Sun may determine lifespan at birth: study
Could the Sun be your lucky — or unlucky — star? The team overlaid demographic data of Norwegians born between 1676 and 1878 with observations of the Sun. The lifespan of those born in periods of solar maximum — interludes marked by powerful flares and geomagnetic storms — was "5.2 years shorter" on average than those born during a solar minimum, they found. "Solar activity at birth decreased the probability of survival to adulthood," thus truncating average lifespan, according to the paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.