All things being equal‚ you’d expect there to be about a one in twelve chance of sharing your birthday month with someone else‚ right? Well‚ not quite – at least‚ not if that person is your mom.“Not only did we find that women’s own season of birth influenced the seasonal patterns in the births of their children‚ but we have clarified how this influence works‚” reads a new paper from researchers at Universidad de Alcala and City University of New York. “Women are more likely to have children in the same month as their own birth‚” the team reports. “Moreover‚ the correspondence in month of birth extended to other family members: between fathers and children […] between adjacent siblings […] and between parents.”The project analyzed data from more than ten million births in total. They used official records covering Spain from 1980 to 1983 and 2016 to 2019‚ as well as France from 2000 to 2003 and from 2010 to 2013. Importantly‚ these records didn’t only contain information about the new arrivals’ dates of birth – they also included the same for the parents and closest sibling.The team was fully expecting to find more babies born at certain times of the year than others – this “birth seasonality”‚ as it’s known in academic circles‚ is a well-known phenomenon. For example‚ in English-speaking countries‚ you’re up to 40 percent less likely to be born on Christmas Day than on some random day in September.There are a few suggested reasons for this‚ both biological and behavioral: “Hypotheses include deterioration of sperm quality during summer‚ seasonal differences in anterior pituitary-ovarian function caused by changes in the daylight length‚ and variation in quality of the ovum or endometrial receptivity‚” explains a 2001 paper in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.“Increased sexual activity associated with end-of-year holiday festivities has also been postulated as a possible behavioral explanation for the December peak in conceptions‚” the paper adds‚ although “the exact reasons remain unknown.”But what came as a surprise to the researchers working on this more recent paper was what happened when they split the data up according to mothers’ birth month – when those general birth seasonality trends disappeared. Instead‚ babies whose mothers were born in January‚ say‚ were 4.6 percent more likely than expected to also be born in January; the same was true for babies of February-born mothers; and so on throughout the calendar.The effect was even more pronounced when comparing siblings: the rate of births within the same month as an older sibling was more than 12 percent higher than would be expected. Children were also very slightly more likely to share a birth month with their father – and‚ as logic would dictate given all that‚ there was also a higher chance of parents sharing a birth month.That’s interesting enough‚ but the real question is‚ of course‚ why? The team has their suggestions – and they may not be what you’re expecting.“The potential explanations seem to be both social and biological‚” said Adela Recio Alcaide‚ an epidemiologist at the University of Alcala and lead author of the study‚ in a statement. “The excess of children with a father and mother born in the same month seems to be due to social or behavioral causes prior to conception that relate to the choice of a partner born in the same month‚” she explained. “We have observed this excess with marriage statistics‚ with spouses being more likely to mate with someone from the same month.”So‚ the two-parents-one-month thing checks out. It’s actually not that surprising: “partnerships tend to be formed by people with similar socio-demographic characteristics‚” the paper points out‚ and "evidence has shown on numerous occasions that different socio-demographic groups display different seasonal birth patterns.”But what’s behind the apparent tendency for your mom to get down and dirty approximately three months after her birthday? Well‚ remember all those suggestions as to what’s behind birth seasonality more generally? Those tend to be socially specific‚ the team realized – and so‚ what mom experiences‚ so too will baby.“Biological factors that are known to affect birth seasonality – such as photoperiod exposure‚ temperature‚ humidity‚ and availability of food – also depend on socio-demographic characteristics‚” Luisa Borrell‚ a social epidemiologist at the City University’s Department of Epidemiology &; Biostatistics‚ Graduate School of Public Health &; Health Policy‚ said. “Different social groups are exposed to these biological factors to varying degrees.”The paper is published in the journal Population Studies.

This week a tap dancing spider has been rediscovered in Portugal after 92 years‚ scientific evidence sees a conviction overturned for a mother jailed for killing her four children‚ and mysterious green “ghosts” appearing in Earth’s upper atmosphere have been explained. Finally‚ we investigate the gruesome history of tooth transplants.Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the biggest science news delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday and Saturday. Voyager 1 Sends Back Repeating Patterns Of 1s And 0s From Interstellar SpaceVoyager 1 is the second-longest operating spacecraft in human history‚ losing out only to Voyager 2 which launched a few weeks earlier in 1977. The spacecraft has traveled further than any human-made object‚ crossing the heliopause and heading into interstellar space. With such a mission‚ you'd expect the occasional challenge‚ but now there is a new problem‚ and it's a frustrating one. Read the full story hereTap Dancing Spider Lost To Science For 92 Years Rediscovered In PortugalRediscovering previously lost to science species is becoming a bit of a hot topic at the moment and shows no sign of slowing down. After the rediscovery of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna‚ the team at Re:wild’s Search for Lost Species project are at it again‚ and this time they’ve found a tap dancing spider in Portugal. Read the full story hereA Previously Unknown Prehistoric “Lost World" Has Been Hiding Out On EarthMicrobial communities known as stromatolites have been found in previously unstudied lagoons in Patagonia. Fossilized stromatolites represent some of the earliest evidence for life on Earth‚ and while these are not the only survivors today‚ they resemble the fossils in ways no other known examples do. Read the full story hereMother Jailed For Killing Her 4 Children Has Convictions Quashed Thanks To ScienceAfter spending over two decades behind bars‚ Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions for killing her four children have now been quashed thanks to scientific evidence that suggested they died as a result of rare genetic conditions‚ not murder or manslaughter. Read the full story hereMysterious Green Lightning "Ghosts" Of Earth's Upper Atmosphere Have Finally Been ExplainedAmong the menagerie of types of glowing upper atmospheric phenomena‚ one has been named the “green ghost”. The first spectral imaging of one such ghost reveals the presence of iron and nickel in dust falling on the planet at the right time for electrical storms to produce an other-worldly glow. Read the full story hereTWIS is published weekly on our Linkedin page‚ join us there for even more content.Feature of the week: The Horrific History Of Tooth TransplantsTransplants are an amazing feat of medical science – but have you ever wondered why you never really hear about teeth from human donors being transplanted? It turns out the history of this procedure‚ known as a tooth allotransplant‚ is actually pretty gruesome. Read the full story hereMore content:Have you seen our free e-magazine‚ CURIOUS? Issue 17 December 2023 is out now. Check it out for exclusive interviews‚ book excerpts‚ long reads‚ and more.PLUS‚ check out season 3 of IFLScience's The Big Questions Podcast‚ so far we've asked:• Is Jurassic Park Possible?• How Is Climate Change Affecting Polar Bear Populations?• Why Is Space Junk Such A Big Deal?• Can We Save A Species On The Very Brink Of Extinction?• How Does A Quantum Computer Work And How Will They Change The World?• What Is Space Weather And How Does It Affect Us?• What Can Ancient Ice Tell Us About The Future?• Are E-Fuels The Future Of Aviation?• How Are Glaciers Changing In A Warming World?• Are We Ready For The Next Massive Solar Flare?

Is Joe Biden treating the press better than Donald Trump did? It’s a low bar to argue he doesn’t describe the media as “enemies of the people.” Is he really treating them as they view themselves – as representatives of the people? Or is he not interested in addressing the people? Are they all too negative? Ben Smith at Semafor reported on the White House holiday party for journalists‚ described as a chance “to dispel his main problem with the U.S. media right now — the undercurrent of concern that he’s too old for the job. It was an opportunity to say‚ in some sense: Hey‚ you idiots‚ I may be old but I’m fine.” Smith wrote that Biden made brief remarks at the East Wing party‚ “which began with the usual joke — I’m for a free press‚ even when you drive me crazy. But he then strayed into a couple of hazy monologues‚ which ended only when his wife interrupted him to remind him it was a party.” This is why Biden’s aides are always keeping the Hazy Monologues President away from reporters. Smith concluded: “I’d expect that speech to echo quietly in reporters’ minds — and in their coverage — over the coming months.” In mid-December‚ the number of solo presidential press conferences this year is just three. When Biden grants a television interview‚ to Scott Pelley at 60 Minutes or to Nicolle Wallace‚ you can guess that the interviewers have promised Team Biden that Old Joe won’t get any tough questions.  Instead‚ they ask him to explain how the Republicans are a dangerous pile of extremists. Ask something negative‚ and he gets cranky‚ like telling Fox’s Peter Doocy “I knew you’d have a lousy question” (because it was about Hunter).   Alex Thompson at Axios filed a piece quoting White House insiders who say Biden has a “Hunter trigger‚” that only longtime aides feel they can withstand the president’s fury or dejection at the subject. Reporters receive the fury when they ask…so he’s told not to answer questions‚ or announces he has a list‚ authorized by some authority‚ of reporters that he's told to call on. Then consider that as president‚ Biden has never granted an interview to White House reporters for major newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post. (AP reporter Josh Boak muddled through a Pelley/Wallace-style interview.)  The White House complains about negative coverage‚ but the Old Media is still overwhelmingly protective. His gaffes are routinely ignored. On December 8‚ the RNC tweeted out video of the president saying "Over a billion three hundred million trillion three hundred million dollars!" ABC‚ CBS‚ and NBC don’t share embarrassing outbursts like those. Even their late-night comedians generally skip those. Donald Trump runs circles around Biden in granting access to TV and print outlets. Nobody in his circle seems to restrict his access or protect him from outbursts and gaffes. The pro-Biden outlets thrive on his comments‚ like the “dictator for a day” joke to Sean Hannity. The media claim they are the guardians of democracy‚ but they’ve shown zero interest in Biden doing a debate with Rep. Dean Phillips or Marianne Williamson. The public tells pollsters they’d like to see Biden debate. But reporters like to pretend that there are no primary elections for Democrats this time. When it comes to taking questions‚ Joe Biden is the Bumper Bowling president. Every bowling ball he throws will score‚ because no one allows a gutterball. This leaves the impression that Joe Biden’s not running the country as much as other people are running Joe Biden. 

Smurfing‚ the practice of creating fake accounts to play lower-level players‚ is a bannable offence in Dota 2. After previously banning 90‚000+ accounts in the last wave‚ Valve has given thousands more the boot‚ but they've done it a wonderfully Christmassy way. Continue reading Valve is banning Dota 2 accounts in the Christmasiest way possible MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Dota 2 heroes‚ Dota 2 custom games‚ Best MOBAs

Data show that when people have a choice between a bus and a car‚ they opt for the latter.

Plus Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract.

The Fed has forgotten that monetary policy operates with long lags.

Chris Hayes Explains That‚ Regretfully‚ Our Lying Eyes Are Once Again Lying to Us (So Was Trump)

Acclaimed Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki has come out of retirement to make what is being called his final film‚ The Boy and The Heron. So‚ fans now have the chance to enjoy his singular artistic vision one more time. How does one approach life's challenges and experiences? What does it mean to truly live? Miyazaki seems interested in exploring the search for meaning and purpose in the midst of grief and inherent chaos. Thus‚ if you loved watching The Boy And The Heron‚ there are several other anime movies like it that you should add to your watchlist.

LeBron James Sits During National Anthem to Avoid Causing a 'Massive Stir.' Controversy or No?