June and July 2021 Highlights in Science

Scientists do some awesome things. What new things did we learn in June and July 2021? That don’t have to do with COVID?

(Expect the next chapter in How to Read Science Research sometime next week - I wanted to take a break to talk about cool stuff going on in the science world.)

Unidentified Space Stuff - Scientists have identified some rocks floating around in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that don’t like like everything else around them. They may have come from somewhere past Neptune. This is exciting because the Solar System is pretty stable and there’s not a lot of unpredictable movement, these rocks may have ended up there during the unstable and unpredictable early development of the Solar System. By studying these rocks some more, scientists may be able to learn more about how our Solar System formed.

New Policy for Trans Scientists - Many major science organizations announced they are working together to create a simplified process for scientists who have changed their names to attach their new names to old papers and articles. The list of organizations includes 17 national laboratories and 13 publishing organizations, including the American Chemical Society, Springer Nature, and Wiley (if you’ve ever searched through science journals, those names probably sound familiar).

Very, Very Old Sponge - Scientists may have found a fossil of a sponge (technically part of the animal kingdom) that is 350 million years older than any other animal fossils. Scientists are debating whether this photograph of marks in a thin slice of rock are fossils of sponges or something else. Other animal fossils from that era may not exist because animals didn’t exist in conditions that allow for fossils to survive until today, or because the animals didn’t exist at all that long ago. This new discovery could change scientists’ understanding of when and how animals originally evolved.

Weightlifting Also Targets Fat Cells - A recent study on both mice and humans found that resistance training (such as weightlifting) not only helps muscle cells grow stronger, but also sends messages to fat cells in the form of miRNA, or microRNA. This miRNA appears to encourage the fat cells to speed up some of the cell processes to breakdown more fat to use as energy, leading to the shrinking of fat stores.

What new science discoveries have you read about? Comment below or email me at robin@stemsmartconsulting.com.