WEIRD SCIENCE
By Michael Irving – Fashionable fungi: A colored image shows the particles of gold collected by the fungus species fusarium oxsporium. (Credit: CSIRO). Shiny, pretty and useful in electronics, gold has been prized by humans for millennia, but we’re not the only ones …
By Michael Irving – An illustration of a collision between two huge celestial bodies, similar to that now theorized to have given the Moon its asymmetrical face. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech). While we can only see one “face” on the Moon from our vantage point …
By David Szondy – An exoplanet smaller than Neptune with its own atmosphere has been discovered in a Neptunian Desert. (Credit: University of Warwick/Mark Garlick). An international team of astronomers led by the University of Warwick has found a “forbidden” planet orbiting …
Scientists say surge of radiation led to lightning causing forest fires, making adaptation vital. Ian Sample, Science editor – According to the researchers, a series of stars in our corner of the Milky Way exploded in a cosmic riot that began about 7m …
Largest global study finds the drugs in two-thirds of test sites in 72 countries By Natasha Gilbert – Of the European rivers tested, the Danube had the highest level of antibiotic pollution. Photograph: Nick Ledger/Getty Images/AWL Images RM. Hundreds of rivers around …
By David Szondy – Isotope analysis indicates that Earth’s water may have arrived when the Moon was formed. (Credit: NASA Goddard). The question of where Earth’s large amount of water came from may find its answer by looking to the Moon. According …
By David Szondy – Carbon-14 from above ground nuclear testing in the 20th century has been found in the deepest parts of the ocean. (Credit: US Department of Energy). A new study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou indicates that radioactive …
Michael Irving – Researchers have used molecules from the lamprey’s immune system to help fight brain cancer. (Credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (CC BY.SA 2.0)). With a mouth like a whirlpool full of teeth, the lamprey is not something you’d normally …
By Rich Haridy – An animal study revealed prebiotic dietary interventions in middle-aged mice reduced signs of brain inflammation and improved cognition, essentially slowing down the neurodegeneration associated with aging. (Credit: azatvaleev/Depositphotos). A number of physiological and psychological changes occur as we age, …
By Nick Lavars – A two-year study on fecal transplants in autism sufferers has found they can reduce symptoms by as much as 45 percent. (Credit: Arizona State University). Scientific research continues to uncover interesting connections between the gut microbiome and human health, …
