This Week in Science: Why Peanuts Dance in Beer, and an Life on Saturn?

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.  Scientists have discovered that life could be possible on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 146 moons.  The key part is phosphorus, which has never been found on a planet before.

Researchers were already aware of the existence of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur on Enceladus.  Phosphorus is the last of the six life-sustaining elements.

That doesn’t mean there IS life . . . it just means that it may be possible.  (Here’s a CNN report.)

2.  NASA’s Curiosity rover has sent us a “postcard” . . . showing Mars during different times of the day.

3.  NASA says an asteroid the size of the Brooklyn Bridge is passing by Earth.  They describe it as “potentially hazardous,” but astronomers say it’s still about 2.5 million miles away.

4.  Scientists are explaining why peanuts seem to “dance” when they’re dropped in beer.  Basically, bubbles will form on the peanuts, which cause them to rise . . . but then they pop and the peanuts dive back down.