Random Science news and articles

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The last 8000 or so years of development of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) has been broadly established, the so called hybrid hypothesis. Starts somewhere around Turkey then over 2000 years reaches the steppes.


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Hindi, Greek and English all come from a single ancient language – here’s how we know

This now-extinct tongue was probably spoken somewhere in Eurasia as many as 8,000 years ago. But how do we know Proto-Indo-European must have existed?

theconversation.com

 

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Very sad to see Jane Goodall died, though she did get to 91. It's not overstating it to say she revolutionised our understanding of animal communications and intelligence. RIP Jane.

Jane Goodall, the gentle disrupter whose research on chimpanzees redefined what it meant to be human

Without formal scientific training, Goodall upended the study of animal behavior. She also inspired countless people to protect nature.

theconversation.com

 

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Congratulation to Prof Richard Robson of University of Melbourne for being a joint winner of the Nobel prize for chemisty. Always good when an Australian gets the silverware.

Scientists win Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work in 'metal-organic frameworks'

Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi win the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the development of metal-organic frameworks", the award-giving body announces.

www.abc.net.au

 

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Article in the Conversation by a scientist who films snakes biting in extreme slow motion. Probably not for folks who have snake phobias

High-tech cameras capture the secrets of venomous snake bites

A new study shows how different snake species have evolved very different strategies to deliver their deadly bites.

theconversation.com

Vipers strike their usual prey in <90ms 84% of the time, which is faster than most of their prey. Human reaction time is pretty slow at >200ms, Cats, Dogs and even Louie the Fly are quicker - it's why they are so hard to swat. I asked my silicon pal to list some animals:

Reaction Time Across the Animal Kingdom​

Species	Average Reaction Time	Notes
Humans	200–250 ms	Varies by age, fatigue, and training
Dogs	100–150 ms	Guard breeds react faster than human blink
Cats	20–70 ms	Exceptional reflexes for hunting and evasion
Monkeys (e.g. macaques)	~100 ms	Fast visual-motor coordination
Flies (e.g. housefly)	5–30 ms	Barrel-roll evasions filmed at 600 fps
Mantis Shrimp	~8 ms	Punches with extreme speed and force
Dragonflies	~30 ms	Precision aerial hunting reflexes
Rabbits	~100 ms	Prey reflexes tuned for escape
Deer	~120 ms	High alertness and fast motor response
Zebras	~150 ms	Herd prey with strong flight instincts
Snakes (e.g. vipers)	50–90 ms	Strike speed varies by species
Mongooses	~40 ms	Known for lightning-fast snake evasion
Penguins	~150 ms	Slower than most birds, but still quick

Why These Differences Exist​

• Insects like flies and mantis shrimp have ultra-fast neural circuits and perceive time more slowly, giving them more “frames” to react.
• Prey animals (rabbits, deer, zebras) evolved rapid reflexes to escape predators.
• Predators (cats, snakes, mongooses) rely on split-second timing to catch or avoid prey.
• Humans trade raw speed for complex cognition, though elite athletes can train down to ~150 ms.

The ai didn't really discuss the trick the Mantis Shrimp has. Like many crustaceans, it has a direct electrical synapses in the neuromuscular junction of the tail which work much, much faster than those chemical synapses most other animals depend on. Hence the 8ms response time, the speed of the response is part of the reasons these guys have the most powerful punch (per body weight) in nature. But that's another story.

 

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One of the algae involved in the terrible SA bloom has been identified as a species called Karenia cristata, a relatively rare Karenia that produces brevetoxins.

"The research found that Karenia cristata significantly contributed to the bloom, alongside other Karenia species already identified in the mix: K. mikimotoi, K. brevisulcata, K. longicanalis, and K. papilionacea."

Scientists hopeful they have found source of SA algal bloom toxins

Scientists believe they have identified the species responsible for the toxins in South Australia's marine algal bloom that has killed millions of aquatic animals.

www.abc.net.au

"Professor Murray said respiratory symptoms in surfers near Victor Harbor in March had suggested the presence of a brevetoxin-producing species in addition to Karenia mikimotoi, which was the initial species identified within the bloom.

That suggestion was confirmed in early May when the South Australia Shellfish Quality Program confirmed that brevetoxins were present in South Australian waters."

 

[Satan]

Outbreak of highly infectious disease widens after rapper's Aussie concert

Queensland's measles outbreak has widened after health authorities confirmed a fourth infected person had a...

www.9news.com.au

 

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Scientists have discovered a new sun shaped microorganism, Solarion arienae, that belongs somewhere in the Eukaryote linage, as it has a nucleus and mitochondria.

Newly Discovered Organism Could Represent a Whole New Branch in The Tree of Life

It's not every day that biologists announce an entirely new branch of life, and this one has been hiding under their noses for years.

www.sciencealert.com

The really interesting thing is, the mitochondrial DNA in this beasty has a gene that is not present in other mitochondria, a gene that probably belonged to the original organism that the mitochondria evolved in. The gene secA is involved in getting proteins across its membrane when the mitochondrial carrying organsim lived independently. This is extra evidence of endosymbiosis, an idea that started centuries ago and was promoted by Lyn Margulis in the 60's and for which she was treated very badly.

 

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It's 1.00 am on a Friday night and an article (a very interesting one) about Penises seems appropriate. The gals should be glad us blokes don't still have spikes like some of our simian cousins.

The surprising world of animal penises and what they reveal about humans

The evolutionary history of human penises is more romantic than you might think.

theconversation.com

 

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An interesting article about time. The solution to unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics may depend on understanding the true nature of time.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/the-closer-we-look-at-time-the-stranger-it-gets/

 

[GreyCrow]

An interesting article about time. The solution to unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics may depend on understanding the true nature of time.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/the-closer-we-look-at-time-the-stranger-it-gets/

Time is mans measure for the passing of events - and the use of passing indicates measurable moments ie this happened at this time

This is typically phrased as being in the direction of increasing entropy: our unwinding Universe, balls rolling downhill, ice cubes melting in a glass of water and so on.

In this example one could argue that the melted water can return to ice - so its multi-directional and not forward entropy

Anyway it does my head in thinking about it - I might lie down for a period of time determined by the period between wakefulness