IFLScience - Break It Down

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.

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.

Links:

Earth's New Ring: https://www.iflscience.com/this-springs-massive-aurora-sparking-solar-storm-has-given-earth-a-new-ring-75617

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

This week on Break It Down, the first archaeological study takes place outside of Earth, the oldest calendar might show a comet impact, a new study thinks the ancient Egyptians were using hydraulic tech to build the pyramids (others disagree), what a rock on Mars could tell us about potential life in the Solar System, a titanium heart is something straight out of sci-fi, and why we get taken in by urban legends like the Russian sleep experiment.

So, sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Space Archaeology: https://www.iflscience.com/first-ever-archaeological-survey-in-space-carried-out-on-the-iss-75454

Oldest Calendar: https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-oldest-calendar-may-depict-catastrophic-comet-impact-13000-years-ago-75458

Russian Sleep Experiment: https://www.iflscience.com/the-russian-sleep-experiment-and-why-we-believe-in-urban-legends-75452

Can Dogs Live Longer: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-can-we-make-dogs-live-longer-75450

Curious Magazine: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine

This week on Break It Down: a wonky-necked giraffe is somehow still alive, an extraordinary fossil find shows a tyrannosaur with a stubby snout, a vaccine to stop COVID transmission is a success (at least, in hamsters), ancient stars are not where we expect them to be, 12,500-year-old rock art is a wildlife masterpiece, and we debunk some cortisol-based misinformation.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Wonky giraffe: https://www.iflscience.com/wonky-necked-giraffe-spotted-in-south-africa-is-somehow-still-alive-75382

New tyrannosaur: https://www.iflscience.com/new-species-of-69-million-year-old-tyrannosaur-identified-in-awesome-fossils-75343

Hamster vaccines: https://www.iflscience.com/covid-19-vaccine-nasal-drops-could-stop-viral-transmission-75386

Ancient stars: https://www.iflscience.com/ancient-stars-found-in-unlikely-region-of-the-milky-way-75377

Wildlife rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/rock-art-shows-early-humans-in-south-americas-contact-with-new-worlds-animals-75312

Cortisol lies: https://www.iflscience.com/cortisol-is-the-stress-hormone-really-the-health-villain-its-made-out-to-be-75242

Gregorian calendar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Moxf1yy_5Q

The Big Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts/the-big-questions

This week on Break It Down: deep-sea potatoes just shook foundational ideas about life on Earth, NASA plans to launch an artificial star, elephants sing “let’s go” like a barbershop quartet, the most complete Neanderthal skeleton has sprouted cave popcorn, the record for hottest day ever gets smashed twice in one week, and who would win in the animal Olympics?

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Deep-sea potatoes: https://www.iflscience.com/natural-batteries-on-the-deep-ocean-floor-appear-to-be-making-dark-oxygen-75206

Artificial star: https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-will-soon-launch-an-artificial-star-into-orbit-over-the-usa-75197

Barbershop elephants: https://www.iflscience.com/barbershop-elephants-first-ever-lets-go-recordings-reveal-incredible-harmonies-75193

Cave popcorn: https://www.iflscience.com/the-most-complete-neanderthal-skeleton-ever-found-still-cant-be-excavated-75199

Hottest day: https://www.iflscience.com/sundays-hottest-ever-day-record-has-been-broken-already-75259

Animal Olympics: https://www.iflscience.com/if-animals-could-compete-in-the-olympics-which-events-would-they-win-75252

Read CURIOUS: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine

Jurassic garden:  https://www.iflscience.com/how-to-create-a-jurassic-garden-75255

Yellowstone goes boom: https://www.iflscience.com/watch-as-surprise-yellowstone-eruption-sends-rocks-flying-and-visitors-fleeing-75229

The Big Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-is-evolutionary-biology-sexist-75243