Researchers have discovered air pollution could increase a child’s risk of developing autism spectrum disorder. The research, published in “Brain Medicine,” suggests ultra-small pollutants impact a young brain the most. @sciencefocus has more. https://flip.it/dXm9UM #Science#Autism#ASD#Health#Pollution
The dream of traversing the depths of space and planting the seed of human civilization on another planet has existed for generations. With the dawn of the Space Age, this idea was no longer just the stuff of science fiction and became a matter of scientific study. But, as you’re probably aware, the challenges are plenty. @ScienceAlert has more on the radical plan to build a spaceship to carry humans. https://flip.it/423xih #Science#Space#SpaceExploration#Spaceship#SpaceTravel
Dogs, cats, even pot-belly pigs can be pets. Why not clouds? New Zealand’s “Taieri Pet” is a lenticular cloud that forms when conditions are right over the Rock and Pillar Range on the country’s South Island. @ScienceAlert has timelapse images of this phenomenon in action: https://flip.it/mTN-hC #Science#Meteorology#Clouds#NewZealand#Weather
Norway’s Kon-Tiki Museum returns artifacts to Chile’s remote Easter Island.
@AssociatedPress reports: "In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sailed on a log raft named Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 101 days to prove his theory — that the South Sea Islands were settled by seafarers from South America. He brought 5,600 objects back from Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. This is the third time objects taken by him are being returned."
There are some things the Crew-8 astronauts aren’t ready to talk about.
@arstechnica reports: "The astronauts who came home from the International Space Station last month experienced some drama on the high frontier, and some of it accompanied them back to Earth."
Scientists warn that a key Atlantic current could collapse, among other climate tipping points.
From @NBCNews: "A new report describes the dire state of Earth’s snow and ice, suggesting several major tipping points are likelier than scientists once thought."
"Skywatchers, get ready to witness some celestial activity as the Leonids and Northern Taurids meteor showers peak in mid-November."
From @USAToday: "The Leonid meteor shower is caused by space debris from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which collides with Earth's atmosphere. Two independent discoveries of the comet were made by Ernst Tempel in 1865 and Horace Tuttle in 1866, according to NASA."
From @AssociatedPress: "More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit."
Last week, we had a story about scientists who put bats on a treadmill. This week, a neuroscientist teaches rats to drive. And they love it!
From @ConversationUS: "We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal."
Astronomers are excited after discovering a nearby “interstellar tunnel” that could lead to other star systems. As detailed in the journal "Astronomy & Astrophysics, the tunnel exists as part of an enormous structure of hot gas with a radius of hundreds of light years that surrounds our solar system known as the Local Hot Bubble. Could it connect to another even larger bubble? @Futurism has more: https://flip.it/KXuTL8 #Science#Space#SolarSystem#Astronomy#Astrophysics
From @LiveScience: Emerging evidence suggests that plate tectonics may have begun much earlier than previously thought — and may be a big reason that our planet harbors life. Some scientists are now arguing that plate tectonics emerged very soon after Earth's formation — perhaps predating life itself. Read more: https://flip.it/9nLsjW #Science#Earth#Geology#Life#Aliens
Perhaps we’ve been looking at forgetfulness all wrong. This article from @LiveScience tells us how forgetting has some functional purposes. For example, imagine getting bogged down with thousands of irrelevant memories. Read more: https://flip.it/uSn93V #Science Psychology #Brain#Health Human #Mind
Somebody moved the U.K.'s oldest satellite, and no one knows who or why.
@BBCNews reports: "Launched in 1969, just a few months after humans first set foot on the Moon, Skynet-1A was put high above Africa's east coast to relay communications for British forces. ... But today, curiously, Skynet-1A is actually half a planet away, in a position 22,369 miles (36,000km) above the Americas."
An asteroid impacted Earth’s atmosphere just hours after being spotted in October, avoiding detection by impact monitoring systems as it approached Earth. Luckily, the object, which was the third ‘imminent impactor’ of 2024, measured just 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter and wasn’t a threat to anything on the ground. Read more from @Space.com@Flipboard.com about planetary defense efforts that catalog objects posing threats to Earth.