All posts by Intellicurious

News, Views and Reviews for the Intellectually Curious

Travel Videos: “Vernazza – Cinque Terre, Italy” (2020)

Vernazza Italy is one of the 5 centuries-old villages that make up the Cinque Terre on Northwest Italy’s rugged Ligurian coast. Vernazza Italy has colorful houses surrounded by Vernazza’s small marina. Vernazza’s Doria Castle, Clinging to the rocks, Doria Castle is a medieval defensive structure with a cylindrical tower. The Belforte bastion is just below it. Top views in the Vernazza, Cinque Terre Italy in 4K includes aerial of Vernazza in Cinque Terre Italy. Vernazza, Liguria, Italy. View of the marina: in the tilt footage we see the boats moored and the main square of the village where the colorful houses overlook. Vernazza, Liguria, Italy. View on the main street of the seaside village: the houses with colored facades line the street, people walking, tilt movement.

Health: “The Science Of The Sun And Skin Cancer”

Melanoma may account for a small percentage of skin cancers, yet it causes an estimated 75 to 80 percent of skin cancer deaths. Caught early, it has a 99 percent five-year survival rate, but if it slips patients’ and clinicians’ notice, digs deeper into the skin and spreads beyond the lymph nodes, that rate can drop to 25 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute. The ACS predicts there will be 6,850 deaths in the United States from melanoma this year.

Although more skin pigment provides more protection, melanin itself has a sun protection factor, or SPF, of less than 5, says Fisher, suggesting that it functions physiologically as more than mere sunblock. He and others have clarified how different types of melanin raise or lower melanoma risk, and they’ve shown that any minimal benefit provided by tanning, such as the production of vitamin D, doesn’t outweigh the DNA damage caused by UV exposure.

Skin cancers are far and away the most common cancers in the United States. Basal and squamous cell carcinomas make up the vast majority, with somewhere between 1 million and 5.4 million new instances diagnosed each year. However, because these two malignancies don’t have to be reported to cancer registries, precise numbers aren’t known: The cancer officially ranked as the most common in this country is breast cancer, with 270,000 new cases each year. Melanoma is ranked fifth, with about 100,000 new diagnoses expected in 2020, reports the American Cancer Society (ACS).

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Morning News Podcast: Reassessing Forests And Fires, College Reopenings

Nearly 3.5 million acres of land have burned in California, making this the largest wildfire season recorded in the state’s history – and it’s only September. Fires are still raging up the entire west coast, air quality remains unhealthy, and entire forests have been decimated.

Our relationship with forests and fire is changing and will play a big role in how forests evolve.

  • Plus, how colleges are reopening without a surge in infections.
  • And, with the start of the Jewish New Year, synagogue High Holy Day services are going virtual.

Guests: Axios’ Bryan Walsh, Alison Snyder, and Erica Pandey and Benjy Renton, senior at Middlebury College.

New Aerial Travel Videos: “Iceland Off-World” (2020)

Filmed and Edited by: Joseph Young

Iceland, a Nordic island nation, is defined by its dramatic landscape with volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields. Massive glaciers are protected in Vatnajökull and Snæfellsjökull national parks. Most of the population lives in the capital, Reykjavik, which runs on geothermal power and is home to the National and Saga museums, tracing Iceland’s Viking history.

New Science Podcasts: Covid-19 And The Decline Of Prison Populations

Staff Writer Kelly Servick joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how jail and prison populations in the United States have dropped in the face of coronavirus and what kinds of scientific questions about public health and criminal justice are arising as a result.

New Aerial Travel Videos: “Sarakiniko Beach” On Milos Island, Greece

Sarakiniko is a beach on Milos Island, Greece, situated on the north shore of the island. Waves driven by north winds shape the greyish-white volcanic rock into amazing shapes, and the area is often compared to a moonscape. The local people often refer to the scenic landscape of Sarakiniko as Lunar. The bone-white beach derives its unusual characteristics from the erosion of the volcanic rock by wind and wave. Sarakiniko is one of the most photographed landscapes in the Aegean.

Technology Video: Is A 3D-Printed Car In The Future?

When 3D printing first appeared, it may have seemed like a fad–something to keep garage hobbyists busy. But over the past few years, it’s become a mainstream manufacturing process. Now, an independent automaker called Local Motors is applying the technology to cars, using 3D printing to make the chassis of its autonomous, electric vehicles at a small factory in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Research:”The Costs Of A Covid-19 Vaccine” (Video)

As government and private money pour into the global race for a Covid-19 vaccine, drugmakers are under great pressure to keep the shot affordable while also keeping investors happy. WSJ explains what this means for the final price tag of the jabs.

Illustration: Crystal Tai