This week naturally occurring magnetic monopoles were measured for the first time, a study of identical twins reveals the health benefits of a vegan diet, and we may know less about El Niño than previously thought. Finally, we investigate the theories surrounding the inception of the QWERTY keyboard.
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Woman Carries A Concealed Gun In During An MRI Scan. The Inevitable Happens
If you’ve ever had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, you’ll know that they have a strict “no metal” policy. This isn’t some arbitrary rule, or an ancient radiographer tradition, but a necessary safety instruction to stop you being killed. Unfortunately, people aren’t quite getting the message. Now, a woman has discovered that a bigger pain in the ass than the “no magnetic objects” rule is getting shot in the buttocks. Read the full story here
Naturally Occurring Magnetic Monopoles Measured For The First Time
Regular magnets have two poles, a north and a south, and their behavior is defined in classical terms by the Maxwell equations. From contemporaries of Maxwell through to modern researchers, there have been hypotheses of the existence of magnetic monopoles, fundamental particles that are just north or just south. Researchers have not found them yet, but they have measured the next best thing. Read the full story here
Fossil Plant Turns Out To Be Over 100-Million-Year-Old Baby Turtle
Even science is prone to the occasional case of mistaken identity, particularly when it comes to figuring out what’s in a fossil. When Colombian priest Padre Gustavo Huertas found two small, round rocks with leaf-like patterns sometime between the 1950s and 70s, he classified them as fossilized plants. But on more recent examination, it was revealed the rocks weren’t the remains of ancient plant life after all – they were baby turtle shells. Read the full story here
Identical Twins Study Reveals Something We All Secretly Knew About Vegan Diets
It’s often said there are no quick fixes when it comes to our health. A new study out of Stanford, however, has shown that to be false – at least, if we’re talking about our hearts. It’s long been known that eating less meat is associated with an improvement in cardiovascular health, but proving that the relationship is causal, rather than just correlation, has always been difficult. But the Stanford team had an invaluable resource at their disposal: the Stanford Twin Registry. Read the full story here
What Do We Know About El Niño? Maybe Less Than We Thought
As Sun Tzu said, you should know your enemy – and there aren’t many more formidable foes than El Niño, the sort-of random climate phenomenon that can devastate everything from natural wonders like marine biodiversity to made-up human concepts like “the economy”. Read the full story here
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Feature of the week:
Why Do Keyboards Follow The QWERTY Layout?
Any English-speaker who’s attempted to use an alphabetical keyboard will know just how accustomed we have become to the seemingly nonsensical QWERTY keyboard layout. The commonly held belief is that this design was created to slow down the process of writing on a typewriter, but the true history of QWERTY is far more speculative, and surprisingly complicated. Read the full story here
More 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:
• 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?
• Can Ancient Ice Help Us Predict 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?
Source Link: Woman Injured By Concealed Gun During MRI Scan, Fossil Plant Turns Out To Be A Tiny Baby Turtle, And Much More This Week
