14 DAY TRIAL // It's Sunday, which means it's time to take a break, sit back, relax and try to figure out how the past week's events have forever changed us. Also, it's time to take a few minutes to review the past few days' most important science news.
As per usual, it's been a fairly busy week for researchers worldwide. Papers were published, reports were released and we can take pride in the fact that we now know a wee more about the world than we did a week ago.
Without further ado, here are the 10 most important science news and announcements of the past seven days. Get ready to have your mind blown.
10. Ages ago, Earth was home to a humongous mountain range
This week, scientists announced the discovery of the remains of a humongous mountain range that covered part of present-day west Africa and northeastern Brazil about 600 million years ago. At that time, these two regions were part and parcel of a massive continent dubbed Gondwana.
This mountain range that Earth was home to eons ago was similar to the Himalayas size-wise. More precisely, it is estimated to have measured approximately 2,500 kilometers (roughly 1,553 miles) in length. So, yeah, it was pretty big.
What's really interesting is that, while eroding, the mountain range ended up spilling loads of sediments into the nearby ocean. These sediments served as nutrients for many aquatic species, and fostered what researchers like to call an explosion of life on Earth.
9. Crash diets found to be no different to long-term ones
Contrary to popular opinion, it appears that, at least when it comes to making it easier for people to keep excess weight off once they lose it, crash diets are no different to long-term ones.
In a nutshell, researchers argue that, regardless of what diet they opt for, folks have equal chances to bounce back to their original weight after they stop counting each and every calorie and switch to a maintenance program.
Thus, having carried out a series of experiments with the help of volunteers, scientists documented a 71% bounce back rate for both the folks who lost weight with the help of a crash diet and those who were put on a gradual weight loss program.
8. Embryonic stem cells used to restore vision in blind patients
In a series of experiments involving 18 volunteers, researchers successfully used embryonic stem cells to partly restore vision in blind patients. More precisely, it appears that 10 of the people involved in this research project reported an improvement in their visual acuity.
To treat these people, researchers simply collected embryonic stem cells and injected them into their eyes after first placing them in a special environment and compelling them to become retinal pigment epithelium cells.
The bad news is that, of the 18 people involved in these experiments, 7 experienced no improvement whatsoever in their condition, and one actually started feeling worse. Besides, human embryonic stem cells aren't exactly a favorite choice of treatment, chiefly for reasons having to do with ethics.
7. Scientists said we are related to some ancient blind creatures
They don't look anything like us, what with their 8-shaped bodies and their lack of eyes, but as it turns out, they are our long lost cousins. I'm talking about a group of blind marine creatures that populated the Earth 500 million years ago and that researchers say are related to us.
Mind you, you don't have to send these creatures an invitation to your next birthday party, and not just because they're extinct. You see, when they say that these marine animals are our distant cousins, researchers really mean our so-distant-they-don't-really-have-anything-to-do-with-us cousins.
Simply put, the only reason why these 500-million-year-old blind creatures were labeled as relatives of ours was because they were found to belong to the same group as vertebrate animals such as humans.
6. The US got its third Ebola patient
Admittedly, there is nothing cool or interesting about this piece of news. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's announcement that, on Wednesday, a second healthcare worker in the US tested positive for Ebola is pretty big deal. Hence the fact that it is included in this week's round-up.
For those unaware, the US got its first Ebola patient, i.e. a 42-year-old man named Thomas Eric Duncan, in late September. The man, said to have contracted the disease while in Liberia, passed away on October 8.
A few days later, one of the nurses in charge of looking after him started feeling feverish, was rushed to the hospital, and soon enough, doctors diagnosed her with Ebola. Fast forward a few more days, and yet another healthcare worker tested positive for this disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now busy trying to track down the people who might have come into contact with either of these two healthcare workers before they were diagnosed, and promises it will do its best to keep the virus from spreading any further.
5. Earth's magnetic field once flipped in under 100 years
Having analyzed ancient sediment deposits in the Apennine Mountains' Sulmona basin east of Rome, Italy, scientists found that, about 786,000 years ago, our planet's magnetic field flipped in less than 100 years.
What this means is that, in under a century, the magnetic field changed in such ways that, had there been any compasses in those days, they would have almost instantly started pointing south rather than north.
What's really wacky is that, by the looks of it, our planet's magnetic field has high chances to once again turn topsy-turvy sometime in the not-too-distant future. The good news is that, for scientists, soon actually means in a few thousand years.
Researchers say that, were Earth's magnetic field to flip in this day and age, our global electrical system would probably get shut down. Besides, the phenomenon would probably cause an increase in global cancer rates.
4. Robot that reaches the brain through the cheek unveiled
In an attempt to make brain surgery a less invasive medical procedure, a team of scientists decided to dedicate their time to developing a robot that would operate on the brain through the cheek. This week, they unveiled a working prototype of the robot they hope to soon bring to hospitals.
The robot comprises a very thick nickel-titanium needles that is pushed forward by compressed air, and is especially designed to make it easier for surgeons to help people experiencing regular epileptic seizures.
Thus, the robot's needle is expected to reach the hippocampus, which sits at the bottom of the brain, through the cheek. Once there, the needle will destroy the brain area causing a patient to experience seizures.
3. Ancient tattooed princess was a regular cannabis user
Back in 1993, researchers came across the mummified remains of a heavily tattooed woman who lived about 2,500 years ago in Russia's Ukok Plateau in the Altai Mountains. Still, it took a while for them to properly analyze them.
This week, specialists announced that, having used MRI scans to peer into this woman's anatomy, they found that, at the time of her death, she was suffering from breast cancer. The disease was in its late and final stages.
Besides, it appears that, before she got cancer, this woman, argued to have been a shaman, developed an infection that affected her bones and her bone marrow. As if these conditions weren't enough to make her life a living hell, evidence indicates she fell off a horse and suffered severe injuries just a few months before passing away.
What's really interesting is that, according to evidence at hand, this woman relied on cannabis to help ease the pain caused by the tumors developing inside her body. Because of this habit, she probably had visions that others assumed were a sign of her connection with the divine.
2. Scientists revealed diabetes drug activated by light
Thanks to a group of scientists now busy working on perfecting a diabetes drug activated by light, it might not be long until people diagnosed with their condition are given the opportunity to control their insulin levels simply by flashing a light on their skin.
The drug, currently known as JB253, is still in its early stages of development. Thus, it has until now only been tested on cells grown and kept in laboratory conditions. The good news is that, during these tests, it more than did its job to compel pancreatic cells to produce insulin.
Interestingly enough, specialists argue that, should this drug prove successful when it comes to treating diabetes, there is no reason why efforts shouldn't be made to use other such compounds, generally referred to as photoswitchable drugs, to try and keep other conditions in check as well.
1. This year's September was the hottest ever documented
According to figures released by NASA earlier this week, this year's September was the hottest ever reported since record keeping began back in 1880. The previous record was held by September 2005.
Not to beat about the bush, NASA says that, this past September, the global average surface temperature exceeded the 1951-1980 average by 0.77 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit). Yes, global warming is to blame.
Researchers say that, based on temperatures recorded since the beginning of the year until now, 2014 is the third hottest on record. Judging by how things are going, 2014 might very soon be crowned the absolute warmest year to have ever been documented.
This piece of news concludes this week's round-up. Be sure to check this page again next Sunday. The 10 most important science news and announcements of the weeks will be waiting for you, as per usual.