The Weird Science Drop #11 š§ The secrets to being cool
š© Get the Belgian Stone Age look š“ Ancient boomarang only did half the job š§ Sugar in your brain š©ø Plus, how to make your own homunculus
āGamarjoba!* Spinal Tap once mused that āthereās a fine line between stupid and cleverā. Thereās also an equally slender difference between cool and uncool. But it turns out everyone in the world agrees on what makes someone frosty. This week on TWSD, we also look into two unlikely medical advances, a smiling Sun, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and a Renaissance scientist with a very odd hobby. Read on and donāt forget to hit that subscribe button!ā
Daniel
* Hello in Georgian
Q: Why did the physicist break up with the biologist? Scroll to the end to find out!
Weird Science News ā
š§ The world has never felt more divided, yet there is one thing that unites us all - we all know what cool looks like. According to research published by the American Psychological Association, everyone around the globe agrees on what makes someone frosty.
Thousands of people from all sorts of countries and societies all thought that cool people were extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous. Co-lead researcher Todd Pezzuti said:
"Everyone wants to be cool, or at least avoid the stigma of being uncool, and society needs cool people because they challenge norms, inspire change, and advance culture.ā
Itās interesting to note that we all make the distinction between good people and cool people, as the two arenāt necessarily the same. The researchers have kept quiet on what is uncool. Maybe itās so as not to upset anyone. Read more on Phys.org
š New studies have started to show itās not only mammals and birds who can think and feel - reptiles, fish, and insects might well do as well.
The latter were thought to be simple creatures that only act on instinct, seen as nothing more than āliving robotsā, but now itās been hinted they, too, have inner lives filled with experiences, memories, and even emotions.
Dozens of researchers have signed āThe New York Declaration on Animal Consciousnessā that backs the idea that mammals and birds are social beings - while also leaving the door open for all vertebrates.
Recent experiments have shown that tortoises can navigate mazes and lizards can share experience, while fish have passed a test designed to measure self-awareness. Read more on AOL
š“ The worldās oldest boomerang is not from Australia but has instead been found among ancient human remains in a Polish cave. Created from the tusk of a mammoth, the curved bone is now thought to be nearly 40,000 years old. To add perspective, thatās 30,000 years older than the previously oldest-known boomerang from Wyrie Swamp in South Australia.
Dr Sahra Talamo, from the University of Bologna, said she was astounded humans could shape "such a perfect object," and be aware that it could be used to hunt animals.
The specific boomerang is exceptionally well preserved, with score marks suggesting it had been polished and carved for use by a right-handed person. However, researchers admit that while the tusk would have flown when thrown it would not have come back. Maybe Iām simple, but isnāt that just a stick - wooden or not? Read more on Daily Jang
š© This is how a Stone Age Belgian looked. Archaeologists reconstructed the face from fossils found in the Margaux cave near Dinant almost 40 years ago. She lived in the Meuse Valley, around 10,500 years ago and belonged to the same Western European hunter-gatherer population as Britainās famous Cheddar Man.
Genetic and archaeological data assessed by Belgiumās Ghent University indicate she had blue eyes and a dark complexion. The researchers used DNA extracted from parts of her skull to form the striking portrait.
The latest research also suggests that the Margaux womanās life was spent mostly outdoors, based on remains of shells, pigments, and other tools found at the cave site. Read more on The Independent
š§ Medical scientists have been scratching their heads recently over how weight-loss jabs appear to offer some protection against Alzheimer's disease and other conditions that result in cognitive decline.
Well, it appears they have now spotted something that could explain it. While investigating the sugar stores in neurons, researchers found out that this little stash of glucose - thought to be a redundant hangover from our past evolution - could actually defend the mind against the toxic build-up that can trigger brain issues.
This sweet, sweet protection can be boosted by fasting - and the type of slim super fast drugs loved by celeb types. Study lead Sudipta Bar said:
āAs we continue to age as a society, findings like these offer hope that better understanding ā and perhaps rebalancing ā our brainās hidden sugar code could unlock powerful tools for combating dementia.ā
For another medical breakthrough on the dementia front, go to our Fries on the Sides section belowā¦
Weird Scientist - Paracelsus and his tiny homunculus š©ø
The Renaissance was a golden age for science and scientists. In many ways, humankind started to open its eyes to the world around us, with the scientific method of observation and experimentation really taking hold, leading to the development of the telescope, anatomy, the good old printing press, and a whole lot more.
But that doesnāt mean the titans of the times were not guilty of hitching a ride every so often on the crazy town express. It was a different time when the line between science and alchemy was blurred. And nothing demonstrates this more than the Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher Paracelsus.
A learned man in many ways, he earned a doctorate in medicine from the University of Ferrara in the early 16th Century, and went on to become the father of modern toxicology. In his early days he went searching for āuniversal knowledgeā not found in books (first alarm bell ringing) and travelled to France, Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Croatia, Rhodes, Constantinople, and even Egypt. A pretty impressive feat for the 1500s.
As was the fashion of the time, he also had many other interests including medicine, botany and, errr, the occult (second alarm bell goes off, even louder than the first), and itās this last one that convinced Paracelsus he could create a living homunculus ā a tiny man ā by keeping semen in a warm place and feeding it on human blood. He was convinced this was where wood nymphs and giants came from.
Shockingly, his bizarre plan didnāt work. But he wasnāt unduly deterred and left behind detailed instructions for anyone who might wish to try it themselves after he died. Any takers?
A wonder from the deep š”
I get a little discombobulated when the very old comes face-to-face with the present. And this is just whatās happening in Egypt as archaeologists bring up huge stone blocks from the sea floor that once were part of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
The tallest man-made structure for centuries, the lighthouse was built in the third century under the reign of Ptolemy II. It was a remarkable technological miracle of its time and guided ships entering the bustling island port using mirrors and fires.
The lighthouse was severely damaged in a series of earthquakes, with much of it having toppled into the sea by the 14th Century. What was left became an abandoned ruin until local builders half-inched much of the remaining structure to construct other buildings.
Remnants were discovered in the harbour in 1994, and now a team from the French National Center for Scientific Research has lifted 22 of the lighthouseās massive submerged blocks from the sea floor. These include monumental door lintels and jambs that weigh 70 to 80 tons each, as well as a previously unknown pylon with an Egyptian-style door.
Researchers want to create a virtual model of the lighthouse that they hope will provide new clues about its construction, design, and ultimate collapse.
Photo of the Week š·
The Sun smiles for a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The vast dark spot forming a mouth-like shape is actually a coronal hole that could be as wide as 800,000km. These regions are where the Sun's magnetic field lines open out into space, allowing solar wind to escape more easily.
For your eye holes š
Infographic Magic š
Itās a green brown and pleasant landā¦
Cool Quote š£
āThat's not right, it's not even wrong."
Theoretical physicist Wolfgang Paul on a paper from a particularly poor student
Weird Science Factoid š¤Æ
If you spin a ball as you drop it, it will fly. Honestlyā¦
Weird Science Fries on the Side š (aka the best of the rest)
š A new telescope has discovered 2,000 unknown asteroids within its first ten hours of operation. The first images from the Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile included seven near-Earth balls of space rock previously undocumented.
š¾ In more telescope news, the James Webb Space Telescope has finally discovered its first exoplanet. Since coming online in 2022, the JWST has been mostly taking shots of exoplanets we already knew about but now it has come across a new one in the Earth's galactic backyard.
š¦¶ Footprints found in the ancient lakebeds of White Sands may prove that humans lived in North America 23,000 years ago - much earlier than previously believed. A new study using radiocarbon-dated mud bolsters earlier findings, making it the third line of evidence pointing to this revised timeline.
š» Beer and astronomy are two of my favourite things, so a craft brewery that creates an IPA while looking to the heavens for inspiration certainly got my attention. Siren Craft Brewās Lumina - described as having hoppy aromas of mango and pineapple - was launched with a stargazing session from the great Dr Becky Smethurst and has gone on to be a best-seller for the Berkshire brewery.
š¦· Researchers have found that wisdom teeth hide stem cells with a knack for rebuilding bone, cartilage, and even nerve tissue. These cells can behave like immature body builders, able to transform into neurons, heart muscle or bone, once coaxed in the lab.
šø NASAās Curiosity rover has taken a good look at something remarkable on Mars - a strange structure that looks just like giant spiderwebs. Scientists call these formations āboxworkā, and they could give us clues about the presence of water and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Did you miss this? More from TWSD š
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About The Weird Science Drop š
Science is weird, and hereās the proof. The Weird Science Drop goes where other, more-sensible newsletters fear to tread. Every week, we grab our trusty white lab coat, bunch of bubbling test tubes and world-ending robot prototype to go in search for the overlooked, under-the-radar and, above all else, most madcap science news, views and research.
About me š“
Daniel Smith is an old experienced journalist who has worked for a host of news publishers on both sides of the Atlantic. A long, long time ago, he fancied himself as an astrophysicist but instead turned out to be the worst scientist since the man who mapped out all those canals on Mars that turned out to be scratches on his telescope's lens. Luckily, he is now not working on the Large Hadron Collider inadvertently creating a black hole that would swallow the world by pressing the big red button but is safely behind a desk writing this newsletter, bringing you the fantastical underbelly of nature... The Weird Science Drop.
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