It’s science! Sperm, big numbers and alien economics

Every day people run around discovering new stuff.  Sometimes it’s for the sake of improving society and making life easier for people that they do their research.  Other times it almost seems like these revelations were created while under the influence of some mind-impairing drug.  But either way, we do end up with some pretty interesting ideas thanks to the work of innovators around the world.  This week, I’m going to look at a few “interesting” discoveries I’ve stumbled across thanks to this wonderful thing we call the Internet.

1: Exercise makes you fertile!

This may not seem like a helpful bit of information, unless you’re looking for yet another excuse to avoid hitting the gym, but studies have apparently shown that active men have significantly higher sperm counts than couch-potatoes.  This excludes, according to the research, those that get their exercise via riding bikes or running.  Those particular exercises mess your junk up a bit and actually lower sperm count.

The same study also showed that people who watch lots of television have lower sperm counts.  This has something to do with being lazy, but may also be due to the fact that a steady and increased temperature in the groin area may shut down sperm production.  So if you want to stay healthy and still avoid an accidental pregnancy, ride bikes, run and then spend the rest of the night watching TV.

2: A new ‘largest prime number’ discovered

Ah, mathematicians.  I’ll never understand why they do what they do and how it actually helps us to know things like this, but they’ve worked out a 17 million digit prime number.  That may not be incredibly practical when you’re counting change at the liquor store, but finding longer and longer prime numbers has become a quest for a volunteer project known as the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (also known as GIMPS… yes, for real).

3: Economics and alien visitors

And now we move from the math of long numbers to the math of money.  Though economics may be considered a “soft science,” the reality of it hits us in the face and wallet on a daily basis.  But what would happen to the world economy should alien visitors come down and try to set up trade with us?  Well, that was the subject up for discussion at the World Economic Forum.

This big meeting in Switzerland sat around and discussed the effects that alien life might have on Earth money.  That may be looking a bit far into the future, but we might as well be prepared, right?  With each new astronomical discovery increasing the likelihood of the possibility for alien life, the WEF wants a plan in place.

Yup, that’s science.  It’s fun and sometimes amusing but it goes on and on.  We keep learning things and finding things to learn, for better or worse.  And who knows when one of these strange little discoveries will actually become a pivotal point in human technological development?  16 million digit prime number, alien money interfering with Earth economics and affecting our sperm counts?  Sure, why not.

Guy Doing Science photo courtesy of Matt Howard via Wikicommons