This Week in Science: Dino Sex, Ancient Viruses, and the Science of Fireworks

It’s time for “Nerd News,” covering the most important news for your brain you may have missed.  Here’s a quick rundown of this week in science . . .

1.  Did you know we still have no idea how dinosaurs had sex?  BBC.com just did a big story on it this week.  We also don’t know what their junk looked like, or if male dinosaurs even HAD junk.  And we still can’t tell male and female fossils apart.

2.  In future pandemic news:  Researchers took samples from 21 glaciers near the Himalayas, and found over 900 different microbes living in the ice that we’ve never seen before.  So if the glaciers melt, it could unleash a whole new round of pandemics.

3.  A piece of an old rocket crashed into the Moon back in March, and NASA just released a photo of the double-crater it made.  They think it was a Chinese rocket launched in 2014, but China hasn’t copped to it yet.

4.  In other space news:  NASA says we have to dig a lot deeper to find potential signs of ancient life on Mars.  Maybe six or seven FEET down, because radiation has destroyed everything above that.  The next rover might be able to do it.  But so far, the deepest we’ve dug is 2.8 inches.

5.  And finally:  If you want to impress your friends this weekend, “Popular Mechanics” did a great write-up on the science behind different types of fireworks.  It explains things like how the ones you shoot in the air have different patterns . . . how sparklers burn so slowly . . . and why Roman Candles don’t shoot everything all at once.