DID YOU KNOW THAT?

BY: CAMILA GARZON

The ants of the voracious species Megaponera analysis, widespread in the south of the Sahara, rescue the companions who are injured when they go out to hunt termites, their favorite prey. Two to four times a day, these ants come out of their hive, placed in long rows, to hunt termites, which are not exactly an easy prey as they defend themselves with strength from their predators. As is the case in any battle, some are usually injured, as termites resist biting ants, causing amputations.

Scientists have observed that wounded ants (compared to soldiers) segregate a series of chemicals that serve to warn their partners that they are injured.

This is the first time that this behavior is observed in invertebrate animals, according to the authors of this study, published this week in the journal Science Advances and made in Costa de Mar.

THE POWER OF SWEET TO RELIEVE THE PAIN

. BY: JUAN. M. R

All we have to remember those painful and scary moments when we were little kids and went to the doctor to make us medical checkups, and later the doctors gave you a candy to behave very well and also to relieve the pain that you endured? As well, the doctors have been right with their act of giving a sweet to each of the patients after medical appointments, current studies have stated that eating candy during a state of pain allows you to calm down and regulate your emotions.

New experiments suggest that eating sugary foods helps us to be better emotionally, since the sugar contained in these treats provides a calming effect in the body that stabilizes both physical and psychological behaviors. One of these experiments is that of American researchers who discovered that also to the properties of chocolate as the dopamine generates a state of pleasure in individuals; there are also other substances such as sugar that provides in the body a state of relief and tranquility. The study was addressed by the professor of neurology in the University of Chicago Peggy Mason and neurobiology researcher Hayler Foo, who further affirms that these substances that generate a state of relief in the body, firstly generate a neurological stimulation in a part of the brain to activate this type of emotion. 

In addition there are other investigations such as those made by the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, who produced a personalized experiment to approve this affirm. The experiment consisted in separated a group of people, for one part to take a sugary soda and the other part didn't take a sugary soda, after this process was ordered all participants to dip their hands in a bucket of cold water. In conclusion, it was proved that the individuals who drank sugary drinks tended to endure longer within the bucket of water, but people who drank sugar-free drinks tended to get their hand out faster.

Therefore, this leads us to conclude that always you go to the doctor to vaccinate or to make a painful examination; carry with you a few sweets to relieve those pains or ask the doctor that isn´t forget of give you candy and not to be suffering later.

¡IT CAN´T MISS IN YOUR FOOD!

By: Camila Garzón

Avocado is a fruit that according to various studies has multiple benefits for our health. Its permanent consumption is highly recommended.

-It contains more potassium than a banana. Contains about 900 milligrams of potassium, twice as much as a banana!

-To ripen faster you have to place in a bag the avocados along with a banana and an apple. These last two fruits release a gas called ethylene, which is a natural plant hormone and helps the avocados ripen faster.

-Avocado is the fruit that more protein brings to our body. Contains 18 of the proteins that most need our body.

-Due to its characteristics, the avocado is perfect to cook recipes that originally use butter for preparation. If you use the necessary amount, our food will not have a green appearance. In fact, you can substitute the butter with avocado to prepare chocolate biscuits, brownies and it would be healthier!

-We can also obtain benefits through products derived from it, such as oils. For example, we can apply avocado oil in our damaged or dry hair, masks of this fruit on our face to moisten dry skin and even use it as a treatment for sunburn or to combatwrinkles and lines of expression. This is because the avocado contains antioxidants, amino acids and essential oils that helpus to takecare of our body.

GEOGRAPHICAL CURIOSITY: THE STRANGER BORDER ON THE WORLD

Name: Juan M Racines

BAARLE NASSAU AND BAARLE-HERTOG: Is it my house from Netherlands or Belgium or from both countries?

You can imagine that your house has two nationalities, that say, one part belongs to one country and the othe rbelong to another. This is what happens in a municipality of Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau, who share nationalities in the same territory causing the sector where ubicated these two municipalities of different nationalities (the first belongs to the Belgian province of Ampares and the second Belongs to the Netherlands province of Barbante S.) is "broken" (divided) in many parts. The municipality of Baarle-Hertog is located in the Netherlands territory with 20 territories and the municipality of Baarle-Nassau is located in the Belgium territory with 7 territories. It provoking that generates a geographical-jurisdictional phenomenon between both countries.

This is a curious fact that happens on our planet, but the strangest of these is that the streets of both municipalities are drawn with an "x" to mark the boundaries between municipalities, so if you visit that place maybe that at every step you are crossing the border from one country to another without you noticing. Something even stranger is that if your home is divided by this drawn (route), that say, you are in both countries, you must comply with the rules, policies and laws of both countries to live and have dual nationality.

 A anecdote of these event is that when a restaurant for example have that comply with the law of both nationalities and Netherlands only has 6 hours of working, but Belguim has 8 hours of working, therefore the restaurant close its doors early in Netherland and the clients that be found there have that change the table and chairs to Belgian territories because there`s a two hours to close the other part of restaurant.

Surprising. Discover more of these curious cases of our world in this blog.

Bibliography:

LuiSpace, (2017), Las 7 fronteras más raras del mundo, taken from www.youtube.com,  05/04/2017

BAARLEZINE, (2013), Tourist Magazine of Baarle-Hertog-Nassau, taken from VVVbaarle.nl, 05/04/2017