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Seven days; lots of science in the news. Here’s our roundup of this week’s most notable and quotable items:
Something like real-life telepathy is within our reach now; this week two people 5,000 miles apart had direct brain-to-brain communication. For days, lava has spewed from the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland, but thankfully there has been no ash, which would threaten to shut down much of Europe’s airspace. Scientists have determined finally how rocks weighing hundreds of pounds move in Death Valley.
Astronomers have created a stunning new 3-D map of the galactic supercluster Laniakea, home to our own Milky Way galaxy and at least a hundred thousand others. NASA wants your predictions on the state of exploration a decade from now to include in a time capsule aboard the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft. Over in Europe, it was announced that a doggie cosmonaut spacesuit is going up for auction next week.
Although America still reigns as the most obese country in the world, we are eating slightly healthier these days. Viewing habits could be a contributing factor, though; new research indicates that watching action films inspires people to consume more food. Google is investing in eternal life—or at least building a new research facility for Calico, their anti-aging biotech R&D company.
Mexico presented its first litter of gray wolf pups conceived by artificial insemination; the animal is one of the most endangered in this hemisphere. A team of mathematicians that included WSF participant Steven Strogatz have determined that if New Yorkers shared cabs, the city’s taxi fleet could be cut by 40%, reducing emissions and costs.
The gigantic Dreadnought, which was heavier than a Boeing 737, has become the most complete super-massive dinosaur fossil ever found. Mushroom-shaped marine animals discovered off the coast of Australia have expanded the tree of life with a new genus and may be related to sea life thought to be extinct for 500 million years. In Germany, the boars have become too radioactive to eat.
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