This week’s biggest stories
Is there life on other planets? Probably. The list of Earth-like planets just keeps growing and growing. Nasa’s Kepler telescope has recently found 10 more Earth-like planets, so it is now known that there are around 50 worlds of a similar size and temperature as our own. Prompting one Kepler programme scientist to conclude that it’s highly likely: ‘we are not alone.’
So, if the discovery of life on other planets is just around the corner, we are going to need a whole lot more scientists. And ladies, if you want to birth a child that is good at science, you would be well advised to date an older man, the results of one study would appear to suggest.
Meanwhile, the non-human life form that rules the internet has had its DNA analysed. And the untold story of how cats came in from the wild to fill YouTube with adorable videos and commandeer the finest armchairs in the land has finally been laid bare by a comprehensive study of ancient feline DNA. Samples taken from ancient Egyptian and Viking burial sites, as well as more recent sites globally, show how cats came out of Africa and made their way around the world.
And finally, never let it be said that we don’t tackle the really crucial topics here on the science desk. This week we brought you an important lesson that will enable you to run for a train without being hampered by your wheelie suitcase toppling over. Over and out. See you next week.
More news from Guardian Science | Sign up to Lab notes
Straight from the lab – top picks from our experts on the blog network
Cassava crisis: the deadly food that doubles as a vital Venezuelan crop | Notes & Theories
Food shortages in Venezuela are driving people to shop the black market for food, skip meals and rummage through garbage in search of sustenance. Last year, three quarters of adults involuntarily lost an average of 19lb (8.6kg). Malnutrition is on the rise and people are being exposed to lethal foods. At least 28 people have died as a result of eating bitter cassava, having mistaken it for the sweet variety.
Why I left physics for economics | Life and Physics
I love physics. Brick by brick, you can build new theories from established ones and know that they will apply not just on Earth but throughout the entire universe... But, I was starting to develop feelings for economics. Rather than the rules that govern the behaviour of particles, it is concerned with the rules that govern the behaviour of people; in many ways a much more complex problem.
Sun, sand and apex predators: taking the plunge with oceanic whitetip sharks | Notes & Theories
Historically this species is thought to be responsible for causing the most human fatalities. They have been documented as the species which predate on people adrift in the open ocean after shipwrecks or air crashes. Probably the most well-known incident followed the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis in 1945, when oceanics were thought to be responsible for the deaths of up to 800 sailors.
Visit the Science blog network
Alex Bellos’s Monday puzzle
We’ve got a real treat for you this week: three of Pythagoras’s best puzzles from the 50th anniversary edition of the most famous recreational mathematics publication in the Netherlands.
The answers are here when you are ready for them.
Science Weekly podcast
Ian Sample explores research on cellular senescence and the role this therapeutic approach can play in age-related diseases and health issues.
This week’s Science Weekly podcast looks at the science of ageing.
.png?w=600)
