Here Are The Most Mind-Blowing Science Facts We’ve Learnt in 2018 So Far

The world is an incredible place

more…

Tau.Neutrino said:

Here Are The Most Mind-Blowing Science Facts We’ve Learnt in 2018 So Far

The world is an incredible place

more…

> 4. It’s official – birds of prey in Australia deliberately start dangerous forest fires. This is something that’s long been observed by Indigenous populations, but only confirmed by science in January this year.

The phoenix.

There was a story on TV a while ago about birds (rooks) using lit cigarette butts to fumigate their nests. They filmed the birds doing this. The comment was that this could lead to fires, hence seeing the bird nesting in your barn was considered an ill omen.

Here’s a news article from 2007 about rooks. https://cfrankdavis.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/birds-line-nests-with-cigarette-butts/

“Birds are picking up discarded cigarette butts and using the smoke to fumigate their wings of parasites. Rooks have been spotted swooping on to the tracks at Exeter St David’s railway station in Devon and placing their wings over the smoke to collect the fumes underneath. Commuter Jeff Jones, of Budleigh Salterton, said: “I noticed the rooks because they are not usually found in towns. They were generally flapping about when a chap flicked a cigarette butt on to the track. It was still all right and one of the rooks swooped down and picked up the butt with its beak. It then flew around and landed on the platform, dancing around with this smoking cigarette in its beak. It looked quite comical. But then it dropped the butt on the platform and pulled its wings over it, collecting the smoke. It seemed as if it were using the smoke to rid itself of perhaps ants or something similar.”

Here’s a news article from 2016 about some other species. http://thatslifesci.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/2016-08-08-Nicotine-Dreams-Baby-Birds-Protected-by-Cigarettes-KStraley/

“A study by Suárez-Rodríguez and colleagues from the National Autonomous University of Mexico investigated the use of cigarettes in bird nests and how the presence of cigarettes decreased parasites. Two bird species, the house sparrow and the house finch, have been observed using cigarettes in their nests, discarded butts to protect their chicks from harmful mites. Nests with more cigarette fibers had fewer ectoparasites.”

> 6. There’s a weird anomaly underneath Africa that’s dramatically weakening Earth’s magnetic field. In case you think we’re exaggerating, the effect is so pronounced, it’s now hazardous for Earth’s satellites to enter it – the magnetic field is so weak in the area it can’t guarantee protection for electronics from damaging space radiation. More worryingly, this could be an early sign that Earth’s magnetic poles are getting set to flip.

Yes. Better known as the South Atlantic Anomaly. It’s mostly over South America but extends across to Africa.

It’s been known since 1960.

“Anomalously high counting rates are observed for the total cosmic radiation at satellite altitudes, in Aug., 1960. The counting system accepts electrons over 8 Mev, protons over 60 Mev, and all other particles having comparable ionizing power. The counting rates at all latitudes are slightly higher than can be expected from cosmic radiation alone. In two regions above the South Atlantic Ocean and one region above northern Russia, however, anomalously high rates as high as 70 times the normal counting rate are recorded. These regions appear to be fairly stationary.”

In a scientific study from years 1900 to 2000, published in 2007, no strengthening was observed. Instead, there were peaks in 1965 and 1985.

Oops, 1955 and 1985.