This Week in Science: Moody Spiders, Atomic X-Rays, and Wooden Satellites
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 study revealed what King Tut’s face looked like when he ruled over Egypt 3,300 years ago. Pretty good-lookin’ dude. (Here’s a photo. Is it just me, or does he look a little like Demi Lovato?)
2. Researchers in Ohio and Illinois captured an X-ray image of a single atom for the first time. It’s apparently a very big deal. They say being able to see the specific make-up of single atoms could lead to major medical breakthroughs.
3. Have you ever said “I knew it wouldn’t last” after you heard someone broke up? A study found you probably weren’t really THAT confident. We just tend to think we saw it coming because of something called “hindsight bias.”
4. Scientists finally think they know why we evolved to have arches in our feet. It we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be able to walk upright or run very well. Chimps and other primates have flat feet. We’re the only ones with arches.
5. In creepy-crawly news: A study found the world’s deadliest spider can tweak its venom. So it could be super-deadly . . . or just kinda deadly . . . depending on what kind of mood the spider is in.
6. And in space news: Japan might launch a wooden satellite next year. (???) A recent test found wood actually holds up pretty well in the vacuum of space.
And the first livestream from Mars is happening today. (Or already did at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.) The European Space Agency set their Mars orbiter to beam back “live” pictures every 50 seconds. Technically, there’s still a delay though.
It takes an average of 12-and-a-half minutes for light to get here from Mars. But it’s a little farther away in its orbit right now, so there’s about a 17-minute delay.
