Maybe you can't help it if you never make it to the gym. Researchers at the University of Missouri have found that genes may play a role in motivation to exercise, at least in rats.
Frank Booth and Michael Roberts placed rats in cages with running wheels, and measured the amount of time the rats spent on the wheel over six days. They bred the 26 top runners with each other and the 26 least active rats with each other, repeating this over 10 generations to create "super runner" rats and "couch... Read More
The National Park Service has closed down a day-use area in Joshua Tree popular with canyoneers and boulderers following a spate of vandalism.
In a press release, the NPS blamed social media for encouraging would-be taggers, and said that the area would be shuttered to public use at least through the end of April.
Since January, individuals have defaced the day-use and canyon area of Rattlesnake Canyon with graffiti While this started as a few markings, social media posts appear to have spark... Read More
It was a scene that could have come straight from a Pixar movie: On Saturday, a South African man tied himself to 160 helium balloons and floated for an hour a thousand feet above sea level. The only downer was the shark-infested patch of Atlantic Ocean below.
Matt Silver-Vallance, a 37-year-old office manager, pulled the stunt to raise money for the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, which is trying to build a children's hospital in Johannesburg. He launched at Robben Island, where Mandela ha... Read More
Reports are coming back that a highly experienced Nepalese Sherpa has died in the Khumbu Icefall while setting ropes for the upcoming climbing season. Mingmar Sherpa, 45, was what is known as an "Icefall Doctor," a member of an elite and respected team responsible for maintaining the route up Everest. Although the position is extremely dangerous, an Icefall Doctor has never before died on the mountain.
According to Garrett Madison, the head guide for Alpine Ascents International Mountain Clim... Read More
Four American and Canadian rowers were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard Saturday morning after an unexpected wave capsized their boat. They had been aiming to set a world record for an unassisted, human-powered row across the Atlantic Ocean.
Adam Kreek, a Canadian Olympic gold medal rower, and Markus Pukonen, Patrick Fleming, and Jordan Hanssen, had set out on the 4,000-mile journey from Dakar, Senegal, on January 23. Their 29-foot boat had solar panels and wind turbines to power equipment on... Read More
