WEIRD SCIENCE
Ancient humans had the building blocks of modern language, scientists say. By Alexandra Pattillo – For more than fifty years, scientists have thought that the origin of speech depended on one pivotal moment 200,000 years ago. That’s when the human larynx descended, …
By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent, Madrid – Climate change and nutrient pollution are driving the oxygen from our oceans, and threatening many species of fish. Image copyright IUCN. That’s the conclusion of the biggest study of its kind, undertaken by conservation group …
Has Madam Pomfrey’s Skele-Gro finally made its way to the muggle world? By Sruthi Sanjeev Balakrishnan – Regrowing bones is no easy task, but the world’s lightest solid might make it easier to achieve. Researchers have figured out a way to use hybrid …
By Nick Lavars – Monitoring the chemical makeup of sewage could offer useful insights on population health, possibly in real time. Ddraw/Depositphotos. – In a way it seems so obvious: find out what kinds of things people are putting into their bodies by studying …
Looking for signs of covert nuclear tests, scientists happened upon something rather unexpected instead. By Nina Pullano – Weather. It is the subject that unites us all, a guaranteed conversation-starter, and infamously unpredictable. Every year, meteorologists and news anchors across the United States …
By Michael Irving – An MIT and Harvard team have developed a way to make photons of light interact with each other, which could have applications in quantum computing. Christine Daniloff/MIT. – Photons, the elementary particles that make up light, are known to be fast, …
By Loz Blain – The Speeder will have VTOL capability. Jetpack Aviation. With his crazy jetpack performance business growing and thriving, Australian innovator David Mayman is hoping to fry some bigger fish in the form of a …
A recent computer analysis found that millions of possible chemical compounds could be used to store genetic information. This begs the question — why DNA? By Matt Davis – Shutterstock The central dogma of biology states that genetic information flows from DNA (Deoxyribonucleic …
By Michael Irving – Researchers have evolved E. coli bacteria to eat carbon dioxide from the air. GunnarAssmy/Depositphotos. – Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have created a new breed of bacteria that can effectively “eat” air. By carefully directing the …
Bill Bryson’s new book, “The Body: A Guide For Occupants,” provides important (and funny) lessons in anatomy, neuroscience, physiology, biology, and more. By Derek Beres – English anatomist John Banester (1533 – 1610) delivers the Visceral Lecture at the Barber-Surgeons’ Hall in London, …
