IFLScience - Break It Down

This week on Break It Down: Earth’s magnetic pole is in a new position, the second most cited paper to ever be withdrawn is finally retracted, Charlotte the bubble-butted turtle gets a special swimming harness, The Blob’s legacy marks the worst single-species mortality event in modern history, a Roman solution to Mars suggests blood makes for great cement, and we send one of our writers on a mission to test out ancient hangover cures. Anyone for cabbage? Links: Magnetic pole movements Paper retracted Turtle “bubble butt” The Blob mortality event Blood houses on Mars Ancient hangover cures We Have Questions Sign up to receive CURIOUS The Big Questions Pacific sleeper shark

This week on Break It Down: fishers discover a mysterious tablet bearing an unknown language, sequencing the oldest human genome reveals when we first bred with Neanderthals, Jupiter’s got a shiny new ring, a new predator captured in the darkest depths of the Atacama Trench, working out the rules to an ancient boardgame, and can donor organs transfer memories? Transplant patients report strange personality changes.   So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…   Links: Mysterious tablet Complaint tablet Sequencing the oldest human genome Jupiter’s new ring Sharks older than Saturn’s rings Deep-sea predator Ancient boardgame The Big Questions Donor organs and memory Piggyback heart transplant Guitarfish True crime We Have Questions Subscribe

This week on Break It Down: scientists may have discovered a new ancient relative of humans, collar cameras from Andean bears reveal Paddington may have a taste for cubs, we’ve been paying the salmon tax to dogs for 2,000 years more than thought, new biohybrid wood glows green in the dark, diamond batteries could last for thousands of years, and it turns out spaceports make for remarkably good wildlife sanctuaries. So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: New human species Cannibalistic Paddington Ancient dog friends Sign up to CURIOUS Glowing wood Diamond battery Spaceports and nature The Big Questions Genghis Khan Frosty the orca True Crime: Harold Shipman Wisdom the albatross has laid an egg 

This week on Break It Down: killer whales have been wearing salmon hats (again) and sucking out the livers of the world’s largest shark, 1.5-million-year-old footprints reveal Homo erectus co-existed with a now-extinct protohuman, fossil dinosaur poop and vomit indicate their rise to power began with plants, we have a date for when Pluto will complete its first orbit since we discovered the non-planet (don’t hold your breath), COVID-19 may hold the key to shrinking tumors, and we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Lucy's discovery, a moment that changed our understanding of human evolution.   So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…   Links: Killer whale fashion Killer whales eating whale sharks 1.5-million-year-old footprints Dinosaur poop and vomit Pluto’s birthday COVID-19 shrinking tumors Lucy’s legacy True crime: Colin Pitchfork Subscribe CURIOUS magazine

This week on Break It Down, astronomers have taken the first-ever close-up photo of a star outside of the Milky Way, putting weight back on after losing it could be down to your fat cells' “memories”, the mystery surrounding the Earth’s inner core “freezing”, footage shows a “giant” virus infecting a cell for the first time, the world’s thinnest spaghetto is 200 times narrower than a hair, and meet Dadu, a shark-hunting dog who survived alone on a remote island for nearly a year, and then became beloved.  So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Star outside the Milky Way Fat cell “memories” Earth’s inner core Giant virus Thinnest spaghetti Shark-hunting dog Dog shoving children in the Seine Shipwreck whiskey Largest coral True Crime In Science Subscribe to the newsletter

This week on Break It Down: turns out the one time we saw Uranus it was having an uncharacteristically windy moment, new meanings behind the Amazon’s most incredible rock art, the world’s largest coral found lurking off the Solomon Islands, a ~35,000-year-old saber-toothed baby comes complete with fur, whiskers, and toe beans, and amber found in Antarctica for the first time ever. Plus, can we phase out animal testing? Science is trying.   So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…   Links: Uranus was having a bad day Amazon rock art World’s largest coral Saber-toothed cub Antarctic amber Animal testing Disco worm Fire and ice UAP hearing We Have Questions How Many Geese

This week in Break It Down: clues inside Pompeii victims' casts reveal they're not who we thought they were, the frogs of Chernobyl are doing just fine, cat physics and a crime of authorship, the North Atlantic is getting saltier and saltier, good news for double jabs, and a DNA scientist who picked up the research that would solve her own murder. So sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down... Links: Pompeii Victims Chernobyl Frogs ⁠Cat Physics Salty Atlantic Double Jab 1985 Murder We Have Questions How Many Geese Bats On Treadmills Oldest Text Tsunami: Race Against Time

This week on Break It Down: a quantum cat experiment breaks a record for surviving over 23 minutes, Voyager 1 encountered a glitch but fixed itself with some old school tech, fossils from the Ordovician are a glittering new species, animals are getting drunk more than we thought, though we’re not quite sure why, kyawthuite is the rarest gemstone of them all, and we wish happy birthday to a giant, city-destroying lizard who has much more cultural impact than meets the eye. Links: Quantum Cat Experiment Voyager Phoned Home Fool’s Gold Fossils Drunk Animals Rarest Gemstone Ruby Seed Jade Toughest Natural Mineral Godzilla At 70  Annie Jacobson Curious Live Interview Spooky Season Content Polar Bear Week How Is Climate Change Affecting Polar Bears? Rats Wearing Vests

This week on Break It Down: the discovery of the smallest-ever dinosaur eggs reveals teeny tiny bones, first black hole triple is changing our understanding of giant star death, the longest venomous snake is now four separate species, a rare bit of positive carbon capture news, how a new overdose implant can save lives, and why do people believe in ghosts? We asked an expert. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Smallest known dinosaur eggs Black hole triple How many times could the Earth fit in the Sun? King cobra x 4 Positive carbon capture news Overdose implant Why do people believe in ghosts? Can Fear Be Fun? CURIOUS October issue Prof. Chris French interview Spooky Season trailer We Have Questions: What’s It Like Working In A Human Tissue Bank The Big Questions: Are Octopuses Sentient? Ricky The Bear

This week on Break It Down: the Sun has entered its solar maximum bringing new auroras and geomagnetic storms, a chance find of a thylacine head in a jar could be the next step in the de-extinction of the species, microplastics have been discovered in the breath of wild dolphins for the first time, why Neanderthals never improved their spear-throwing, how high-potency THC could leave markers on your DNA, and does the page you’re reading this on look blurry? We explore what astigmatism is. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Solar Maximum    Thylacine Genome   Microplastics In Dolphin Breath   High-THC Cannabis And DNA   Neanderthals Can't Throw   Astigmatism   Are Octopuses Sentient?

This week on Break It Down: two comb jellies become one, how Hurricane Milton grew so intense, superpowered scans reveal COVID’s impact on the brain, a humanlike robot’s jokes fail to impress his friend, Lucy the Australopithecine might have used tools 3.2 million years ago, and Mozambique’s elephants offer modern-day proof of evolution. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Comb jellies Hurricane Milton NASA animation NOAA Hurricane Hunters Florida coastline after Milton COVID-19 and the brainstem Robot conversation Lucy’s hands Elephant evolution The Big Questions: What Would A Human On Mars Look Like? Dino Footprints

This week on Break It Down: resurrecting Cold War spy planes to explore radioactive storms, the most detailed brain wiring diagram we've ever seen, mystery “skyquake” sounds have the world perplexed, plus grinning dolphins, glow-in-the-dark gemstones, and can you really feel when you’re being watched?   So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Radioactive storms "Google Maps" for the brain Mysterious "skyquakes" Smiley dolphins Glow-in-the-dark crystal Lab-grown ruby Are you being watched? The Big Questions: What Would A Human On Mars Look Like? The Science Of Whisky Solar Systems interview Fat Bear Week 2024

This week on Break It Down: the major African civilization the world forgot, the world’s oldest cheese gets found on mummies, blasting asteroids with X-rays, a fish that’s basically got tongues for legs, the resurrection of a biblical seed, and why no one can decide how fast the universe is expanding. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: African civilization: https://www.iflscience.com/five-thousand-years-ago-africa-had-a-major-civilization-we-forgot-76094 World’s oldest cheese: https://www.iflscience.com/the-worlds-oldest-cheese-has-been-found-rubbed-on-a-bunch-of-mummies-76096 Blasting asteroids: https://www.iflscience.com/the-latest-idea-for-deflecting-threatening-asteroids-x-ray-pulses-76077 Tongue-legged fish: https://www.iflscience.com/this-winged-fish-uses-strange-tongue-like-legs-to-taste-the-seafloor-yes-really-76120 Biblical seeds: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-revive-1000-year-old-biblical-tree-from-seed-found-in-a-judean-cave-76095 Hubble tension: https://www.iflscience.com/hubble-tension-solved-astronomers-race-to-save-standard-model-of-cosmology-74306 IFLScience YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IFLScienceOfficial IFLScience Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iflscience

This week in Break It Down: Earth's about to get a new mini-moon (if only for a while), ancient rock art may have been based on a fossil, "third state" identified between life and death, a truly supermassive black hole with jets spanning 23 million light-years, there's a new blood group, and the remarkable reason why giant gorillas have tiny penises.    So sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...   Links: Earth’s new mini-moon: https://www.iflscience.com/asteroid-2024-pt5-is-set-to-be-a-mini-moon-of-earth-for-two-months-75955 Fossil rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/african-rock-art-may-show-extinct-animal-that-lived-millions-of-years-before-humans-76015 Life after death: https://www.iflscience.com/the-third-state-that-lies-beyond-the-boundaries-of-life-and-death-75985 Giant space jets: https://www.iflscience.com/truly-supermassive-black-hole-has-jets-spanning-23-million-light-years-the-biggest-ever-seen-76006 New blood group: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-solve-50-year-old-mystery-and-discover-an-entirely-new-blood-group-76000 Gorilla dicks: https://www.iflscience.com/gorilla-dicks-are-absolutely-tiny-the-reason-why-is-fascinating-76004 We Have Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts Solar System: https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2023/professor-brian-cox-solar-system Are the drugs of the future coming from the deep ocean: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-are-the-drugs-of-the-future-coming-from-the-deep-ocean-75958 Antimicrobial resistance deaths: https://www.iflscience.com/antimicrobial-resistance-forecast-to-increase-by-almost-70-percent-by-2050-threatening-millions-76025

This week on Break It Down, the first-ever private spacewalk makes history and also maybe a crime, a plasma bubble over the pyramids is spotted by snazzy Chinese tech, a new Neanderthal lineage lived in isolation for 50,000 years, a chance encounter on Google Maps leads to a new discovery, the recipient of a face and eye transplant has a major breakthrough, and we take a deep dive into whether orcas are really the “killer” whales they’d made out to be. So sit back, relax, and Break It Down... Links: Private Spacewalk: https://www.iflscience.com/polaris-dawn-crew-makes-history-with-first-ever-private-spacewalk-75929 Space Crime?: https://www.iflscience.com/did-everybody-just-watch-a-live-stream-of-billionaires-breaking-space-law-75925 Space Law Interview: https://www.iflscience.com/how-to-create-your-own-space-civilization-according-to-a-space-lawyer-72934 Plasma Bubble: https://www.iflscience.com/chinese-radar-spots-plasma-bubbles-over-the-pyramids-of-giza-75896 Neanderthals: https://www.iflscience.com/meet-thorin-a-cave-dwelling-population-of-neanderthals-were-isolated-for-50000-years-75910 Google Maps Structure: https://www.iflscience.com/man-finds-unusual-spherical-structure-while-browsing-google-maps-it-could-be-a-huge-discovery-75869 Face And Eye Transplant: https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-first-eye-and-face-transplant-1-year-later-eye-now-responds-to-light-75873 Do Orcas Attack People?: https://www.iflscience.com/do-orcas-attack-humans-reports-from-the-wild-are-very-rare-75898 Dino Sex: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-how-did-dinosaurs-have-sex-75489 We Have Questions Trailer: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_vg7J6iola/

Coming soon: join IFLScience as we explore the questions nobody thought to ask but everyone wants the answers to. Get the behind-the-scenes conversations from CURIOUS magazine’s We Have Questions interviews, as we hunt down the experts to answer some of science’s stranger questions. Until then, catch up with the E-magazine here: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine

This week on Break It Down, “dangerous” asteroid Apophis has a slightly increased risk of hitting Earth, a pig in Hong Kong undergoes an operation by a team in Switzerland, people in Iceland are throwing puffins off cliffs, an asteroid impact over the Philippines just made history, a python somehow managed to ingest another python, and we take a closer look at why homeopathy isn’t all it's cracked up to be.   So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…   Links:   Asteroid Apophis: https://www.iflscience.com/the-chance-of-asteroid-apophis-hitting-earth-may-be-slightly-higher-than-we-thought-75797   Pig Surgery: https://www.iflscience.com/a-pig-just-had-surgery-by-a-team-operating-9000-kilometers-away-75803   Pufflings: https://www.iflscience.com/why-are-people-in-iceland-throwing-baby-puffins-off-of-cliffs-75820   Asteroid in the Philippines: https://www.iflscience.com/meteor-that-burned-up-over-philippines-is-just-ninth-ever-detected-before-earth-impact-75836   Python eating python: https://www.iflscience.com/in-world-first-burmese-python-is-found-eating-reticulated-python-75787   Homeopathy isn't real: https://www.iflscience.com/how-we-know-homeopathy-isnt-real-science-75811   How Did Dinosaurs Have Sex?: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-how-did-dinosaurs-have-sex-75489

This week on Break It Down: orcas disable another boat as a new theory is put forward for the behavior, bacteria pass “memories” of perturbed genes to descendants, SETI scans 2,880 galaxies for advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, what you need to know about human parvovirus B19, flying spaghetti monsters sighted on a sea mount expedition, and how to avoid the nonsense that plagues the wellness industry. So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Killer whale pirates: https://www.iflscience.com/orcas-strike-a-boat-in-spain-as-a-new-theory-arises-to-explain-the-destruction-75750 Bacteria memories: https://www.iflscience.com/bacteria-pass-memories-of-perturbed-genes-to-their-descendants-75733 Hunting aliens: https://www.iflscience.com/seti-starts-looking-for-highly-advanced-extragalactic-civilizations-in-2880-galaxies-75751 Human parvovirus B19: https://www.iflscience.com/human-parvovirus-b19-is-increasing-in-the-us-heres-what-to-know-75695 Flying spaghetti monsters: https://www.iflscience.com/flying-spaghetti-monsters-and-20-potential-new-species-spotted-at-sea-mounts-75696 Long stringy thingy: https://www.iflscience.com/the-curious-case-of-the-long-stringy-thingy-spotted-in-australia-55635 Wellness nonsense: https://www.iflscience.com/theres-a-lot-of-misinformation-and-pseudoscience-in-the-wellness-industry-heres-how-to-avoid-it-75723 The Big Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts/the-big-questions Gymnastic springtails: https://www.iflscience.com/watch-springtails-backflip-more-than-60-times-their-body-height-into-the-air-75748 Join our Instagram broadcast: https://www.instagram.com/channel/AbYsC7WjVRHwwaW-/ Join our WhatsApp broadcast: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaWag6qBVJl3scy4n83H

This week on Break It Down: Earth has a snazzy new radiation belt, the Wow! signal finally has an explanation and spoiler: it’s still not aliens, whales have joined the list of animals using tools (but do bubbles really count?), a universal flu vaccine is one step closer to reality thanks to some ferrets, the Rift Valley might not be the cradle of humankind after all, and why supermassive black holes are more a part of daily life on Earth than we realized. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Earth's New Ring: https://www.iflscience.com/this-springs-massive-aurora-sparking-solar-storm-has-given-earth-a-new-ring-75617 Wow! Signal: https://www.iflscience.com/iconic-wow-signal-may-finally-have-an-explanation-its-still-not-aliens-75619 Whales Using Tools: https://www.iflscience.com/humpback-whales-revealed-to-be-tool-users-catching-krill-with-amazing-skill-75637 Universal Flu Vaccine: https://www.iflscience.com/universal-flu-vaccine-could-enter-human-trials-in-1-3-years-after-more-positive-results-75653 Rift Valley: https://www.iflscience.com/why-the-rift-valley-may-not-be-the-cradle-of-humankind-after-all-75620 Supermassive Black Holes: https://www.iflscience.com/this-is-how-you-are-using-supermassive-black-holes-every-day-without-even-knowing-75659 The Big Questions Podcast: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-how-will-the-solar-system-end-75652 Curious Magazine: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine Mine Spiders Video: https://www.iflscience.com/how-large-are-mine-spiders-75629

This week on Break It Down: two new victims discovered at the site of Pompeii tell a vivid story, Stonehenge’s altar stone reveals a surprising point of origin, plans to terraform Mars with “glitter”, ancient environments exposed in a kilometer-long Earth sausage, we may know where the dinosaur-killing asteroid came from, and a brief history of humans’ long history of burying the dead. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Pompeii victims: https://www.iflscience.com/two-new-pompeii-victims-found-clutching-coins-and-jewelry-as-they-met-their-doom-75519 Corpse casts: https://www.iflscience.com/the-stone-bodies-of-pompeii-arent-what-you-think-68838 Stonehenge altar stone: https://www.iflscience.com/stonehenges-famous-altar-stone-may-be-from-scotland-over-700-kilometers-away-75554 The disco planet: https://www.iflscience.com/humanity-could-use-glitter-to-terraform-mars-and-add-a-little-razzle-dazzle-75547 Earth sausage: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-drill-1268-metres-deep-under-the-atlantic-ocean-scooping-out-huge-piece-of-earths-mantle-75569 Chicxulub’s origins story: https://www.iflscience.com/dinosaur-killing-impactor-was-probably-a-rare-asteroid-from-beyond-jupiter-75567 Oldest human burial: https://www.iflscience.com/whats-the-oldest-human-burial-in-the-world-75584 How will the Solar System end? The Big Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts/the-big-questions Some of Dr Alfredo Carpineti’s space scoops: https://www.iflscience.com/superflares-are-released-by-sunlike-stars-can-the-sun-create-these-events-75577 https://www.iflscience.com/jwst-confirms-more-bright-galaxies-found-in-the-early-universe-than-expected-75574