Science news this week: Powerful solar storms, exploding comets and pigs from hell
The stars of this week’s science show were actually the stars themselves. It’s been a truly brilliant week of updates and discoveries related to these celestial furnaces.
Leaving from us, the Sun spat three consecutive solar flares towards Earth, causing the second launch attempt this month of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to clean and bring northern lights far south to Florida. Fortunately, our planet’s protective magnetosphere has shielded us from any harmful effects, but severe geomagnetic storms could be even more damaging in the future, due to a Newly discovered weak spot in Earth’s invisible shield.
Scientists detect brain zoning in real time
Have you ever had that feeling — say, at the end of the week — when you really want to pay attention to something important, but you just walk away and see people’s lips moving?
Well, scientists finally have a physiological explanation for why this happens when you’re sleep deprived: your brain is literally evacuating cerebrospinal fluidwhich makes it almost impossible to concentrate. The exact functional reason for this isn’t yet clear, but scientists think it might have something to do with sleep-deprived brains transitioning into sleep states, perhaps as a form of clearing out the waking brain waste you missed the night before.
Discover more health news
—Exercise’s brain benefits come from blood flow – and they may be transferable, mouse study suggests
—New antivenom effective against 17 dangerous species of African snakes, study finds
—Diagnostic Dilemma: Woman’s Homemade Juice Caused Life-Threatening ‘Toxic Squash Syndrome’
The little mysteries of life
Can we have thoughts without a brain? Probably not in the way we tend to define them, but that doesn’t mean brainless creatures – like jellyfish, sea urchins or starfish – don’t. show signs of cognition.
—If you liked this, sign up for our newsletter Life’s Little Mysteries
Like a pig out of hell
Have you ever heard of a “pig from hell?” » Me neither, until this week, but these old North American beasts like Archaeotherium could weigh up to 2,000 pounds (1,000 kilograms).
Now, a new dental analysis has revealed that hellpigs had different feeding strategies depending on their size: Smaller species typically cut flesh, while larger species crushed bones with their horrible teeth (there’s the “hell” part).
Archaeotherium was technically more closely related to hippos and whales than to pigs, but it’s an excellent name for an animal that we’re mostly glad is no longer around – especially since the preserved bite marks of the larger ones are indistinguishable from those of lions.
Discover more animal news
—Mammoth RNA sequenced for first time, marking giant step toward understanding prehistoric life
—A 240-million-year-old ‘warrior’ crocodile ancestor from Pangea had plated armor – and it looked like a dinosaur
—Tiny spiders that make giant lures from disembodied prey discovered in Peru and the Philippines
Also in science news this week
—Exotic ‘time crystals’ could be used as memory in quantum computers, promising findings suggest
—Chinese astronauts are returning to Earth after a suspected ‘space debris’ impact left them stranded in space.
—Prehistoric Jomon in Japan had ‘little or no’ DNA from mysterious Denisovans, study finds
—For the first time, physicists peer inside the nucleus of a molecule using electrons as a probe
Spotlight on science
Compared to classical computers, where do quantum computers excel? One answer stands out: piracy.
Quantum systems can solve encryption-related problems much faster than the classical computers used by almost all organizations, and cryptographers face a major challenge in designing algorithms that will be safe from quantum hacking. But how can you protect a laptop against quantum hacking? Live Science studied in this Spotlight on science.
Something for the weekend
If you’re looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best news analyses, crosswords, and polls released this week.
—Some people love AI, others hate it. Here’s why. [Analysis]
—Live Science Crossword #18: First man-made satellite in space – 11 in diameter [Crossword]
—History of science: Russian mathematician quietly publishes paper – and solves one of the most famous unsolved conjectures in mathematics – November 11, 2002 [Science history]
Science in pictures
This week’s science chart is something truly special and, despite its absurd appearance, completely real. This stunning photo was taken by an astrophotographer who captured a skydiver falling from a plane at 8,000 feet (2,440 meters). The image is called “The Fall of Icarus” and is more than faithful to its legendary title.
Something for sky watchers
Save all your wishes for Monday (November 17), when the Leonid meteor shower peaks.
The annual burst of shooting stars is expected to appear early that day and is produced by tiny particles from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle burning up in the atmosphere to produce meteors. This year could offer one of the best viewing windows for the quick shower, due to a nearly moonless night.
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