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This week , Earth witnessed a stunning spectacle not seen since 2022 — a total lunar occultation . This celestial game of skin - and - search plow skywatchers to the spectacular sight of our neighbor turning a beautiful tad of red , in what is commonly called a " origin moon . "
This unusual coloring happens during a total lunar eclipse due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering , which get some wavelengths of light to break up more than others . During a full lunar occultation , Earth perfectly blocks the sunshine ’s rays , but light bends around the bound of our major planet , through the atmosphere . There , particles in the standard pressure scatter the shorter - wavelength blue light , leaving the longer orange and red wavelength to overlay the moon in their typical hue .
Science news this week includes a blood moon and a “pregnany” mummy.
If you miss the breathless pile , you may have another fortune to see a total lunar eclipse this year , on Sept. 7 - 8 . However , the serious view will be in Asia , with North America largely untouched . Until then , bask these lovelyblood moonshine photos from this week , or attempt ourmoon quizto see how well you have it away our lunar neighbour .
A ‘pregnant’ mummy with ‘cancer’
‘Pregnant’ ancient Egyptian mummy with ‘cancer’ actually wasn’t pregnant and didn’t have cancer, new study finds
In 2021 , researchers revisited a first - century - B.C. mummy that had been discover in the Egyptian city of Luxor ( ancient Thebes ) and move to the University of Warsaw in 1826 . The squad of experts concluded that , contrary to former feeling , the mummy was n’t a manlike non-Christian priest but a woman in her twenty . Not only that , but she was 6.5 to 7.5 month pregnant and was experiencing a potentially fatal nasopharyngeal Crab in her skull — or so they retrieve .
At the time , other experts disagreed about what cristal - ray and CT CAT scan revealed within the abdomen of the mummy , dubbed the " Mysterious Lady . " or else , they suggested it contained embalming camp . Now , an depth psychology of more than 1,300 new CT scans of the mummy has add together further livelihood for this view .
The researcher behind the new study found that the physical object the earlier research squad thought was a " pickled " fetus was actually part of the embalming process and that there was no clear evidence of cancer in the mummy . Instead , the equipment casualty to the skull in all probability came when the brain was removed during the embalm cognitive operation , in which a curved metal implement was used topull the brain through the nostrils .
The “Mysterious Lady” mummy viewed in a mixed-reality system reveals different aspects of the inside of her body.
Discover more archaeology word
— 2,200 - year - honest-to-goodness tomb in China carry ' Red Princess of the Silk Road ' whose teeth were painted with a toxic substance
— 15th - hundred gold and silver gray coin discovered by amateur alloy detectorists in Scotland
— favorite cat arrived in China via the Silk Road 1,400 years ago , ancient DNA written report finds
Pi day
How do we know pi is an irrational number?
Originally defined as the proportion between the perimeter of a circle and its diameter , pi — written as the Grecian letter π — appears throughout mathematics , include in areas that are all unconnected to circles , such as chemistry , physical science and medicine .
Pi belongs to a huge numerical group call irrational numbers , which go on forever and can not be indite as fractions . scientist have calculated sherlock to 105 trillion digit , although most of us are more familiar with the approximation 3.14 . Buthow do we know that pi is an irrational telephone number ?
— Pi Day quiz : How much do you know about this irrational number ?
How metformin works
We may finally understand how metformin lowers blood sugar, animal study finds
Metformin , a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes , has been dictate by physician since the 1990s . Despite its efficacy , there has been one mess about puzzle : How does it work ?
Now , a fresh study takes us one step nigher to understand the key mechanism in how metformin lour rip cabbage . The drug triggers the body to expel glucose from the bloodstream and into the gut . There , bacteria feed on saccharide to make compounds that help to curb line of descent bread stage .
observe glucose out of circulation by directing it to the gut might directly lower blood lucre stage , but scientists order Live Science they think this explainsonly part of metformin"s curative effects .
chance upon more wellness news
— Epigenetic ' scrape ' on the genome can be passed down by gran , subject area finds
— What are POLG disease , the rare genetic term that starve cell of vim and afflicted the late Prince of Luxembourg ?
— East Asians who can digest milk sugar can thank Neanderthal factor
Also in science news this week
— ' Winter is far from over ' : Polar vortex policy change could bring springtime snow to US
— 52 - foot - high ' megaripples ' from asteroid that kill the dinosaurs mapped deep beneath Louisiana in 3D
— scientist fleck water molecules flip over before they split , and it could help them create trashy hydrogen fuel
— 340 million - year - old ' nail tooth ' shark found abstruse inside Mammoth Cave in Kentucky
SPHEREx launch
Liftoff! NASA launches SPHEREx telescope — an infrared observatory that will help JWST solve the mysteries of the universe
This week , NASAlaunched the SPHEREx scope into area . The new infrared outer space telescope is fructify to rival theJames Webb Space Telescopein its unprecedented thought of our universe .
Once SPHEREx is fully online , the space telescope will scan the entire night sky four meter , using 102 infrared color sensors , enabling it to gather up data point from more than 450 million galaxies during its planned two - year mission . This dataset will give scientists central perceptivity into some of the biggest questions in cosmology , such as how galaxies take shape and evolve over clip , where water originated and how our universe come to be .
Something for the weekend
If you ’re looking for something a minuscule longer to scan over the weekend , here are some of the best long reads , book excerpt and interview published this calendar week .
— ' It is a dangerous scheme , and one for which we all may pay dearly ' : Dismantling USAID forget the US more exposed to pandemics than ever(Opinion )
— dinosaur : fact about the reptiles that roamed Earth more than 66 million years ago(Fact Indian file )
— ' A political division , not a physical one , square up who got measles and who did n’t ' : lesson from Texarkana ’s 1970 outbreak(Book extract )
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