A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity To See A Nova, How Animals Act During A Total Solar Eclipse, And Much More This Week

This week, new data challenges the belief that male mammals are typically larger than females, scientists are investigating the effects of microgravity on blood spatter patterns, and 11,000-year-old earrings and lip studs might be the world’s oldest piercings. Finally, we question why animals act so strangely during a solar eclipse.

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This Year Could Be A Once In A Lifetime Opportunity To See A Nova

Astronomers are running regular checks on a star system that currently requires a telescope to see because they expect it will soon be bright enough to view with the naked eye, making it look like a new star has appeared in the sky. It may happen next year but there’s also a chance it will happen sometime between now and September. Read the full story here

Males Are Larger Than Females, Or Are They? New Data Challenges 100 Years Of Bias

Think of a lion; think of a gorilla; think of an otter. In your head, are the males bigger than the females? Well, a new study is challenging over 100 years of bias in this area of research. By looking at over 400 mammal species, the team found some surprising results – in most cases, the males of the species are not bigger than the females. Read the full story here

CSI: Space Station? Scientists Are Investigating Blood Spatter In Microgravity

Things in microgravity work differently. Flames are round, your bones lose density, and the calluses on your feet disappear. Liquids also behave weirdly, and a group of forensic scientists wondered how bloodstain patterns would be affected in reduced gravity – so they took a flight to find out. Read the full story here

11,000-Year-Old Earrings And Lip Studs Are World’s Oldest Piercings

Prehistoric ornaments made of stone and volcanic glass provide the earliest conclusive evidence for body piercing ever discovered. Recovered from graves at a Neolithic settlement in Türkiye, the 11,000-year-old accessories are likely to have been associated with coming-of-age rituals in which young adults were pierced in order to symbolize their passage from childhood to maturity. Read the full story here

Paul Alexander, “The Man In The Iron Lung”, Has Died

Alexander, affectionately known as “Polio Paul”, passed away on March 11, 2024, aged 78, after leading an incredible and inspiring life. It’s thought that Alexander was just one of two people in the US who lived inside an “iron lung”, a respiratory device that helps paralyzed survivors of polio breathe.
Read the full story here

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Feature of the week:

Why Do Animals Act Strangely During A Solar Eclipse?

Causing Galapagos tortoises to scatter, and bees to take an unexpected break from buzzing, solar eclipses seem to have a peculiar effect on our animal pals. Though much of the evidence is anecdotal, some unanswered questions might be resolved during the next solar eclipse with the help of zoo observations and some crucial citizen science. Read the full story here