Hello, and welcome to the latest Inside Science newsletter. This week our coverage includes stories about science showing up in some unexpected places, from how the sleeping brain learns to recognize unfamiliar voices to how super-tiny beetles manage to fly so fast. We also have a story about how fish can purr, click and even make noises that sound like tubas. The twist here -- beyond the idea that yes, fish make calls -- is the researchers decoded the sounds using machine learning. Hope you enjoy these stories and more of our content on Inside Science.
Also, I wanted to share something exciting with our subscribers. Next week we are planning to launch a new video series on our YouTube channel. It goes a little deeper than our usual approach and gets a little more personal with scientists. Please check it out. You can subscribe to Inside Science on YouTube -- I'll share more details in next week's newsletter. I hope you enjoy the show! |
—Chris Gorski, Senior Editor |
Researchers used machine learning to identify and understand different fish calls. |
By Katharine Gammon, Contributor |
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Inside Science's Latest Stories |
The findings could suggest it's possible to learn simple information while snoozing. |
By Brian Owens, Contributor |
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The kunga, a highly sought-after technological advance in Mesopotamia, may be the oldest known hybrid animal bred by humans. |
By Charles Q. Choi, Contributor |
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The aerial acrobat is less than half a millimeter long. |
By Charles Q. Choi, Contributor |
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Other Popular Stories from Inside Science |
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor |
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Inside Science Contributor |
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By Charles Schmidt, Scientific American |
As SARS-CoV-2 evolves, it's forming new variants. Last year, there was delta, and currently, omicron is spreading fast. Even though it may generally cause more mild illness on average, it's infecting so many people that many hospitals are overwhelmed. The vaccines against the coronavirus were based on the initial varieties that started the pandemic. This story explores the logistics and challenges that influence how quickly updated vaccines can be developed, tested and provided to people. There's also the question of how much value an updated vaccine would provide, given how waves tied to different variants have risen over the course of the pandemic. Expert opinions differ somewhat, but the story gives a good sense of the challenges remaining at this stage of the pandemic. |
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In October 2020, a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil called Stan sold at auction for more than $30 million to an unknown buyer. After spotting something resembling the fossil in the background of an interview with actor Dwayne Johnson, inquiring minds wanted to know. Was the famous actor and former wrestler the winning bidder? Michael Greshko, who once wrote for Inside Science, asked Johnson on Twitter to clarify where his fossil came from. Turns out, the decoration is a cast of the original fossil, and now we know, The Rock is not the winning bidder. |
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By Rachel Pannett, Erin Cunningham and Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post |
Saturday's enormous volcanic eruption in Tonga could be heard thousands of miles away. It devastated nearby communities and sent waves that flooded areas bordering the Pacific Ocean. NASA researchers estimate that the explosion had the power of about 10 megatons of TNT. That means the blast was about 500 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II. The Washington Post has an informative report on the destruction caused by the eruption -- including destroyed homes, severed communications lines and 2-4 inches of ash coating the islands. This volcano, researchers suggest, may produce an explosion this size roughly once every 1,000 years. Our sympathies are with the people affected by this disaster. |
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