Supportive athletic shoes
• Resistance training equipment

www.livestrong.com