IFLScience - Break It Down

This week in Break It Down, scientists discover the “sperm whale phonetic alphabet”, AstraZeneca pull their COVID vaccine from the shelves, why a weak magnetic field might be a good thing for life on Earth, rock art reveals that the Sahara looked a little different 4,000 years ago, toads might be helping treat depression, and what on Earth is a dinosauroid?!

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Whale alphabet: https://www.iflscience.com/sperm-whale-phonetic-alphabet-surprisingly-similar-in-structure-to-human-language-74097

[Whale Audio Credit: Project CETI]

AstraZeneca pull their COVID vaccine: https://www.iflscience.com/why-has-astrazeneca-taken-its-covid-19-vaccine-off-the-market-74136

Magnetic fields and complex life: https://www.iflscience.com/earths-magnetic-fields-near-collapse-590-million-years-ago-may-have-helped-complex-life-74049

Rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/rock-art-shows-the-sahara-was-a-radically-different-place-4000-years-ago-74114

Toads as antidepressants: https://www.iflscience.com/could-this-toads-psychedelic-venom-be-the-next-big-thing-in-antidepressants-74122

Dinosauroids: https://www.iflscience.com/if-dinosaurs-werent-extinct-would-the-dinosauroid-walk-among-us-74131

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

What is “virgin birth”: https://youtu.be/W31JiNsN3mg

This week in Break It Down, the debate on T. rex intelligence rages on, a world-first video shows an orangutan applying leaves as medicine, the most complete Neanderthal gets a face, why alpaca sex is so weird that no other mammal does it like them (that we know of), the mystery of a giant hole in Antarctic ice solved, and could Earth ever get its own rings?

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Brainy T. rex: https://www.iflscience.com/t-rex-was-a-smart-giant-crocodile-not-a-massive-brainy-baboon-73991

Dr Orangutan: https://www.iflscience.com/orangutan-seen-treating-a-wound-with-a-medicinal-plant-in-world-first-observation-74034

Neanderthal face: https://www.iflscience.com/best-preserved-neanderthal-skeleton-in-over-25-years-found-in-flower-funeral-cave-74024

Alpaca sex: https://www.iflscience.com/alpaca-sex-is-so-weird-its-never-been-seen-in-another-mammal-73994

Antarctic ice hole: https://www.iflscience.com/eight-years-ago-a-huge-opening-appeared-in-antarctic-sea-ice-now-we-know-why-74029

Earth’s rings: https://www.iflscience.com/what-would-the-earth-be-like-with-rings-74015

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Megaliths: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9GauXgPanI

Shamrock the green puppy: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6eYbE6JGaO/

This week in Break It Down, we explore why Uranus might contain more methane than we thought, just what is happening to bacteria on the ISS, quite how long animals have been making their own light for, why carvings on a bear bone are culturally important, giant megaraptor footprints in China, and whether anything spooky might happen if you dare to enter the Pharaoh's tomb.

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Methane on Uranus: https://www.iflscience.com/uranus-may-be-filled-with-a-lot-more-methane-than-we-thought-73921

Space bacteria: https://www.iflscience.com/bacteria-on-the-iss-have-mutated-into-something-not-seen-on-earth-before-73932

Glowing animals: https://www.iflscience.com/bioluminescent-animals-have-been-glowing-for-at-least-540-million-years-73948

Bear bone culture: https://www.iflscience.com/engraved-bone-of-prehistoric-bear-is-the-oldest-example-of-neanderthal-culture-73884

Megaraptor:  https://www.iflscience.com/meet-a-megaraptor-new-dinosaur-footprints-reveal-raptors-grew-scarily-big-73951

The Pharaoh's Curse:  https://www.iflscience.com/the-pharaohs-curse-does-opening-a-tomb-really-lead-to-an-untimely-death-73959

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Why is the Dead Sea so salty? https://youtu.be/MYE1d_3-ZB8

This week in Break It Down, a new species of tiny titanosaur is compared to a cow, a 47-million-year-old snake becomes the largest ever, an RNA breakthrough brings us closer to "universal vaccines", a heart flies 7,000 kilometers to its recipient, we question Stonehenge's relationship to the Moon, and why the philosophy of science matters in the modern day.

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Tiny titanosaur: https://www.iflscience.com/anyone-for-a-mini-titanosaur-new-species-is-one-of-the-smallest-ever-found-73817

Giant snake: https://www.iflscience.com/new-species-may-be-the-largest-snake-to-have-ever-lived-73871

Vaccine breakthrough: https://www.iflscience.com/vaccine-breakthrough-could-mean-future-proof-shots-with-no-need-for-boosters-73825

Stonehenge and the Moon: https://www.iflscience.com/stonehenge-may-be-aligned-to-this-rare-lunar-event-73831

Transatlantic heart: https://www.iflscience.com/world-first-as-donor-heart-travels-nearly-7000-kilometers-across-atlantic-for-successful-transplant-73827

Philosophy of science: https://www.iflscience.com/why-the-philosophy-of-science-matters-73821

The largest marine reptile: https://www.iflscience.com/202-million-year-old-ichthyosaur-may-be-the-worlds-largest-marine-reptile-73855

Avocado testicles: https://www.iflscience.com/does-the-word-avocado-have-a-double-meaning-73854

This week in Break It Down, 12-million-year-old snails reveal the oldest preserved fossil pigments, the violent mating dance of blue whales is caught on camera, scientists investigate the source of space’s brightest-ever explosion, foxes may have been the OG domestic canid, when is the North Star not the North Star, and what the hell even is a “henge”?

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Old snails: https://www.iflscience.com/oldest-known-intact-polyene-pigments-found-in-12-million-year-old-snail-shells-73735

Whale sex: https://www.iflscience.com/rare-photos-show-blue-whales-performing-the-largest-mating-dance-on-earth-73777

The BOAT: https://www.iflscience.com/we-now-know-what-caused-the-brightest-explosion-ever-seen-in-space-73782

Fox friends: https://www.iflscience.com/foxes-may-have-been-humans-best-friend-long-before-dogs-73754

Not the North Star: https://www.iflscience.com/so-long-polaris-the-earth-will-get-a-new-north-star-73745

A “henge” or not a henge: https://www.iflscience.com/what-is-a-henge-and-why-were-they-built-73755

Golden mole: https://www.iflscience.com/extremely-rare-gorgeous-marsupial-mole-with-blond-hair-spotted-in-western-australia-73776

Etna’s smoke rings: https://youtu.be/fdZGRsA3TI8?si=iVgWl2ol-K-w0yRn

This week in Break It Down, a rainbow-like glory is detected beyond our Solar System, a sand-slab stingray may be the oldest animal art, ancient etchings in Peru may depict psychedelic music, scientists complete the world’s largest digital camera, and a toad with heart-shaped pupils. Plus, how far can a bird fly without flapping? Turns out, pretty damn far.

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Glory in space: https://www.iflscience.com/we-may-have-just-seen-the-first-rainbow-like-glory-on-a-world-outside-our-solar-system-73681

Sand-slab stingray: https://www.iflscience.com/a-130000-year-old-stingray-sand-sculpture-may-be-worlds-oldest-animal-art-73649

Psychedelic rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/this-2000-year-old-peruvian-rock-art-may-depict-psychedelic-music-73677

Largest digital camera: https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-largest-ever-digital-camera-is-completed-73667

Heart-shaped pupils: https://www.iflscience.com/yes-this-adorable-toad-really-has-heart-shaped-pupils-73624

Fly without flapping: https://www.iflscience.com/whats-the-longest-a-bird-can-fly-without-flapping-its-wings-73664

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Ligers V Tigons: https://youtu.be/Aq5Fm4VXIG0?si=keu3BpIBOOaIj4Xb

This week in Break It Down, why the solar eclipse can be fatal, Barbie pigs 5,000 meters below the sea, world-first cooperative mimicry in two spiders pretending to be a flower, the first image of magnetic fields around black hole Sagittarius A*, why climate change might be about to change the time, and are men really more likely to be psychopaths than women? The science appears to suggest otherwise.

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

Links:

Apocaclipse: https://www.iflscience.com/potentially-fatal-consequence-linked-to-upcoming-us-total-solar-eclipse-73564

Barbie pigs: https://www.iflscience.com/barbie-pigs-among-strange-and-possibly-new-to-science-species-discovered-in-the-pacific-73539

Flower spiders: https://www.iflscience.com/male-and-female-spider-perfectly-resemble-flower-in-potential-cooperative-mimicry-world-first-73530

Black hole’s magnetic fields: https://www.iflscience.com/incredible-first-view-of-the-magnetic-fields-around-our-galaxys-supermassive-black-hole-73563

Earth’s shape-changing time: https://www.iflscience.com/earths-changing-shape-may-cause-a-global-timekeeping-crisis-73567

Female psychopaths: https://www.iflscience.com/are-women-really-less-likely-to-be-psychopaths-than-men-73418

Reptile house: https://www.iflscience.com/mountain-chicken-frogs-giant-salamanders-and-scrotum-frogs-get-a-new-home-at-zsl-73573

Childbirth VS kick to the balls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZTcCATAWs

This week in Break It Down, a hill becomes a pyramid and then a hill again, quantum tornadoes teach us about black holes, a living human gets a pig kidney for the first time, Homer’s Iliad helps us find shipwrecks, the world’s rarest fish makes a comeback – one ridiculous baby at a time – and we find out about the longest eclipses on, and off, record.

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

Links:

It’s a pyramid: https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-oldest-pyramid-was-built-25000-years-ago-inside-this-indonesian-mountain-71414

It might not be a pyramid: https://www.iflscience.com/the-25000-year-old-pyramid-in-indonesia-was-likely-not-made-by-humans-71767

It isn’t a pyramid: https://www.iflscience.com/study-claiming-humans-built-a-25000-year-old-pyramid-in-indonesia-removed-by-journal-73465

Getting it wrong is a part of science: https://youtu.be/6cBV1fnp7E4?si=OkLQT0bxZFj5a68l

Quantum tornadoes: https://www.iflscience.com/first-ever-quantum-tornado-lets-scientists-simulate-black-holes-in-the-lab-73470

Pig kidney xenotransplant: https://www.iflscience.com/a-crispr-edited-pig-kidney-has-been-transplanted-into-a-living-person-for-the-first-time-73499

Homer’s Iliad shipwrecks: https://www.iflscience.com/archaeologists-find-shipwrecks-using-clues-from-homers-iliad-73448

World’s rarest fish: https://www.iflscience.com/the-worlds-rarest-fish-is-making-a-comeback-one-ridiculous-baby-at-a-time-73476

Longest eclipses: https://www.iflscience.com/when-was-the-longest-recorded-solar-eclipse-in-history-73412

Equinox VS solstice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK9jmLA_Qf0

This week in Break It Down, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a nova, astroforensic science, why everybody thinks male mammals are so big, the world’s oldest body piercings, 70 years in an iron lung, and the strange things animals do during a total solar eclipse. We’re looking at you, Galápagos tortoises.

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

Links:

Nova: https://www.iflscience.com/this-year-could-be-a-once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity-to-see-a-nova-73379

Space crime: https://www.iflscience.com/csi-space-station-scientists-are-investigating-blood-splatter-in-microgravity-73357

Mammalian bodies: https://www.iflscience.com/males-are-larger-than-females-or-are-they-new-data-challenges-100-years-of-bias-73347

Oldest piercings: https://www.iflscience.com/11000-year-old-earrings-and-lip-studs-are-worlds-oldest-piercings-73321

Iron lung: https://www.iflscience.com/paul-alexander-the-man-in-the-iron-lung-has-died-73363

Animals in a solar eclipse: https://www.iflscience.com/why-do-animals-act-strangely-during-a-solar-eclipse-73346

Mammals trailer: https://youtu.be/fRSEMsutVdI?si=Jcyn-WUQuEm9Vl5s

Unexplained anomalous phenomena: https://youtu.be/QKZl5wIySO8?si=IxwL5O539XbT4TKS

Coral joy: https://www.iflscience.com/watch-corals-release-clouds-of-eggs-and-sperm-in-cambodias-first-observed-spawning-event-73387

This week in Break It Down, we talk de-extincting the mammoth, the world’s oldest fossil forest, elephant burials, hypervaccination (and by hyper, we mean 217 COVID vaccinations in 29 months), a small Pacific nation that spans all four hemispheres, and a contentious question on geologists’ lips: are we in the Anthropocene?

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

Links:

From elephants to mammoths: https://www.iflscience.com/we-just-got-one-step-closer-to-seeing-a-live-mammoth-by-2028-73258

De-extincting a dinosaur: https://youtu.be/jpcvqFMZFmA?si=wcMj-waAHqEGXpmF

Fossil forest: https://www.iflscience.com/at-390-million-years-old-england-just-usurped-the-us-for-oldest-forest-on-earth-73247

Anthropocene: https://www.iflscience.com/geologists-conclude-we-are-not-living-in-the-anthropocene-for-now-73251

Elephant burials: https://www.iflscience.com/asian-elephants-bury-and-mourn-for-their-dead-calves-73219

Hypervaccination: https://www.iflscience.com/man-takes-217-covid-19-vaccines-in-29-months-for-private-reasons-is-fine-73253

All four hemispheres: https://www.iflscience.com/people-are-only-just-learning-that-earth-has-four-hemispheres-73288

Lost continents: https://youtu.be/hElndPVxGfA?si=jsm5gC5DzfpLuge9

Toki Pona: https://youtu.be/3dGZ2I4aVuY?si=bXx0rRQ--S7-n86U

Living fossils: https://www.iflscience.com/what-is-a-living-fossil-first-evidence-of-a-biological-mechanism-reveals-all-73272