discovery

Scientific Discoveries…(25/9/14)!

Posted on by jellybeanhq

It’s the most interesting time of the week again! Time to round up some of the week’s most fascinating news stories. From brain cells to chimps, it’s been another science filled week!

1.) Discovery of a new brain cell shape!

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Pyramidenzelle cells have recently been discovered by scientists, in the brain. Unusually, in this new type of cell, the axon arises from one of the dendrites, directly. This is very unusual for a neuronal cell. The cell can propagate small stimuli and activate neuronal zones efficiently. Further research is being made into the biological processes affected by these cells.

Reference: http://www.iflscience.com/brain/scientists-discover-strange-new-brain-cell-shape

2.) Exo-Neptune contains water in it’s atmosphere.

exon

Exo-Neptune are Neptune sized planets that exists outside of our solar system, and water vapour has been detected in it’s atmosphere. Hydrogen, oxygen, and some heavier elements were also found on HAT-P-11b. This is the first exo-Neptune to have it’s atmospherical composition discovered.

Reference: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26264-water-found-in-atmosphere-of-exoneptune.html#.VCP_w_ldXco

3.) Chimps which have been raised by humans, could have problems in later life.

chimp

Long term removement from other chimps and caring for by humans, has even longer term negative effects on the chimps. Less contact with other chimps, in the study, meant less grooming and less normal sexual activity. More detail can be found in the article below!

Reference: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/wild-things/chimps-raised-among-humans-may-have-problems-adults

That’s my round-up for the week, make sure to be here next week for my brief round-up of the week’s science-y stuff! 

Scientific discoveries this past, crazy week!

Posted on by jellybeanhq

It’s been another busy week for scientists! Science is always advancing rapidly everyday, and it’s surprising we can even catch our breath to understand everything that gets thrown our way! So, I’ve tried to round up the three stories that have caught my eye this week!

1.) The mystery of why we yawn may soon be solved.

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According to a new study, yawning may play a big role in thermoregulation, and thus, the cooling down of the body. Everyday we go through various sleep cycles, cortical processes and stresses, which all increase the brain temperature, so this needs to be regulated. Brain cooling helps mental efficiency, and it’s thought that higher temperatures induce more yawning, but this is dependent on the type of climate in that environment. 

Reference: http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/why-do-we-yawn 

2.) Dinosaur discovered that is related to the Tyrannosaurus rex.

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This dinosaur has a longer snout than it’s cousin, and thus it has been named Pinnocchio rex! It was discovered in China, in Ganzhou. It’s been suggested that it survived more on it’s speed than it’s strength, and fed on smaller organisms.

Reference: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25527-new-tyrannosaur-was-the-dobermann-of-the-dinosaur-era.html#.U2uAf_ldXco 

3.) A computer simulation has created the very first realistic virtual universe.

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The Illustris simulation has created a virtual representation of a huge galaxy cluster that exists today. It shows it on both large and small scales simultaneously. It shows all the stars and bodies that existed since the big bang in just one space, it can also go forward in time, so scientists can examine what’s happening in that area.

Reference: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140507142849.htm 

So, that’s your scientific info-byte for this week! I hope you enjoyed it!

Heather

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