If anyone says he needs to use the toilet, does that make you want to go there too? “Contagious Peeing” is a known phenomenon in humans, but new research shows that It also happens in the chimpanzeessuggesting a deep evolutionary origin for this social behavior.
And this is not the only wild story in the new scientists of this week. The researchers discovered the reproduction secrets of the smallest penguins in the world, revealing that “Divorce” is endemic among these small sea birds.
Meanwhile, a Scorpion species which is distributed rare was discovered in South America, and one of the largest and the deadliest spiders in Australia has proven really be three distinct species.
But if you thought it was extreme, scientists China broke a new fusion record after their “artificial sun” maintained the temperatures six times warmer than the center of our star for an astounding period.
“ Artificial Sun ” of China
Nuclear merger is the process that feeds our sun – and if we could effectively recreate it on earth, it would offer an almost without limit of clean energy. For this reaction to take place, you need a lot of energy and very high temperatures.
At these extreme temperatures, gas hydrogen between a fourth state of matter Known as plasma, in which the electrons of the atoms are torn from their nucleus and exist in a soup of positively and negatively loaded ions. However, this plasma is notoriously difficult to maintain.
Now, the scientists of the Experimental Tokamak Mermation Reactor in China – often described as the “artificial sun” of China – – managed to maintain this plasma for 1,066 secondsMore than to double their previous world record set in 2023. But we still have work to be done before commercial fusion energy was available on Earth.
Discover more technological news
–Something invisible and “vague” can hide at the center of the milky path, suggest new research
The little mysteries of life
Organ donation saves thousands of lives each year. But although the number of donors is at a record level, the demand for organ transplanting constantly exceeds the supply.
In 2023, more than 46,000 organ transplants were carried out in the United States only – but Could one of these organs be recycled Again, if their owner had finished with them and they were necessary by someone else?
Interstellar visitors
An interstellar object eight times the mass of Jupiter can have definitively modified our cosmic district by distorting the orbits of the four external planets.
For decades, astronomers have debated the way our solar systemThe planets have formed and why the four external planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – have subtle idiosyncrasies in their orbits compared to those closest to the sun.
But using computer models, scientists have discovered that a The interstellar visitor may have crossed our solar system about 4 billion years ago and modified the paths of these external planets.
Discover more new spaces
Also in new scientists this week
–“ Contagieux ” pee can have deep evolutionary roots, suggests the study of chimpanzee
Scientific projector
When our species came out of Africa for the first time, our red blood cells have undergone a rapid evolution to help us survive. But that could also have led to the fall of Neanderthals.
We often talk about our blood group – the combination of molecular flags on the surface of our red blood cells which allow our immune system to know that these cells belong to us. When you get a blood transfusion, it is important that the donor’s blood is compatible with your own blood group – otherwise your immune system will signal cells as foreign and attack them.
The same can happen if the blood group of a mother is not compatible with that of her child – which can be fatal. Population geneticists believe that The consanguinity between humans and Neanderthals may have resulted in incompatible blood groups Between mothers and their children, killing many newborns.
Something for the weekend
If you are looking for something a little longer to read during the weekend, here are some of the best long reads, books of books and interviews published this week.
–7 ancient megaliths of the whole world that compete with Stonehenge
–Diagnostic dilemma: A man has blown a computer cleaner for years. Then his hands started to grow.
–AI can now reproduce – an important step that has terrified experts
And something for Skywatchers:
–Auroras predicted on us this weekend while the solar storm tears towards the earth
Science in pictures
More than 10 years old, the Hubble space telescope collected snapshots from the Andromeda galaxy. Now, more than 600 of these images have been assembled in a superb mosaic of hundreds of millions of stars, showing our cosmic neighbor with spectacular clarity.
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