FacebookTwitterYoutubeInstagramGoogle Plus

This Week in Science: Jupiter Wrecking Ball, Skin-Changing Frogs, Lemon-Scented Malaria

No Comments

Seven days, lots of science in the news. Here’s our roundup of some of the week’s most notable and quotable items:

Jupiter may have destroyed the original planets in our solar system like a giant wrecking ball.

A day on Saturn is six minutes longer than we previously thought.

The moon is going to get its own moon.

The European Space Agency is testing nets that could one day be used to reduce space junk in orbit by ensnaring dead satellites.

Nitrogen, a requirement for life, is believed to be found on Mars.

Scientists are investigating a possible connection between dark matter and Earth’s periodic mass extinctions.

Inserting a fake nose into video game screens could alleviate the nausea and vertigo that people experience in virtual reality simulations.

Under the right conditions, magnets may be able to control heat and and sound.

Using graphene—a sheet-like form of carbon—researchers have been able to make square forms of ice.

The tropics are experiencing more rain thanks to bigger thunderstorms.

Ocean currents are slowing down due to the influx of meltwater from Greenland.

Turtles don’t like using the safer road crossings built for them.

Giant salamanders may have been one of Earth’s top predators 200 million years ago.

A newly discovered species of frog can change the texture of its skin from smooth to spiny and then back again.

Malaria parasites produce pine- and lemon-scented chemicals in hosts’ blood, both of which may serve to attract mosquitoes.

With common bacteria poised to becoming resistant to antibiotics, are we looking at the possible “start of the post-antibiotic era”?

You probably don’t have the gut bacteria needed to handle a real “paleo” diet.

Cooking rice with coconut oil and then cooling it in the fridge for 12 hours afterwards alters the composition of the starches in the grain as well as reduces the amount of calories.

Image: Illustration by Sarah Peavey

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Videos

Related Content