explainers
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Why You Shouldn’t Work Out On An Empty Stomach
It might seem like there are perks to exercising on an empty stomach, like burning more fat per workout, but the downsides greatly outweigh the benefits. Here’s why you’re probably better off fuelling up before you go for a run or crank out some super-sets at the gym. Proponents of exercising while “fasted”, or in…
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What Is VO2max?
With the news that the Apple Watch will soon be able to measure VO2max more effectively (they say) than ever, you may be wondering what VO2max even is. It’s a measure of your aerobic fitness, and you don’t need a gadget to figure yours out.
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What Is The Coronavirus’s R0 And Why Does It Matter?
If you want to describe how an infectious disease spreads, one handy number is what epidemiologists call R0 (“R naught”), the disease’s basic reproductive number. Right now, scientists are trying to figure out the R0 for the new coronavirus from Wuhan, China. So far, it seems to be a little bit higher than for the…
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Why An Ectopic Pregnancy Can’t Be ‘Reimplanted’
Over the past few years, U.S. states have been considering or even passing bills designed to outlaw abortion. A recent one, in Ohio, includes a provision that seems to require doctors to “reimplant” an ectopic pregnancy, a procedure that does not exist in medicine. So what is an ectopic pregnancy and why is “reimplanting” impossible?…