A grab bag of odd science news.
1. Mathematicians are attempting to count the number of geometric shapes in 3, 4 and 5 dimensions by placing them into a Mendeleev type periodic table and looking for holes in the table where new shapes can be found and clustering which may lead to new pure mathematics methods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table_of_shapes A typical shape.
2. There are three main instances of endangered animals being a major contributor to Chinese medicine. Rhino horn, Pangolin scales, and Bear bile. “Over 12,000 bears live in captivity on bear farms throughout China, South Korea, and Vietnam. These animals are subjected to intense pain for many years as they are exploited for their bile. The demand for bear bile has also led to the hunting of wild bears and an illegal international trade of their parts.”
https://www.animallaw.info/article/detailed-discussion-bears-used-traditional-chinese-medicine
“Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), also known as ursodiol, is a secondary bile acid, produced in humans and most other species from metabolism by intestinal bacteria. It is synthesized in the liver in some species, and was first identified in bile of bears. Only bears produce UDCA at useful amounts. Other vertebrates produce UDCA in much smaller amounts by gut bacteria. UDCA is most commonly produced from cholic acid (CA) derived from bovine bile, a by-product of the beef industry.” “Ursodeoxycholic acid was approved for use in the United States in December 1987,and was designated an orphan drug.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursodeoxycholic_acid
I also note that a glut in bear bile has lead to alternatives such as bear bile tea.
So let’s use beef byproducts to kill the bear farm industry.
3. General Relativity wins again
A spinoff of trajectory calculations of asteroid Bennu has been tighter constraints on a proposed “fifth-force” that alters the effect of gravity. In a nutshell, it provides a tighter constraint on axions as a carrier for dark matter.
4. Bennu sample analysis begins.
There has now been an analysis of the Bennu sample return for material outside the collection capsule. As shown middle right in the image below.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-bennu-asteroid-sample-contains-carbon-water/
scientists performed “quick-look” analyses of that initial material, collecting images from a scanning electron microscope, infrared measurements, X-ray diffraction, and chemical element analysis. X-ray computed tomography was also used to produce a 3D computer model of one of the particles, highlighting its diverse interior. This early glimpse provided the evidence of abundant carbon and water in the sample.