The science news this week was filled with amazing space discoveries, with largest map of the chaotic gas clouds in the center of the Milky Way leads the pack.
New images, taken in stunning detail by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope, show 650 light-years of gas structures surrounding the galaxy’s central black hole. The amazing images can help scientists better understand how the Milky Way evolved.
Tigers return to Kazakhstan
Tigers are set to roam their historic Central Asian homelands after more than 70 years of local extinction, with an initiative planning to bring them back by the end of the year.
The ambitious program by the government of Kazakhstan has transformed the country’s Lake Balkhash plant just under 100,000 tree seedlings to recreate the tigers’ lost habitat.
The tigers themselves are likely to be imported from Russia, as Siberian tigers were part of the same population as Kazakhstan’s Amur tigers until they were separated in the 19th century. As for the food of the big cats, the burgeoning ecosystem provided by the seedlings is already becoming a home for wild boar and Bactrian deer. Although quite cute, if left unchecked by a predator, these herbivores can multiply until they destabilize their newly restored ecosystem. So, get them, tiger.
Discover more animals and news about planet earth
—Scientists find genetic “switch” in mice that turns caring fathers into violent animals
—How can deserts form next to oceans?
—Incomplete remains of world’s ‘youngest’ impact crater discovered lurking in Chinese forest – Earth from space
Life’s little mysteries
Lobster rolls, Moxie, rocky shores, Stephen King and … Scandinavian invaders? Maine is famous for many things, but an 11th-century Norse silver coin discovered there in the 1950s raises the question of whether it was a landing place for Viking seafarers. But did the Vikings actually come to the Pine Tree State? Or did the coin take a different path?
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Black teeth were a fashion statement in ancient Vietnam
In parts of Vietnam, permanently black teeth have been fashionable for centuries. The traditional practice involves using an iron-tannin mixture or chewing betel nuts to stain the teeth with a jet black sheen.
Now archaeologists have traced this practice all the way back to the Iron Age, 2,000 years ago. The excavation of skeletons from a site in North Vietnam’s Red River Delta revealed that many individuals from that era also had Stygian-colored gnashers. Yet it remains unclear exactly why the practice originated — either as a rite of passage or a way to hide betel nut stains.
Discover more archeology news
—Babies were not meant to be mourned in the Roman Empire. These rare liquid plaster burials prove otherwise.
—Humans and Neanderthals intermingled — but it was mostly male Neanderthals and female humans who mated, study finds
—Far fewer people are related to Genghis Khan than previously thought, new genomic study suggests
Also in the science news this week
—Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy can reduce the risk of preeclampsia
—Scientists find genetic “switch” in mice that turns caring fathers into violent animals
—‘Thermodynamic computer’ can mimic AI neural networks – using orders of magnitude less energy to generate images
—Ultrafast quantum chemistry engine could accelerate the development of new drugs and materials
Science long read
The genetic cause of “monogenic” diseases seemed pretty clear to scientists: A mutation in a single gene led to predictable, inherited disease patterns that would be diagnosed as genetic disorders. But it turns out that’s not true at all.
According to a growing body of research, monogenic diseases are not caused by single gene mutations, as many healthy people have them without showing any signs of disease. So what’s the deal? Live Science Contributor Stephanie Pappas examined in this long read.
Something for the weekend
If you’re looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best skywatching guides, opinion pieces, and word puzzles published this week.
How menopause affects the brain – and what we still don’t know (Opinion)
Chain words: Can you crack today’s science word? (Word puzzle)
Science news in pictures
Looking like a cosmic lighthouse swinging its rays through great arcs of space, this stunning Hubble Space Telescope image shows the Egg Nebula – the first, youngest and closest pre-planetary nebula ever discovered.
The light in the dust cloud comes from the star, which ejected the dense disk of dust a few hundred years ago. This light now escapes through polar openings around this dust shield, creating double rays.
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