In the next roundup of interesting science news of the week: Deceptive photo: In reality, this iceberg is 150 km long. The number of bids should remain the same: The European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite has witnessed a major marine disaster. A 175-square-kilometer chunk of iceberg A-68 broke off as it entered relatively warm waters north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and according to glaciologist Adrian Luckman of Swansea University, it could be the beginning of the end. Lakman has been observing this iceberg since July 2017, when a huge block of ice broke off from the Larsen Ice Shelf and began drifting freely. “I suspect that the case will be resolved,” the scientist suggests.
A-68 When A-68 first broke off from Antarctica, it was over 6,000 square kilometers in size, making it the largest iceberg in the world. Even today, after drifting for three years and losing one-sixth of its size, it still confidently holds the record (though it is not the largest iceberg in history, as the previous champion, which was twice as large, has long since melted). By the way, despite its impressive size, A-68 is surprisingly thin – only about 200 meters. And when it first broke out of the glacier, it had a very strange shape – almost a flat rectangle, like a credit card. “It never ceases to amaze me how such a delicate and fragile creation could survive for so long in the open ocean,” Lakman exclaims. A-68 is heading for the South Atlantic, where it will encounter strong currents and warm waters. According to Lakman, nothing will save the iceberg from disaster now; it will continue to lose more and more pieces until it breaks apart completely. However, these fragments will be large enough to navigate the oceans for several more years and even acquire individual names. By the way, the fragment that broke off on Thursday will most likely be named A-68c in honor of its parent.
We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. Episodes End of story Podcast advertising When it comes to sharks, the image that usually comes to mind is that of a ruthless and skilled killer – fast, strong, armed with multiple sharp teeth. In general, a frightening image. And that is what we are talking about when it comes to today’s sharks. But archaeologists will assure you that the sharks of the past were much more terrifying. Imagine: almost 10 meters of sheer terror. Yes, that’s what the 23 species of ancient Ptychodus sharks were known for. Oh, they were magnificent hunters, the epitome of evolution, but that very perfection, scientists have discovered, led to the demise of the Ptychodus genus 85 million years ago, toward the end of the Cretaceous period. After analyzing the fossil remains of two large sharks discovered in Spain, researchers found that these fish were viviparous, grew slowly, and reached maturity late. These sharks grew throughout their lives, as evidenced by the annual rings on their vertebrae (similar to trees, they added a ring each year). All of this contributed to the prosperity of the species, whose members maximally occupied their ecological niche. But in the long run, this played a cruel joke on them: huge sharks that produced few offspring proved unprepared for sudden climatic changes. However, sharks have been living and evolving as a group for 400 million years and have no intention of going extinct, so scientists hope to learn much more from them. In addition, drawing historical parallels can help assess the chances of survival for today’s sharks and develop measures to conserve their populations.
A 30-year-old Toronto resident was calmly walking down the street when she suddenly felt heat and sharp pain in her left chest. Blood then appeared on her clothing, and the woman immediately went to the emergency room for medical attention. During the examination, a gunshot wound was found above her left nipple and she was referred to the surgical department. Further examination showed that a bullet had lodged in the right half of the chest, under the silicone breast, but the victim herself surprisingly felt quite well. After examining both implants, doctors discovered that the bullet had passed through the left silicone breast and ricocheted into the right one, with such force that it turned the implant upside down. The bullet then traveled some distance through the woman’s tissues before stopping in her right, natural breast. Most likely, the left silicone breast that covered the woman’s heart and reflected the bullet saved her life. The only injuries were a broken rib and damaged silicone. After a preventive course of antibiotics, the woman was discharged from the hospital, and plastic surgeon Zhankarlo Makevenu, who performed the bullet extraction, decided to check if such a case had happened before or if he had witnessed a unique medical case. To his surprise, it turned out that there were at least four similar cases of bullets hitting silicone breasts, and in two of them, the implant prevented a fatal injury. Subsequently, scientists conducted laboratory experiments that vividly demonstrated that silicone breasts can indeed become a barrier between life and death. As for patient McEveny, she did not return for follow-ups, and he does not know if she continued with new implants. The origin of the bullet also remained a mystery: police never found the shooter or his gun.
If silicone breasts that save you from random bullets are considered incredible luck, how unlucky do you have to be to be the victim of a meteorite? Yes, you can’t call the Earth an impregnable fortress, as it is constantly bombarded by meteorites from space, but millions of meteorites burn up in the atmosphere without causing any damage, and only a few that manage to reach the surface (no more than a few dozen per day) fall into the ocean, desert, or ice. Even the Chelyabinsk meteorite, which exploded in the atmosphere in 2013 and broke into pieces weighing up to 654 kg, (fortunately) did not harm anyone, except for someone who was injured by shattered glass. There was, however, the case of a certain Anne Hodges, who was dozing on her couch in 1954 when a meteorite crashed through the roof of her house and struck her in the thigh. The stone was found at the scene, its extraterrestrial origin was confirmed, Anne was in shock, but she survived. But to fall and kill like that… And yet the researchers managed to find this poor soul. While digitizing documents from the time of the Ottoman Empire at the Presidential Archive of Turkey, they discovered a document stating that on August 22, 1888, a meteorite fell from the sky, killing one farmer and paralyzing another in a village in the area of modern-day Sulaymaniyah in Iraq, which was then under Turkish rule. The meteorite itself was of course not included in the report. However, three other documents were found that give a detailed description of the incident. These were official reports of a fireball that appeared in the sky, followed by a 10-minute meteor shower that killed one unnamed farmer, injured another, and severely damaged crops. “The fact that all these documents come from official sources, and are written not only by local officials but also by the Grand Vizier himself, gives us no reason to doubt the reality of what happened,” the study’s authors note. They hope that with further research they will be able to find the answer of the Turkish Sultan, who was supposed to react somehow to such an unusual event.