IFLScience - Break It Down

This week on Break It Down: why Venus just got very exciting as a potential site of extra-terrestrial life, how you make butter out of thin air, a Stegosaurus on sale for $44 million, the discovery of the first Moon cave, why Earth just landed itself a new microcontinent, and pseudoscience Vs anti-science – what the differences are and how to tackle them.

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

Links:

Phosphine on Venus: https://www.iflscience.com/new-detection-of-phosphine-deeper-in-venuss-atmosphere-and-possibly-ammonia-too-75139

Air butter: https://www.iflscience.com/lab-made-butter-created-from-co2-tastes-like-the-real-thing-says-bill-gates-75144

$44 million stegosaurus: https://www.iflscience.com/stegosaurus-fossil-fetches-record-breaking-446-million-at-auction-75151

Moon caves: https://www.iflscience.com/the-first-cave-has-been-found-on-the-moon-is-it-ready-for-occupation-75103

Microcontinent: https://www.iflscience.com/new-microcontinent-discovered-between-greenland-and-canada-75135

Pseudoscience VS anti-science: https://www.iflscience.com/pseudoscience-vs-anti-science-how-to-tell-the-difference-and-fight-both-75082

Interview with Prof Jim Al-Khalili: https://youtu.be/6cBV1fnp7E4?si=IEhqrdq7bCy4Et7v

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

Dinosaur casts: https://www.iflscience.com/are-dinosaur-skeletons-in-museums-the-real-thing-75146

This week on Break It Down we report live from a rocket launch, freeze-dried skin gets us a step closer to bringing back mammoths, “polar rain” auroras seen on Earth in a first, two lion brothers should star in their own Disney movie, a complete larynx transplant for a cancer patient, and the people fighting for the survival of the world’s most endangered language. 

Ariane 6: https://www.iflscience.com/europes-ariane-6-rocket-is-about-to-launch-heres-why-its-a-big-deal-74147

This week on Break It Down, why dinosaurs had to die so that we could have wine, the world’s oldest narrative art, the flying skills of hippos, evidence for pants in the Palaeolithic, turning meteorites into space LEGO, and a bunch of animals talking like humans that really shouldn’t be talking like humans.

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

Links:

Dinosaurs VS wine: https://www.iflscience.com/we-might-owe-wine-to-the-asteroid-that-killed-the-dinosaurs-66-million-years-ago-74893

Oldest narrative art: https://www.iflscience.com/oldest-narrative-rock-art-discovered-with-mind-blowing-age-of-51200-years-74927

Flying hippos: https://www.iflscience.com/hippos-cant-swim-but-it-turns-out-they-can-fly-74937

Palaeolithic underpants: https://www.iflscience.com/paleolithic-humans-may-have-invented-underwear-40000-years-ago-74949

Space LEGO: https://www.iflscience.com/meteorite-billions-of-years-old-turned-into-lego-bricks-for-moon-habitat-test-74939

Talking animals: https://www.iflscience.com/from-orcas-to-ducks-the-surprising-animals-that-can-mimic-human-speech-74930

Ripper the duck: https://www.iflscience.com/you-bloody-fool-shouts-first-confirmed-talking-duck-60850

Nuclear blasts: https://youtu.be/XsSpI9cVNbg?si=aC_qGn0SBJSR26lT

Climate change and health: https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts

Big Bang on TV: https://www.iflscience.com/you-may-have-watched-the-big-bang-on-tv-74950

This week on Break It Down, a puppy gets a post-mortem 44,000 years after being frozen in permafrost, altruism found among Neanderthals in Down Syndrome case, the world’s largest terrestrial mammal migration is recorded in East Africa, a robot’s fleshy smile that will haunt your nightmares, NASA is being sued, and the Tunguska Event may have been caused by *checks notes* a primordial black hole ripping through Earth. Right.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Frozen wolf: https://www.iflscience.com/a-44000-year-old-wolf-frozen-in-permafrost-may-still-contain-living-bacteria-74848

Bog body whoopsies: https://www.iflscience.com/a-man-confessed-to-murdering-his-wife-but-the-body-turned-out-to-be-1600-years-old-59326

Neanderthals: https://www.iflscience.com/neanderthal-child-with-down-syndrome-highlights-altruism-among-ancient-humans-74828

World’s largest migration: https://www.iflscience.com/six-million-animals-make-moves-in-the-worlds-largest-land-mammal-migration-74827

Robot smile: https://www.iflscience.com/watch-this-uncanny-robot-face-grin-and-frown-thanks-to-self-healing-lab-grown-human-skin-74824

Weird robot finger: https://www.iflscience.com/this-robotic-finger-has-living-skin-made-from-human-cells-that-can-heal-63984

Suing NASA: https://www.iflscience.com/family-sues-nasa-in-unprecedented-case-after-piece-of-iss-smashes-into-their-house-74787

Primordial black hole: https://www.iflscience.com/physicists-once-proposed-the-tunguska-event-was-caused-by-a-black-hole-passing-through-earth-74813

The Big Questions: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-the-big-questions-why-are-we-the-only-surviving-human-species-74807

Sign up to CURIOUS: https://www.iflscience.com/can-you-think-yourself-well-find-out-more-in-issue-23-of-curious-out-now-74445

Science facts video: https://youtu.be/37LxKjPaxWM?si=CnOjTLLmMrDA9RBU

This week on Break It Down, white wine with a hint of human remains becomes the oldest ever discovered, Jupiter’s Red Spot may be younger than the United States, a disco dinosaur has been discovered with one hell of a hat, people volunteer to be infected with COVID-19 – for science, NASA uses its first two-way end-to-end relay system to send pet photos to the ISS, and a $17 billion shipwreck has launched an international argument.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Oldest wine: https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-oldest-liquid-wine-contains-surprising-ingredient-cremated-human-remains-74727

Deep-sea champagne: https://www.iflscience.com/why-did-champagne-bottles-on-the-titanic-not-implode-72621

Ancient bison stew: https://www.iflscience.com/in-1984-scientists-ate-50-000-year-oid-bison-in-a-stew-65758

Jupiter’s Red Spot: https://www.iflscience.com/jupiters-great-red-spot-may-be-younger-than-the-united-states-74715

Disco dinosaur: https://www.iflscience.com/get-a-load-of-the-fancy-headgear-on-this-new-78-million-year-old-dinosaur-74738

Volunteering for COVID-19: https://www.iflscience.com/never-before-seen-immune-response-found-in-volunteers-deliberately-infected-with-covid-19-74721

Volunteering for hookworms: https://www.iflscience.com/scientist-volunteers-to-be-parasitized-by-50-hookworms-for-vaccine-study-58548

Pet photos in space: https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-is-using-its-fancy-new-laser-system-to-send-astronauts-videos-of-pets-74700

$17 billion shipwreck: https://www.iflscience.com/the-messy-fight-over-who-owns-the-17-billion-shipwreck-of-the-san-jose-74633

Stone Henge: https://youtu.be/hRRKdxrUbns?si=4z3qwU2r9lI_QWuW

What do you mean it's "not a real henge"?: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-yusua-15dc840

Mammoth VS mastodons: https://youtu.be/NjOvfnVELdc?si=BdLyfdbXsBRVkNuq

This week on Break It Down, elephants have names, the ISS just scared the bejesus out of everybody, how to Benjamin Button yourself in space, grolar bears remain extremely rare, “alien signal” from Mars finally gets decoded, and why London’s Kew Gardens are about to reek of corpses.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Elephant names: https://www.iflscience.com/african-elephants-call-each-other-by-names-just-like-humans-do-74595

ISS audio whoopsie: https://www.iflscience.com/internet-panics-after-hearing-leaked-audio-from-the-iss-they-were-not-supposed-to-hear-74638

Benjamin Button’ing: https://www.iflscience.com/turns-out-billionaires-can-go-to-space-to-temporarily-benjamin-button-themselves-74642

Grolar bears: https://www.iflscience.com/grolar-bear-hybrids-are-extremely-rare-with-just-8-confirmed-individuals-74652

Mars “alien signal”: https://www.iflscience.com/alien-signal-from-mars-finally-decoded-one-year-on-74625

Corpse flower: https://www.iflscience.com/extraordinary-corpse-flower-blooms-in-kew-gardens-and-we-were-there-to-see-it-74649

Cosmic ray factory: https://youtu.be/djz32NHixgc?si=6qVCI7kP2Wk-a5GJ

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

Sign up for CURIOUS: https://www.iflscience.com/subscribe

A Little Gay Natural History: https://www.nhmshop.co.uk/a-little-gay-natural-history.html

Queer animals talk: https://youtu.be/RXE11Ia70GQ?si=i7U5F1QuKsXO-Lbk

This week on Break It Down, Charlotte the stingray is back and it’s not good news, a zig-zagging snake stretching over 40 meters might be the world’s longest rock art, the irony of offering endangered orangutans as a form of diplomatic gift, the mysterious aurora STEVE gets a long-lost twin, why Seahenge was built, and how the iconic “March of Progress” evolution image is actually all wrong.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Stingray: https://www.iflscience.com/aquarium-solves-mystery-after-stingray-alone-in-tank-of-sharks-appeared-pregnant-74480

Parthenogenesis: https://youtu.be/W31JiNsN3mg

Snake rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/2000-year-old-snake-engraving-is-among-the-worlds-largest-rock-art-74508

Orangutan diplomacy: https://www.iflscience.com/orangutan-diplomacy-malaysias-new-plan-to-give-endangered-primates-to-palm-oil-partners-74547

STEVE’s twin: https://www.iflscience.com/steve-the-aurora-like-phenomenons-morning-twin-has-been-spotted-in-a-photograph-74538

Seahenge: https://www.iflscience.com/forget-stonehenge-why-was-seahenge-built-over-4000-years-ago-74465

March of Progress: https://www.iflscience.com/the-famous-march-of-progress-image-is-wildly-wrong-74557

Claude the koala: https://www.iflscience.com/claude-the-koala-has-gone-on-another-heist-this-time-he-brought-a-crew-74510

Dinosaur discovery: https://www.iflscience.com/rare-teen-t-rex-fossil-discovered-by-three-kids-hiking-in-north-dakota-74530

This week on Break It Down, a mystery sighting in the deep ocean could be the first-ever footage of a colossal squid baby, orca attacks are more mischief than vengeance, astrology is debunked yet again, a second billionaire plans a trip to the Titanic, the world's largest genome comes in a surprisingly small package, and we explore the differences between human and chimp DNA. 

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Mystery Squid: https://www.iflscience.com/mystery-glass-squid-in-antarctica-could-be-first-ever-colossal-squid-baby-filmed-74424

Orca attacks: https://www.iflscience.com/the-puzzling-rise-in-orca-attacks-on-boats-has-been-explained-by-whale-scientists-74395

Astrology: https://www.iflscience.com/your-star-sign-has-no-impact-on-your-well-being-debunking-yet-another-astrology-claim-74448

Billionaire Titanic Trip: https://www.iflscience.com/billionaire-aims-for-new-sub-trip-to-titanic-wreck-one-year-after-oceangate-disaster-74429

World’s Largest Genome: https://www.iflscience.com/tiny-fern-breaks-the-world-record-for-the-largest-genome-of-any-organism-74447

Chimp and Human DNA: https://www.iflscience.com/human-and-chimp-dna-is-988-percent-identical-so-how-are-we-so-different-74406

Virtual Event: https://ifls.online/3y4rMoS

Instagram Videos:  https://www.instagram.com/iflscience

This week on Break It Down, we now know when humans and Neanderthals hooked up, could a human head transplant ever be realistic, a dino fossil skin preserved like glass has both scales and feathers, sometimes stars completely vanish, a skull from China tells us more about the Dragon Man, and we delve into the concept of dark extinctions.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Humans and Neanderthals: https://www.iflscience.com/we-now-know-exactly-when-humans-and-neanderthals-hooked-up-74337

Human head transplants:https://www.iflscience.com/hair-raising-human-head-transplant-machine-concept-unveiled-by-startup-but-is-it-realistic-74332

Dino skin fossil: https://www.iflscience.com/hidden-gem-fossil-of-dinosaur-skin-preserved-like-glass-reveals-it-had-scales-and-feathers-74317

Vanishing stars: https://www.iflscience.com/hundreds-of-stars-have-vanished-without-a-trace-a-new-study-could-explain-why-74343

Dragon Man lineage: https://www.iflscience.com/mysterious-1-million-year-old-skull-from-china-may-belong-to-dragon-man-lineage-74301

Dark extinctions: https://www.iflscience.com/how-dark-extinctions-are-silently-erasing-life-on-earth-74316

Euclid images: https://www.iflscience.com/dark-matter-hunting-euclid-releases-incredible-new-images-sparkling-with-stars-and-galaxies-74331

Heart symbol video: https://youtu.be/tmIj7cohdCQ

This week on Break It Down, COVID’s new FLiRT variants, when and which dinosaurs went warm-blooded, could a lost river explain the pyramids, the search for alien megastructures, the shrinking Y chromosome, and what’s it like sailing to Point Nemo? Really hard, apparently.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

FLiRT: https://www.iflscience.com/whats-going-on-with-the-new-covid-flirt-variants-74245

Hot dinosaurs: https://www.iflscience.com/the-first-warm-blooded-dinosaurs-probably-evolved-180-million-years-ago-74237

Lost river: https://www.iflscience.com/this-lost-river-could-explain-how-the-pyramids-were-built-74246

Alien megastructures: https://www.iflscience.com/two-new-searches-find-60-potential-alien-megastructures-in-our-galaxy-74222

Shrinking Y chromosome: https://www.iflscience.com/whats-happening-with-the-y-chromosome-74217

Point Nemo: https://www.iflscience.com/point-nemo-what-its-like-sailing-to-the-most-remote-place-on-earth-74242

Point Nemo video: https://youtu.be/POApwucft2c?si=9SfKuJg9OqX17JQw

CURIOUS Live register: https://ifls.online/3y4rMoS

CURIOUS, May issue: https://curious.iflscience.com/issue-22/full-view.html

Poles of Inaccessibility: https://inaccessibility.net/

Fox in a sink-hole: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-fox-cub-rescued-after-getting-head-stuck-in-a-sink-drain-74238