Unusual discoveries. All the most interesting things in one magazine. New advances in genetics

Usually in new year holidays all scientific and popular science media, including Nature and Science, compile charts of the most scientific events, discoveries or publications of the year. But science is attractive not only for its large-scale events, but also for its quirks. the site decided to compile its own list of discoveries that, perhaps, do not have global significance, but are endearing to those who write about them due to their unusual nature.

"Ghost" at a depth of five kilometers

Scientists have made several interesting discoveries in the field of living and long-dead nature. So, in February, American scientists discovered an absolutely charming white translucent deep-sea octopus, which has no mantle fins, and the suckers on the tentacles are located in one row. This animal lives at a depth of almost five kilometers - it was there that it was captured by the camera of the Okeanos Explorer research vehicle. Without saying a word, everyone began to call this animal Casper: the octopus turned out to be very similar to a cartoon character. Alas, in December scientists already announced that the baby was facing extinction.

"White and fluffy"

Amazing discoveries can be made not only in the laboratory. One of the most important discoveries for scientific journalists not only of the year, but of the decade, perhaps, was made... in a jewelry store. In Myanmar (Burma) they bought a piece of amber that contained the tail of a baby dinosaur 99 million years ago. Fluffy tail. Micro-CT scans have already revealed the amazingly fine structure of the feathers. Well, imagine a white and fluffy tyrannosaurus! The remarkable discovery was published in the journal Current Biology.

Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM/ R.C. McKellar)

The tip of a preserved dinosaur tail fragment in amber

Our sharp-toothed ancestors

And in addition to the discovery that “softens” the appearance of the “terrible lizards,” we must add, of course, the opposite discovery. Paleontologists from several US universities marsupial, Didelphodon vorax, which lived at the same time as dinosaurs and had the most strong jaws among mammals. By the way, these animals, which lived about 70 million years ago, happily feasted on small dinosaurs.

The most extravagant death

The event itself, which will be discussed, we saw on Earth already the year before last. The automatic sky survey recorded very bright flash, ASASSN-15lh, which, as it turns out, has been coming to us for four million years. And it’s good that it happened so far away: at the moment of its greatest brilliance, ASASSN-15lh was 20 times brighter than our entire galaxy! In 2015, scientists believed that this outbreak was a more or less ordinary supernova, the death of a star with the formation of a black hole, it was just that the star was very massive. However, after new observations in 2016, things were more unusual.

Indeed, it could not have happened without a black hole, but a small star could still live and live, but it flew too close to the supermassive black hole in the center of its galaxy. The fall of a star into a black hole and the release of excess matter gave rise to this unusually bright flare.

Between a neuron and a neutron star

If we talk about particles composed only of neutral baryons - neutrons, then so far we only know the neutron itself, which in its free form lives only 15 minutes and neutron stars live much longer. Recent experiments at the Japanese RIKEN Institute and the work of an international group of scientists with Russian participation, which is very a short time(about 10-22 seconds) a tetraneutron can exist - four neutrons combined into one neutron "atom".

Antimatter becomes clearer

And more beautiful news from the world of exotic matter. Antiparticles - positron, antiproton and others - have been known since the 1930s. They have learned not only to obtain them, but also to use them in practice: the formation of positrons and their annihilation form the basis of such a powerful diagnostic method as positron emission tomography. In 1995, CERN managed to “assemble” an antihydrogen atom from an antiproton and a positron. And now, more than two decades later, scientists measure the spectrum of antihydrogen and compare it with the spectrum of ordinary hydrogen.

Finding "Terror"

Everything about this archaeological news is unusual. Firstly, another major discovery was made by underwater archaeologists, secondly, the unusual name of the found object, and thirdly, the famous name of the person associated with the find.

We are talking about the discovery of the second ship of the expedition of the famous British traveler and polar explorer John Franklin, who disappeared 168 years ago (for some reason in our country he is still sometimes confused with the other Franklin from the hundred-dollar bill). In 2014, underwater archaeologists already discovered the ship "Erebus" of the missing expedition. Now "Terror" has been found. The most amazing thing is that the ship was preserved so well that, according to researchers, it is worth raising it from a 24-meter depth, pumping out the water, and it will be able to float again.

The world is still fraught with many mysteries and secrets. We just need to be observant and curious, and keep looking for answers to questions that we don't think have answers. The development of science is currently extremely dynamic, and these incredible discoveries 2016 is proof of this.

15. Largest known prime number

On January 7, 2016, the largest known prime number was discovered, which is 274,207,281 − 1 and contains 22,338,618 decimal digits. The discovery was made by Curtis Cooper as part of the GIMPS project.

14. The ninth planet of the solar system

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology have presented evidence that the ninth planet solar system really exists. Calculations have shown that the planet revolves around the Sun at a distance of 20 orbits of Neptune, its mass is 10 times greater than the mass of the Earth. And 1 year on this planet is equal to 17,000 years on Earth!

13. Eternal keeper of information

In February of this year, scientists from the University of Southampton presented the world with an amazing invention. They created an eternal data keeper from nanostructured glass. The device is capable of storing 360 terabytes of data and is not affected by high temperatures(up to 1000 degrees Celsius), and its shelf life is several billion years.

12. Fish that can move on land and climb trees

A fish capable of moving on land, climbing trees and hunting birds was discovered in Papua - New Guinea. This species, despite its innocent appearance, is very aggressive and poses a serious threat to animals on the islands of Boigu and Saibai, Australia. The fish reportedly has a respiratory organ and moves along the ground using its pectoral fins.

11. A brain implant that allows a paralyzed person to control his arm

The implant sends signals directly to the muscles via wires, bypassing spinal cord. A man can now lift a glass of water and even play a video game. Brilliant invention belongs to scientists from the Institute medical research Feinstein in New York.

10. Successful landing of the first stage of the rocket in the ocean

On April 8, 2016, SpaceX for the first time managed to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle on a platform in the ocean. Now the first stage can be used repeatedly, which will reduce costs.

9. Turning carbon dioxide into stone

At the Hellisheidi plant in Iceland, scientists pumped CO2 into volcanic rocks, accelerating natural process transforming basalt into carbonates, which then become limestone. This method will help not to aggravate the problem of the greenhouse effect.

8. The scientific name for the pleasant tingling sensation in the back of the head

The phenomenon of perception, characterized by a pleasant tingling sensation in the back of the head, spreading in the form of goosebumps along the skin of the neck and back to the limbs, in 2016 acquired a scientific name - Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR). ASMR sensations are triggered by audio, visual, tactile or cognitive stimuli.

7. Second Moon

2016 HO3 is an asteroid discovered by the Hawaiian Automatic Telescope on April 27, 2016, which is the best and most stable example of a permanent Earth quasi-satellite to date. Became the “second Moon” of the Earth about 100 years ago.

6. Eyeless Wonder Worm

This year, scientists discovered that Caenorhabditis elegans (a free-living nematode) has the ability to see light. As shown by careful experiments on the excitation of individual neurons, the worm can respond to photons of different wavelengths, but the greatest effect is achieved when using an ultraviolet light source. Now C. elegans can become a model object for studying human blindness.

5. Mathematical algorithm of our intelligence

“Our complex computations in the brain are based on relatively simple mathematical logic,” says Dr. Joe Tsien, a neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia. Tsien's theory is based on the n=2i-1 algorithm, which determines the number of groups (or “cliques”, as the scientist calls them) needed to recognize and solve situations. In other words, the more clicks, the more complex the thought. N is the number of neural groups connected in all possible ways; 2 - means that neurons in this group receive or do not receive input data; i is the information they receive; -1 is the math part to allow you to account for all possibilities.

4. Farting fish

Scientists from the UK and Canada have concluded that herring farts! For these fish, farting is a way of communication and a way to maintain the integrity of the school at night.

3. Scientific explanation for entering the astral plane

Many people who have survived comas talk about their astral travels. Scientists from the University of Ottawa became interested in this phenomenon and invited a girl for research who claimed that she could initiate the separation of the soul from the body at will. During the experiment, the researchers used an MRI machine to observe her brain during " astral travel" Parts of the brain involved in sensing physical location and visualizing movement have been found to be activated during such experiences. But this does not mean that the soul leaves the body. This is a type of hallucination triggered by a specific neurological mechanism.

2. Stem cells that can restore damaged spinal cord

A team of scientists led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, was able to use human neural stem cells to successful recovery damaged spinal cord. Studies conducted on rats have shown that grafted stem cells stimulate neuronal regeneration and partially replace the function of lost neurons.

1. The gene mutation that gave birth to us all

The ACE2 gene is the possible progenitor of all who live on planet Earth. Biologists from Atlanta, Georgia, came to the conclusion that one gene was capable of turning single-celled organisms into multicellular. And in the past, it was a gene mutation that led to the appearance complex shapes life. Small changes in the DNA sequence had a profound effect on a particular protein, and from its primary role as an enzyme, it became essential for the organization of multicellular structures.

The curse of an ancient sorcerer brought dozens of scientists to the grave

A pensioner in Podolsk near Moscow for a long time kept mummified bodies in the apartment: a 12-year-old brother and a nine-year-old sister. The woman admitted: she did not have money to take her relatives to last way. Nevertheless, the unfortunate woman was sent to a mental hospital. The police are establishing the circumstances of this wild story: why for so many years no one has missed the missing people or helped the old woman with the funeral. It is also surprising how the bodies lay unburied for so many years. Scientists have long been trying to solve the mystery of mummies. Read about incredible and scary discoveries.

View from the grave

The Capuchin catacombs in the Sicilian capital Palermo contain the remains of more than eight thousand people - mostly the local elite. The most famous part of the cemetery is the chapel of Saint Rosalia. In its center, on a marble pedestal in a glass coffin, lies a two-year-old Rosalia Lombardo. The girl died of pneumonia in 1920. The baby's grief-stricken parents asked a famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia save my daughter's body.

Baby Rosalia from Palermo: neither alive nor dead

Salafiya replaced the child's blood with a liquid composition of formaldehyde, alcohol, glycerin, antifungal salicylic acid and zinc salts. He kept the secret of the mixture a secret, which was discovered many years after his death. Baby Rosalia looked alive for decades: a gentle blush played on her cheeks, her skin was soft, Brown hair remained silky, and the eyelashes seemed to be ready to flutter. Even the eyes remained blue. These eyes, by the way, almost drove one of the caretakers crazy: the light reflected from the cornea created the illusion that the child was watching someone. Lombardo's mummy was called the "sleeping beauty".

Only a few years ago, signs of decomposition appeared on Rosalia's body. The coffin was moved to a drier place and enclosed in a glass container filled with nitrogen.

The oldest mummy found in Europe is the Tyrolean Iceman, or Ötzi. Its age is 5300 years. September 19, 1991 remains ancient man discovered by German climbers when the ice melted at an altitude of more than three thousand meters. They extracted the artifact without using archaeological tools, and inadvertently injured their hip.

Most researchers agreed: during his lifetime, Ötzi was a priest or sorcerer. His skin is covered with tattoos, there is an amulet on his body, and prehistoric sanctuaries have been discovered near the place where the ice man was found.

Tyrolean Iceman Ötzi - the oldest embalmed human body discovered in Europe

Scientists believe that Ötzi died during a clash between two communities: he was shot from behind with an arrow.

In 1998, the mummy was exhibited at the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology in Bolzano, Italy. But not everyone dared to look at Ötzi - they said that those who approached him died a bad death.

Forensic expert Rainer Henn, who spoke about the study of the Iceman at a press conference, died in a car accident. The climber who discovered Ötzi Kurt Fritz died in an avalanche. Journalist Rainer Holtz, who made a film about the Tyrolean find, died of brain cancer. Helmut Simon, looking for traces of other ancient people in the mountains, fell into a crevasse - the icy corpse was found after a two-week search in the same position as Ötzi. Dieter Wernicke, a member of the expedition to evacuate the Iceman, died of a heart attack. Passed away and Tom Loy, who examined Ötzi's belongings and recovered his DNA. Scientist from the University of Innsbruck Conrad Spindler suffered a stroke.

Think about it!

In February 1923, the Egyptologist Howard Carter and amateur archaeologist Lord George Carnarvon discovered the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun. Two days later, all of Cairo suddenly lost power. Within a year, six participants in the opening of the sarcophagus died. There are a total of 22 victims of the “curse of Tutankhamun”. Carter was the last to die, in 1939 from Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Annoyed my mother

In 2006, after the death of her husband, a resident of Essentuki Lyudmila Lysenko became seriously ill. 60-year-old son Vladimir came from St. Petersburg to care for his mother. The neighbors knew about in serious condition Lyudmila Alexandrovna, but heard from Vladimir that she had gone to work as a nurse in Sochi. “I’ll bring it back in the fall,” he added. However, in the fall, the granny did not appear, and vigilant neighbors reported this to the local police officer. He looked at Lysenko and looked around the apartment. One of the rooms was locked and, despite Vladimir’s protests, it had to be opened. What they saw plunged everyone into a stupor: a mummy was lying on Lyudmila Alexandrovna’s bed.

Vladimir LYSENKO gave his parent a bad experience. Frame: Youtube.com

To the police, Lysenko admitted that his mother died three months ago, but he did not want to bury the body where it would be “eaten by worms.” Vladimir placed an oilcloth under the corpse and covered the body with salt. He placed a heater nearby - under the influence of hot air, the salt evaporated the moisture, and the body mummified.

When the secret became clear, Vladimir escaped punishment - he was only obliged to return the pension to his mother, which he had received for two years instead of the deceased.

Tales of Hoffmann

1719 Near the city of Falun in Sweden, miners stumbled upon a body young man. None of the miners could identify the guy. Due to the fact that the vitriol soaked the skin and clothes of the young man, the corpse turned to stone.

The terrible discovery was put on public display. Seeing him, an elderly lady named Lucille gasped: it was her lover Mats Israelsson, who disappeared 42 years ago. Once he asked Lucille out on a date, but he didn’t show up. No one ever saw him again - he disappeared. Lucille married Mats' friend Roy. There were rumors that it was Roy who was involved in the disappearance of the miner: a guy in love with Lucille could simply eliminate his rival. He may have thrown Israelsson down the shaft.

Swedish miner Mats Israelsson was petrified by unhappy love

In 1749, Mats’s mummy was buried, but 100 years later it was dug up and exhibited again in the museum: traces of decay barely touched the dead body. Only in 1930 did the unfortunate miner find his final rest in the cemetery in Falun.

BY THE WAY

The legend of the tragic love of Mats and Lucille formed the basis of the short story “Falun Mines” Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann.

Knight-Adulterer

In the 17th century, a knight lived in Brandenburg, Germany Christian Friedrich von Kalbutz. Brave, but he is also a reveler and a libertine: he made 30 children on his side and did not hesitate to use the “right of the first night,” depriving poor girls of their innocence.

Maria Leppin von Kalbutz called, as usual, to himself and was ready to get down to business, when the beauty gave in. Enraged, Christian killed Mary's fiancé. But at the trial he did not confess and even assured: if he lied, after death his body would not be touched by rot.

Knight Christian Friedrich von KALBUZ lied and remained incorrupt

The Rake Knight breathed his last at the age of 52. He was buried in a tomb near the church. And a hundred years later, during the renovation of the cathedral, they decided to rebury it. The coffin was opened - von Kalbutz's body did not undergo decomposition.

Scientists gave the following explanation for this case: most likely, the man withered away during his lifetime - he suffered from cancer, muscular dystrophy or tuberculosis. The exhausted body was buried in an oak coffin, which ensured hermeticity and protected it from external influences.

Half a century with a burden

Zara Abutalib from a village located in the vicinity of Casablanca in Morocco, at the age of 26 she already had three children. When the time came for the fourth to be born, the woman was sent to the maternity hospital, where her roommate died during a caesarean section. Zara was also prepared for surgery, but the frightened woman ran home. However, her contractions never started - the fetus seemed to freeze inside.

Zara ABUTALIB saw her unborn child 49 years after conception

The Moroccan woman lived to be 75 when she began to suffer from hellish stomach pains. An ultrasound showed that the long-term pregnancy was ectopic and the fetus still remains in Zara’s body. After an eight-hour operation, the woman was shown the two-kilogram mummy of the baby she had carried in her womb for almost half a century.

A phenomenon in which a fetus that has died in the uterus or abdominal cavity, petrifies, called "lithopedion". Calcification occurs if the unborn baby is too large to be absorbed into the body.

Digital only

The Guanajuato Museum in Mexico displays 111 naturally preserved mummies.

Think about it!

In 1972, near the settlement of Qilakitsoq in Greenland, scientists found the remains of members of an Eskimo family. The mummy of a one-year-old boy who suffered from Down syndrome is kept in the National Museum of the island. Caretakers claim that they often hear children crying, which can last all night.

Johnson's great-grandmother was treated for syphilis

During the restoration of one of the churches in Basel, Switzerland, scientists came across the mummy of a woman. The analysis showed high content in its tissues there is mercury, which was used to treat syphilis until the 19th century. It was because of the mercury that the corpse was preserved in excellent condition.

It turned out that the body belongs to Anna Katharina Bischoff. The lady was born in 1719 and died at 68 years old. But the most interesting thing: Anna Katarina turned out to be a relative of the head of the British Foreign Ministry Boris Johnson. Genetic analysis revealed that on his mother's side, Johnson is Bischoff's seventh-generation great-grandson.

So glad to hear about the late great-mum - a pioneer in the field of sexual health. “Very proud,” the British politician commented on the unexpected relationship.

The development of science is currently extremely dynamic, and these incredible discoveries in 2016 are proof of this.

15. Largest known prime number

14. The ninth planet of the solar system

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology have presented evidence that the ninth planet of the solar system really exists. Calculations have shown that the planet revolves around the Sun at a distance of 20 orbits of Neptune, its mass is 10 times greater than the mass of the Earth. And 1 year on this planet is equal to 17,000 years on Earth!

13. Eternal keeper of information

In February of this year, scientists from the University of Southampton presented the world with an amazing invention. They created an eternal data keeper from nanostructured glass. The device is capable of storing 360 terabytes of data and is not affected by high temperatures (up to 1000 degrees Celsius), and its shelf life is several billion years.

12. Fish that can move on land and climb trees

A fish capable of moving on land, climbing trees and hunting birds has been discovered in Papua New Guinea. This species, despite its innocent appearance, is very aggressive and poses a serious threat to animals on the islands of Boigu and Saibai, Australia. The fish reportedly has a respiratory organ and moves along the ground using its pectoral fins.

11. A brain implant that allows a paralyzed person to control his arm

The implant sends signals directly to the muscles via wires, bypassing the spinal cord. A man can now lift a glass of water and even play a video game. The ingenious invention belongs to scientists from the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York.

10. Successful landing of the first stage of the rocket in the ocean

9. Turning carbon dioxide into stone

At the Hellisheidi plant in Iceland, scientists pumped CO2 into volcanic rocks, speeding up the natural process of turning basalt into carbonates, which then become limestone. This method will help not to aggravate the problem of the greenhouse effect.

8. The scientific name for the pleasant tingling sensation in the back of the head

7. Second Moon

6. Eyeless Wonder Worm

5. Mathematical algorithm of our intelligence

4. Farting fish

Scientists from the UK and Canada have concluded that herring farts! For these fish, farting is a way of communication and a way to maintain the integrity of the school at night.

3. Scientific explanation for entering the astral plane

Many people who have survived comas talk about their astral travels. Scientists from the University of Ottawa became interested in this phenomenon and invited a girl for research who claimed that she could initiate the separation of the soul from the body at will. During the experiment, researchers used an MRI machine to monitor her brain during "astral travel." Parts of the brain involved in sensing physical location and visualizing movement have been found to be activated during such experiences. But this does not mean that the soul leaves the body. This is a type of hallucination triggered by a specific neurological mechanism.

2. Stem cells that can restore damaged spinal cord

A team of scientists led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, was able to use human neural stem cells to successfully repair a damaged spinal cord. Studies conducted on rats have shown that grafted stem cells stimulate neuronal regeneration and partially replace the function of lost neurons.

1. The gene mutation that gave birth to us all

The ACE2 gene is the possible progenitor of all who live on planet Earth. Biologists from Atlanta, Georgia, came to the conclusion that one gene was capable of turning single-celled organisms into multicellular ones. And in the past, it was gene mutation that led to the emergence of complex life forms. Small changes in the DNA sequence had a profound effect on a particular protein, and from its primary role as an enzyme, it became essential for the organization of multicellular structures.