In our top science stories this week: Writer Ed Cara looks back at the terrifying prion disease known as Mad Cow; researchers discover seamounts taller than the Burj Khalifa; and the journal that published a horrifying diagram of ‘rat dck’ explains what went wrong. —Rose Pastore
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In September 2022, a NASA spacecraft smashed into a tiny asteroid to nudge it off its orbital course. The mission was a success in testing an asteroid deflection method that may come in handy one day, but rather than leaving behind an impact crater, the orbital collision changed the shape of the target asteroid altogether, revealing its fungible composition. - Passant Rabie Read More
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The crew of the Falkor (too) research vessel is at it again: In January, the team discovered four underwater mountains off the coast of Chile. The vessel has now identified 29 seamounts, hills, and trenches since 2012. - Isaac Schultz Read More
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has closed its investigation into the second Starship test flight, which SpaceX performed on November 18, 2023. With the inquiry concluded, SpaceX is now on track to advance its program, pending the necessary fixes. - George Dvorsky Read More
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One of the most existentially frightening illnesses ever to be discovered was mad cow disease, a fatal prion-spread illness that appeared in animals in the 1980s and killed over 200 people during the height of the outbreak in the late 1990s. You don’t hear much about mad cow today, but the threat still looms. Here’s what happened to this nightmare germ. - Ed Cara Read More
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Don’t worry—the rat dck can no longer hurt you. The open-access paper that contained bizarre, AI-generated imagery of rat genitalia and gibberish graphics has been retracted by its publisher, which said that the study authors violated the journal’s guidelines. - Isaac Schultz Read More
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NASA is monitoring a leak on the Russian module of the International Space Station (ISS), from which air has been escaping at an increasing rate for nearly four years. The space agency acknowledged that the leak is growing, while claiming it poses no threat to the astronauts on board. - Passant Rabie Read More
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A lifetime of snacking and frozen food dinners may affect your body in lots of surprising ways, new research suggests. The study, a large-scale review of the existing evidence, found an association between regularly eating ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of many health problems. It also found that these foods were associated with an early death. - Ed Cara Read More
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In a tense moment for space safety, two satellites—NASA’s TIMED spacecraft and the defunct Russian Cosmos 2221—came alarmingly close to smashing into each other above Earth, prompting concerns about the risks of space debris. - George Dvorsky Read More
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The SLIM lunar lander unexpectedly sprung back to life after hibernating during the freezing lunar night, sending a signal back to Earth more than a month after ending up face down on the Moon. - Passant Rabie Read More
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Renowned puzzler Peter Winkler invented the addictive word game, HIPE, with some friends when they were juniors in high school. While it may not have become the overnight success of Wordle, the game did earn Winkler admission to Harvard. According to his book, Mathematical Mind-Benders, he wrote a college admission essay about how his verbal diversion sparked a local craze. Four years later, as a Harvard senior, Winkler overheard an admissions committee member quizzing a colleague with HIPEs—and even calling them HIPEs, a name the teen inventors had coined. - Jack Murtagh Read More
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Source: Gizmodo