14 DAY TRIAL // Just in case some of you were too busy these past few days to notice, what with the endless quests to find the absolute best Christmas presents and the constant thinking about all the treats we’ll soon get to indulge in, let’s take a few moments to state the obvious: another week has gone by.
On the downside, this means that we are a wee older and one step closer to bidding 2014 its eternal farewell. Then again, it also means that we’ve made it through another workweek and can start thinking about all the glorious things we’ll do next year. Because New Year’s resolutions always work out exactly as planned, right?
But let’s not get carried away. We are here to talk science and that’s exactly what we are going to do. So, without further ado, here are this week’s coolest and most important announcements and news from the world of science.
10. Male Idiot Theory confirmed by new study
As surprising as this may sound, the fact of the matter is that there really is such a thing as the Male Idiot Theory. It is, well, a theory that stipulates that, generally speaking, men are more idiotic than women. Now, a group of researchers claim to have finally proved it.
What these scientists did was look at the nominees and the winners of the Darwin Awards between the years 1995 and 2014, and count how many of them were men and how many were women. For those unaware, the Darwin Awards mockingly celebrate idiotic behavior.
It was discovered that, of the 318 instances of idiotic behavior the specialists looked at, as many as 282 had men as their protagonists. Women, on the other hand, accounted for just 36. Hence, it was concluded that, as a general rule, guys are more likely to do stupid things than gals.
9. Recipe for the absolute best donut unveiled
If you’re a big fan of donuts, you will be glad to hear that scientists take this sugary treat seriously. Mind you, one brainiac even went the extra mile and used mathematics to try and find the recipe for the absolute best donut ever to come out of a frying pan.
Long story short, it appears that the perfect donut is one whose overall diameter is somewhere between 2.8 inches and 3.2 inches (72 millimeters and 82 millimeters), and whose central hole measures precisely 0.4 inches (11 millimeters) across. These parameters ensure the perfect soft-to-crispy ratio.
As far as sugar is concerned, the researcher behind this mouthwatering science project says 0.2 ounces (5.8 grams) should suffice. Then again, there is no reason why donuts couldn’t taste just as great coated in about a bucket's worth of chocolate topping.
8. Comet dust found trapped in ice in the Antarctic
It just so happens that, contrary to what some might assume, comets aren’t all that far away from us. In fact, it was this week that scientists announced that, while analyzing several ice samples collected from the Antarctic, they found them to contain comet dust.
In a study detailing their work, the researchers explain that, all in all, they recovered nearly 40 comet dust particles from these Antarctic ice samples. Interestingly enough, they say that these particles are the first of their kind to have until now been discovered anywhere in the world.
The really wacky thing is that, for the time being at least, the specialists behind this investigation are utterly clueless about how this comet dust ended up encased in ice in the Antarctic. Thus, they say that the particles should have been destroyed while journeying through our planet’s atmosphere.
7. Humongous insect discovered in Vietnam
In case you haven’t figured it out just yet, this world that we live in is a seriously crazy place. True, it’s also magical and wondrous, but this does not change the fact that it’s pretty messed up. Look no further that this news about a humongous insect found in Vietnam if you need proof.
Entomologists say the creature, a photo of which is included in the gallery below, is a stick insect. It lives deep in the jungle and it can grow to measure an impressive 32 centimeters (12.6 inches) in length, even 54 centimeters (21.2 inches) when its legs are also factored in.
The recently documented species is now known to the scientific community as Phryganistria heusii yentuensis. To find it, entomologists ventured into the jungle, used poles to shake some of the trees they came across and proceeded to study the critters that fell to the ground.
6. Cocaine shown to quadruple the risk of sudden death
This week, scientists announced that, having taken the time to study the cause of death and the lifestyle of several hundred people, they found cocaine users to be more likely to die due to a sudden and complete shutdown of their cardiovascular system.
More precisely, it appears that individuals who are in the habit of consuming this illegal drug are four times more likely to experience death than folks who choose to stay clean. This link between cocaine consumption and an increased sudden death risk was documented even when variables such as lifestyle and gender were taken into consideration.
Specialists say that cocaine ups sudden cardiovascular death risk because, once inside the body, it causes blood pressure to spike and even encourages the formation of blood clots. Besides, it makes the heart contract and relax in a hectic manner.
5. Asteroids argued to have brought water to Earth
Some time ago, in August, the Rosetta probe finally reached Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and became the first spacecraft ever to orbit such a celestial body. Based on data collected with Rosetta’s help, scientists now say that it was probably asteroids that brought water to Earth.
More precisely, they say that, even if it is true that this comet contains water in its makeup, evidence at hand indicates that this water is very different to the one found on Earth. In a nutshell, it packs way more heavy water molecules than our planet’s seas and oceans contain.
What this means is that the chances that water was carried to our planet by celestial bodies in the Kuiper Belt, from which this comet originates, are slim to none. Seeing how objects in the Oort Cloud were ruled out some time ago by another study, this leaves asteroids as the most likely candidates.
4. Inoperable tumors made operable by high-tech robot
In a paper that hit the public eye earlier this week, specialists explain how, which the help of a high-tech robot, surgeons can now not only access but also remove tumors located in a rather tricky region of the human body that goes by the name the parapharyngeal space.
This region sits at the base of the skull and packs a heck lot of nerves, blood vessels and muscles. What this means is that reaching abnormal tissue growths developing in this part of the body simply by cutting open a patient is downright impossible.
The high-tech robot that enables access to such tumors has several arms that can work their way through the muscles, nerves and vessels in the parapharyngeal space and that essentially mimic the movements of a surgeon’s fingers and wrists. With the help of a camera, the surgeon can keep tabs on what the robot is doing inside the patient’s body.
3. Ghost ship discovered in Hawaiian waters
As it turns out, a ghost ship that sunk back in 1946 as a result of damage caused by a torpedo fire is now resting in the waters off the coast of the island of Oahu in Hawaii, at a distance of about 20 miles (some 32 kilometers) from shore.
The vessel is said to be located at a depth of about 2,000 feet (610 meters) and perfectly well preserved. Thus, it is positioned upright on the ocean floor and its wheel is still in its proper place. Mind you, even its upper deck is pretty much intact.
According to historical records, the ship began its career in the year 1923. At that time, it was known as the Dickenson. Until 1941, it was used to carry supplies across the Pacific and repair underwater cables in this corner of the world. In 1942, it had its name changed to the USS Kailua and was chartered by the US Navy.
2. Original spark of life kind of, sort of recreated in the lab
A team of researchers claim that, having fired a powerful laser at a compound that was quite common on Earth some 4 billion years ago, they ended up obtaining the molecules without which life as we know it would not have been possible on our planet.
Specifically, it is said that, when firing their laser at the chemical compound in question, which goes by the name formamide, the scientists triggered a series of reactions that translated into the formation of the building blocks of DNA and RNA.
Consequently, the scientists behind this research project argue that it could be that life emerged on our planet following a series of asteroid bombardments that triggered the same chemical reactions obtained in the laboratory and that turned nonliving matter into living material.
1. Odd cosmic signal could be evidence of dark matter
The absolute best science news of the week is the one about how, while using the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton observatory to study the Andromeda galaxy and the Perseus galaxy cluster, scientists detected an odd cosmic signal that might be tangible evidence of dark matter.
The signal, described as an odd spike in X-ray emissions, does not correspond to any of the particles or atoms that have thus far been documented by researchers. Hence, it is argued that it originates from theoretical dark matter particles dubbed sterile neutrinos.
As explained by scientists, dark matter is a type of matter that, because it neither emits nor absorbs light or electromagnetic radiation, cannot be detected and studied using conventional methods. Instead, its existence and its properties are inferred from its gravitational interactions with visible matter.
Based on information obtained thus far, scientists estimate that dark matter accounts for about 80% of the cosmos. If the signal found in the Andromeda galaxy and in the Perseus galaxy cluster really does originate from dark matter, the discovery stands to forever transform particle physics.
This find concludes this week’s round-up. To keeps tabs on what researchers are up to these days and what wacky experiments they’ve carried out lately, be sure to check this page again next Sunday.
