University student Matt Kafker majors in physics, and studies related subjects such as quantum physics, special relativity, and differential equations. Matthew Kafker also has an interest in natural sciences, linguistics, and foreign language. Since his childhood days, one of Matt Kafker’s favorite pastimes includes listening to stand up comedy.
Stand up comedians agree that there is something especially unique with being a part of a live comedy show. There is some magic when people come together for the specific purpose of laughing. It is perhaps the connection the audiences have with each other. Perhaps the release and therapy the audiences get.Comedy shows are not another way to get by the night. Humor is a part of everyday life. It is woven into the fabric of human life. It has the power to change how a person feels, thinks, and acts. Laughter restores positive emotions and strengthens the bond of the relationship between people.According to scientific studies, laughter can boost the immune system because when a person laughs, the brain releases pleasure-inducing neurochemicals called endorphins. Endorphins help increase the body’s pain threshold, produce sedation, and induce euphoria. So when a person laughs, the endorphins reduce the pain in the body and the mind.Laughing also makes the heart-healthy. When oxygen surges through the bloodstream as a result of laughing, it can result in a lower blood pressure, increased blood flow, improved blood vessel function. Laughter protects that heart from cardiovascular diseases.
Matthew “Matt” Kafker earned his high school diploma from Middlesex High School, where he received numerous academic accolades, including the 2015 Andrew M. Dawson Physics Prize. Currently attending the University of Oregon, Matthew Kafker enjoys studying several science-related subjects, including electromagnetic physics, Newtonian mechanics, and microbial ecology. He has also taken part in conducting geophysical research.
Recently, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), an international nonprofit scientific association, reported on research that indicates dinosaurs went extinct due to a prolonged period of darkness (rather than cold) following the impact of an asteroid in the Yucatan Peninsula. The new research reveals that soot released from fires raging across the planet may have inhibited sunlight for a period long enough to destroy most of the life on earth, approximately 66 million years ago.Researchers used a complex climate model to create a simulation of the effects of the fire and the resulting sulfates, ash, and particulates on blocking sunlight. Soot is believed to have absorbed most of the sun’s light for a year or more, which led to photosynthesis levels being reduced to below 1 percent of normal, subsequently killing photosynthesizing organisms at the base of the food chain.
