Humans
This week, a growing body of research hints at a “third state” that lies beyond the boundaries of life and death, new research into a piece of African rock art suggests it may show an extinct animal that lived millions of years before humans, and a truly supermassive black hole has jets spanning 23 million light-years – the biggest ever seen. Finally, we ask why gorilla dicks are so tiny (the answer is fascinating).
Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the biggest science news delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday and Saturday.
Asteroid 2024 PT5 Is Set To Be A Mini-Moon Of Earth – But Just For Two Months
An asteroid heading towards Earth is set to have an unusual fate: instead of smashing through our planet’s atmosphere, it’s likely to become trapped in orbit and become a mini-moon. It will be a swift visit, however, and is likely to only remain in Earth's gravitational grasp for two months. Read the full story here
The “Third State” That Lies Beyond The Boundaries Of Life And Death
You might think that the line between life and death is clear-cut, but a growing body of research hinting at a “third state” – where the cells of a dead organism continue to function after the organism's death – suggests this may not be the case. Read the full story here
African Rock Art May Show Extinct Animal That Lived Millions Of Years Before Humans
In the Karoo Basin of South Africa, an unusual tusked beast is painted on a rock wall. Archaeologists have previously pondered whether the artwork depicts a mythical creature from the realm of fantasy, but new research makes the bold claim it was inspired by a dicynodont, an extinct species that lived long before humans. Read the full story here
Scientists Solve 50-Year-Old Mystery, And Discover An Entirely New Blood Group
Your blood type is determined by the presence or absence of specific antigens, with the main types people know being A, B, O, and AB (positives and negatives). However, blood groups are slightly different. Now researchers looking into a 50-year-old mystery surrounding a rare missing antigen have discovered a new blood group system called MAL. Read the full story here
Truly Supermassive Black Hole Has Jets Spanning 23 Million Light-Years, The Biggest Ever Seen
The jets shooting out from an enormous black hole are larger than was thought theoretically possible, and may change ideas about how galaxies developed. This pair are the longest, and therefore most powerful, jets we have yet found, with a combined length of 23 million light-years, more than 10 times the distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. Read the full story here
TWIS is published weekly on our Linkedin page, join us there for even more content.
Feature of the week:
Gorilla Dicks Are Absolutely Tiny. The Reason Why Is Fascinating
Gorillas talk a big game, what with all their chest thumping and basically continuous farting. But there’s one very specific, very human metric by which they come up humiliatingly short – literally. That’s right: it’s dick time again. Read the full story here
More content:
Have you seen our e-magazine, CURIOUS? Issue 26 September 2024 is available now. This month we asked, “Should We All Be Journaling?” – check it out for exclusive interviews, book excerpts, long reads, and more.
PLUS, season 4 of IFLScience's The Big Questions Podcast continues. So far, we’ve asked:
1