This week Cherenkov light was observed for the first time during a fusion reaction, changes in the Earth’s orbit may have facilitated a bit of hominin hank-panky between Neanderthals and Denisovans, and scientists simulated black hole recoil speeds for the first time. Finally, we dove into the topic of neurodiversity to explore what it means and why it matters.
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Scientists Witnessed The Birth Of A New Accent In Antarctica
Antarctica has no native population or permanent residents, but it does have a transitory community of scientists and support staff who live there for part of the year on a rotational basis. Here, scientists have witnessed the first stages of a common accent developing among its ever-changing population. Read the full story here
Cherenkov Light Seen For The First Time In Nuclear Fusion Setup
Nuclear fusion company SHINE has reported the first-ever observations of Cherenkov light during a fusion reaction, visual evidence that a reaction was taking place. This phenomenon is more commonly seen in traditional nuclear fission power plants and produces a pretty, blue-violet light. Read the full story here
We May Have Found Life On Mars 50 Years Ago, Then Killed It
As the search for life on Mars continues, with the Mars Sample Return program set to return samples of the planet in the early 2030s, one scientist has suggested that we may have already found life on the Red Planet, almost 50 years ago. And then, in what would not be an all-time great first impression, we destroyed it. Read the full story here
We Now Know What Enabled Sex Between Neanderthals And Denisovans
Changes in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun hundreds of thousands of years ago allowed Neanderthals and Denisovans to mate with one another, new research has revealed. According to the study authors, these alterations in our cosmic trajectory facilitated major climate shifts on the ground, enabling our ancient relatives to expand their habitats and rendezvous together. Read the full story here
Speed Limit Of Black Holes Recoiling From A Merger Estimated For First Time
Thanks to gravitational wave observatories, we know that when two black holes merge, they create a third black hole. This final black hole gets kicked away from its birthplace by the very space-time warping interaction that created it. Scientists have now simulated just how fast this recoil can be, and it's fast, very fast. Read the full story here
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Feature of the week:
Let's Talk Neurodiversity: What It Means, And Why It Matters
Nowadays, we’re hearing terms like “neurodiversity” and “neurodivergent” being used a lot more often. So, this week, we took a deep dive into the topic and sought some expert advice to try to understand what it all means, how these terms are used, and why numbers seem to be on the rise. Read the full story here
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