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It ’s the first week of 2024 , and this workweek in science word has uncovered some glorious ancient artifacts , reignited aT. rexcontroversy and answer an age - one-time question — why is pee lily-livered ?
1,500-year-old gold buckles discovered in Kazakhstan
Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered two golden smash buckles in a 1,500 - yr - honest-to-goodness grave that feature theearliest know depictions of the great khan , or " khagan , " of the Göktürks — a nomadic confederation of Turkic - verbalize peoples who engross the neighborhood for around three century .
The lavish gold plaques portray " the crowned sovereign , majestically sitting on a commode in a saintly pose and surround by servants,“Zainolla Samashev , an archaeologist at Kazakhstan ’s Institute of Archaeology who led the dig , told Live Science in an email . " This clearly portray the hallowed nature of power in ancient Turkic society . "
Related news this week : Medieval bang buckle of ' dragon ' eating frog may be from unknown pagan cult
Some of the details on the best-preserved plaque have melted, but it shows a Göktürk khagan seated on a throne that represents two horses, flanked by kneeling servants.
Parasitic worms get pulled from man’s abdomen
When a man inChinawent to the hospital for routine surgical procedure , his doctors found something very unusual : live worms squirming inside his abdomen .
Using a small camera inserted into the abdomen of the 70 - year - old — who was due to undergo surgery to remove a neoplasm to care for colon Crab — doctors discovered five large , brownish parasitic worms in his biliary tract , the organs and tubes that acquire , shop and secrete bile — a yellowy - gullible fluid that aid productive digestion .
The Dr. extracted the critters and identified them asClonorchis sinensis , more commonly known as the Chinese or oriental liver fluke .
Doctors discovered five liver flukes in the man’s biliary tract, pictured above.
Controversial study in Nanotyrannus vs. T. rex saga
In the latest episode of a long - standing public debate over the identity of a Seth of dinosaur dodo , a controversial new work has found that the dino bones go not to a youngTyrannosaurus rexbut to a separate metal money : Nanotyrannus lancensis .
In the decades since the first skull was discover in Montana in 1942,paleontologists have gone back and forthon whether the skull andlater fogey discoveriesbelong to a distinct species or to juvenileT. rexes .
The writer of the new study title to have snuffed out the babyT. rexhypothesis once and for all — although other experts are n’t convinced .
An adult Nanotyrannus lancensis attacking a young Tyrannosaurus rex.
Life ’s Little Mysteries : Why was the name ' Brontosaurus ' work back from the deadened ?
Monstrous X5 solar flare launched on New Year’s Eve
Even the sunshine is not above launching a few New Year ’s Eve fireworks , it seems . In the final hours of Dec. 31 , 2023 , artificial satellite near Earth detected agargantuan X5 - class solar flare pass erupting from our sensation — cease the yr with the single most powerful solar plosion since 2017 .
grant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) , the flair was accompanied by a gargantuan blob of mellow - velocity solar mote bang as acoronal sight ejection(CME ) .
alive Science longsighted read : Solar maximum could hit us hard and rather than we thought . How dangerous will the sun ’s disorderly summit be ?
A powerful X5 solar flare event.
Finally, we know why pee is yellow
We ’re told to watch out for color changes in our pee , as the passing of its normal , yellowish hue could be a signaling of a aesculapian trouble — but what actually makes urine yellow in the first spot ?
Turns out , scientists did n’t cognise the exact answer to this question until lately . Now , researchers have detect that pee ’s golden color iscaused by an enzyme call bilirubin reductase , which is produce by bacteria in the gut .
Picture of the week
A deep - sea squid has been film glide through inky-black water withthousands of egg suspend from its arms .
Researchers spotted the pitch-black - eyed squid ( Gonatus onyx ) — one of the few squids known to grizzle their ballock — off the coast of Costa Rica in December . magnetize footage shows the calamari track its cargo of eggs like a long robe and flapping the fin jut out from its head to move through the H2O .
" The large ball mass is suspended from hook on the squid ’s arms , and while carrying it for several months , the cephalopodan will go without feeding , " representatives of the Schmidt Ocean Institute , which organized the military expedition , write in a Emily Price Post onInstagram .
Scientists discovered that urine is yellow due to the action of a specific enzyme made in the gut.
Sunday reading
What’s in store for 2024?
With 2023 stretching further into the distance , now is the meter to look forwards at what the world of science has in store for us in 2024 .
trope capture a starving Leo the Lion , fighting bison and cavity of viper honored in environmental picture taking awards
Hoatzin : The unknown ' stinkbird ' born with taloned wings that looks like an evolutionary ' orphan '
Researchers aboard a Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition spotted a black-eyed squid (Gonatus onyx) carrying thousands of eggs.
Was it a stone tool or just a rock ? An archaeologist explicate how scientists can tell the difference
2023 was a breakout year for artificial intelligence, but what does 2024 have in store?