Science news this week: Thinking chimps and color-changing comets
One subject dominated scientific news this week: the fate of Comet 3I/ATLAS as it made its way around the sun.
Although many conspiracy theories have followed the comet, suggesting that it is actually a a kind of extraterrestrial probe rather than a traveling snowball, what we know for sure is that once it reappeared on the other side of our star, it had took on a bluish tint. This is the third time experts have seen it change color since its discovery and is likely due to a gas, such as carbon monoxide or ammonia, escaping – although this is not yet confirmed.
Chimpanzees “think about thinking”
It’s not just humans who have learned to apply the “scientific method” when it comes to decision-making: chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) may also, to some extent, abandon their prior beliefs if more convincing evidence emerges.
New research shows that chimpanzees use metacognition, or thinking about thinking, to evaluate evidence and plan accordingly. To test this, the scientists created experiments in which they gave the chimpanzees sets of boxes, some of which contained tasty treats, along with different cues indicating which box contained the treat.
Importantly, when the chimpanzees were confronted with conflicting information, they were able to reevaluate what they had seen earlier and change your mind about where the food might be. This type of reasoning means that chimpanzees have passed what one scientist called the “high bar” of rationality.
Discover more animal news:
—Orcas in the Gulf of California paralyze young great white sharks before ripping out their livers
—The first ‘butt drag fossil’ of its kind discovered in South Africa – and it was left behind by a fluffy elephant relative 126,000 years ago.
—Which animals are fooled by optical illusions?
The little mysteries of life
When humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia to Alaska during the last ice age, they likely left plenty of archaeological evidence along the way. But will we ever be able to dive in to examine it?
—If you liked this, sign up for our newsletter Life’s Little Mysteries
Astronauts stranded
Earth’s growing space junk problem became starkly evident this week after the return of a capsule containing three Chinese astronauts – Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui and Chen Don –. hit by a stray piece of debrisforcing the trio to return to the Tiangong space station.
Officials at China’s Human Space Mission Agency are currently investigating what exactly happened and the extent of the damage caused by the debris. If the spacecraft is deemed too dangerous to fly, it will be ejected into space and the crew will return aboard the next return module.
What is clear, at least as we write these lines, is that the three astronauts, on board the station since April 24, will have to postpone their return trip a little further.
Discover more space news:
—Astronomers discover strange ‘runaway’ planet that behaves like a star, eating 6 billion tonnes per second
—Scientists finally find an explanation for the lopsided cloud that follows Earth’s moon through space
—James Webb Telescope Creates First 3D Map of Alien Planet’s Atmosphere
Also in science news this week
—Crimean Stone Age ‘pencils’ were used by Neanderthals for symbolic drawings, study finds
—“It is by far the most powerful quantum computer on Earth”: scientists unveil Helios, a record-breaking quantum system
—Aging and inflammation may not go hand in hand, study suggests
Beyond the headlines
Climate scientists warn that global warming could trigger a cascade of “tipping points” that threaten to plunge our planet into chaos. But what exactly are tipping points, what happens if we cross them, and how can we avoid them? Editor Patrick Pester investigated.
Something for the weekend
If you’re looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best polls, interviews and opinion pieces published this week.
Five common mistakes beginner macro photographers make – and how to avoid them [Feature]
“Torn by darkness”: what would happen if a human fell into a black hole? [Book extract]
A toxicologist explains when you can safely cut off the moldy part of food and when it’s best to throw it away [Opinion]
#18: First man-made satellite in space – 11 in diameter [Crossword]
Science on video
If a trip deep into the black “sulfur cave” on the Albanian-Greek border doesn’t already sound scary enough, wait until you see what’s down there: a spider megacity.
According to a recent study, the cave is home to what scientists believe is the world’s largest spider web, housing 111,000 spiders of two different species thriving in a permanently dark area of the cavern. The web stretches 1,140 square feet (106 square meters) along a narrow passageway near the cave entrance and is a patchwork of thousands of individual funnel-shaped webs.
This is the first evidence of colonial behavior in two common spider species, the barn funnel-weaver. Domestic tegenaria and the weaver Prinerigone vagans. But what makes this even more unusual is that, in the outside world, funnel barn weavers typically dine on P. vagans. Nevertheless, the two live side by side in the murky depths of the cave, feeding on non-biting midges, which in turn survive on slimy secretions that protect the sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in the cave.
This all sounds very delicious (if you’re a spider). One thing that is less appealing to the average human is this video from one of the researchers. boost the massive web – you have been warned.
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