This week in science: The ESA is investigating a fireball that streaked across the skies in Europe and damaged a house in Germany; scientists detect a spooky glow coming from trees during thunderstorms; bumblebee queens found to be able to naturally scuba dive for days on end; and much more!
Popular Anti-Aging Supplement May Fuel Cancer Growth – Here’s Why
Scientists have identified how compounds called polyamines, commonly sold as anti-aging supplements, can fuel cancer growth.
This research stops a long way short of saying polyamines in general cause cancer. Rather, it’s showing that when cancer has already started through some biological malfunction, the cancer cells can hijack the advantages of polyamines to survive and spread further.
Read the full story here.
Evolution Keeps Reinventing The Appendix. Here’s Why It May Be Important.
An illustration of the appendix. (Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)
Scientists say the appendix isn’t a vestige – evolution keeps reinventing the organ, which plays a key role in immune function.
“The appendix is not an IKEA spare part included ‘just in case,’ but
neither is it essential today. Human biology has many traits that were once beneficial, now marginal – and understanding them allows medicine to make better modern decisions,” the researchers write.
Read the full story here.
ESA Investigating Fireball Over Europe After Meteorites Strike German Home
The European Space Agency is investigating a fireball seen over Europe on March 8, which punched a hole in the roof of a German home.
The fireball, which glowed for around six seconds just before 7 pm Central European time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday, was observed by people across Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
Read the full story here.
Stem Cell Treatments For Parkinson’s And Heart Failure Approved in World First
(koto_feja/Getty Images)
Japan has approved stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s and heart disease, with patients expected to receive treatment within months.
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“I hope this will bring relief to patients not only in Japan but around the world,” health minister Kenichiro Ueno told a press conference.
“We will promptly carry out all necessary procedures to ensure it reaches all patients without fail.”
Read the full story here.
Trees Seen Emitting a Ghostly Light During a Thunderstorm For The First Time
Coronae glow on the tips of spruce needles, induced by charged metal plates in a laboratory. (William Brune)
Meteorologists have detected, for the first time in nature, tiny bursts of UV light emitted from the tips of tree leaves during thunderstorms.
Meteorologist Patrick McFarland says that with superhuman vision, “I believe you’d see this swath of glow on the top of every tree under the thunderstorm.
“It’d probably look like a pretty cool light show, as if thousands of UV-flashing fireflies descended on the treetops.”
Read the full story here.
We Finally Know How Bumblebee Queens Can Survive Underwater For Days
Bumblebee queens can breathe underwater for a week or more by making use of a ‘physical gill’, suggests a surprising new study.
It’s a skill set that can help the heart of a colony weather a crisis such as a flooded burrow, allowing her to survive and rebuild when conditions are more stable. And its discovery suggests that some species may have hidden reserves of resilience against environmental extremes.
Read the full story here.