What does a man have in common with a single jellyfish? Is it worth it to be afraid of ants with an iron horn and why are men so lucky? We reveal the secrets of our planet with the September review of fresh scientific discoveries.
1. Why do not Jellyfish sleep?
The answer of scientists is unambiguous - because only those beings who have a brain sleep. During sleep, it goes through a kind of reboot, gets rid of unnecessary memories and accumulated chemical waste. But there is one unique animal on Earth that sleeps, not the name of the brain. These are the jellyfish Cassiopeia, who also need to reboot their nervous system, which means that the question of intelligence of beings is not yet closed.
2. Maritime City
And, by the way, it is not determined the boundaries of this very mind - the unexpected discoveries of researchers continue to raise new questions. So, not far from Australia the cephalopods Octopus tetricus built themselves a real city. Surprisingly, not only that octopuses significantly landscaped the territory, using shells from the shellfish they killed, like shovels. Much more amazing is the fact that they live together, communicate, chase strangers and protect their zone, although they are generally single beings.
3. High Men lives long
For longevity is responsible for a very large set of factors, but there is a feature that significantly increases the likelihood of staying longer on this planet. The mutation of the gene responsible for the growth of the individual gives him also a chance to live as a whole longer than his unmutated and lower counterparts. This trend is fixed in men, but women are not so lucky.
4. Hell's ant
One of the types of infernal ants, or haidomyrmecines, inhabiting the Earth in the Cretaceous period, possessed a truly frightening weapon - its horn, which they nailed the victim to a place so that she could have lunch without interference, was strengthened with metal. Scientists for the first time meet such a bimetallic ant and wonder whether or not they had brothers.
5. Recharging from depression
Sport is an excellent remedy for depression, but in order for the result to be obvious, it is not necessary to stay in the gym for hours. It is much more effective to deal with small portions. Recent studies have shown that even an hour of exercise per day can significantly improve a person's emotional state.
6. Plastic, he is already with us
The plastic invisible to the eye gets into our body all the time. The performed tests showed that we regularly drink it together with tap water. In the US, the proportion of polluted water reaches 94%, in Europe - 72%. It is unlikely that things will be better in the post-Soviet countries.
7. Ice contains unknown organisms
Colonies of living creatures that lived hundreds of years ago, were trapped in the ice of the Arctic. But the ice is slowly melting, and moreover, it breaks and migrates. A recent survey of the iceberg of Larsen, separated from the ice cover in 2017, showed the presence of an entire ecosystem of living organisms that were to extinct 120,000 years ago. Scientists are planning an expedition to the ice hulk, which is expected to reveal the secrets of the past.
8. You can receive electricity from saliva
Influencing saliva or tears by pressure, you can receive electricity, according to the same principle as it is obtained from quartz. Scientists are already dreaming about a new type of alternative electricity, but, as you know, this is still far away.
9. A very strange funeral ...
... were held in Israel 4 millennium ago. Scientists who found an undamaged tomb, the age of 2 in. BC. were very happy but immediately became at a dead end. One of the urns in which the products for the path of the dead are usually laid in the afterlife were filled with decapitated toads. How and why - remains to be seen.
10. You give variety!
Anger, fear, joy ... it has always been believed that a person has only six clearly discernible emotions, but the latest research has shown that this figure is seriously understated. At least 27 states, among which doubts, nostalgia, excitement and so on, appeared in the updated line of our emotions. Hooray, comrades! Or not cheers?