This Week in Science: Alien Wreckage, Edible Packaging, and Extra Teeth

science

It’s time for “Nerd News,” covering the most important news for your brain.

Here’s a quick rundown of this week in science . . .

1. A team from Harvard claim they found debris on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that could be from an interstellar meteor . . . or possibly an alien spaceship. Whatever it is, it splashed down back in 2014.

They found a bunch of small iron balls, and haven’t ruled out the possibility they’re from an interstellar spacecraft. They say they analyzed them, and they’re unlike anything made by humans.

2. In food news: Could edible packaging be a thing someday . . . so after you kill a whole bag of Doritos, you just could eat the BAG too? Researchers in China are working on it.

3. In dental news: Researchers in Japan are testing a new medication that would let people regrow teeth. (???) It’s already worked on mice. They’ll start testing it on humans next year, and it could be available by 2030.

4. In Earth news: Yesterday was Aphelion Day, when we’re at our farthest point from the sun all year, about 95 million miles away. The closest we ever get is around 91 million miles. That happens in January.

Also, the Earth may have had its hottest day on record THREE times this week. The first two were July 3rd and 4th. Now initial data shows the 5th was even hotter . . . an average worldwide temp of 62.9 degrees.

5. In space news: A pair of scientists in Australia think the universe ran in slow motion for the first billion years or so, because of something called “time dilation.” They say time moved five times slower than it does now.

6. In Elon Musk news: A report on his Starlink satellites found they had to make 25,000 “collision-avoidance maneuvers” in the first six months of the year to avoid crashing into stuff up there. Even just one collision could cause a chain reaction.

7. And in animal news: A study found rattlesnakes don’t get as stressed if they’ve got a friend nearby. Meaning another rattlesnake. But the study found even putting a big rope next to them can do it too.