MI weekly selection #194
Canyons on Titan carved by rivers of methane
Canyons on Saturn’s moon Titan were carved by rivers of methane in much the same way that water carved the Grand Canyon on Earth. Scientists examined radar images taken by the Cassini space probe and say that some liquid hydrocarbons may still exist in Titan’s canyons.
Habitable climate may have once existed on Venus
Venus may have once been habitable early in its history. Scientists say there was once an ocean on Venus that evaporated because of the planet’s close proximity to the sun, causing a greenhouse gas effect that resulted in extreme heat.
Skeleton found at ancient altar may be from sacrifice to Zeus
A skeleton found buried at an ancient altar in Greece may have been from a human sacrifice to the Greek god Zeus. Researchers say the 3,000-year-old skeleton likely belonged to a male teenager. Archaeologists can’t say for sure if the teen was sacrificed, but they noted that the site is not where individuals would have been buried and that ancient texts suggest human sacrifices were once conducted at the altar.
Various brain areas react differently to lack of sleep
Some areas of the brain are more impaired than others by lack of sleep Scientists studied 33 people who were kept awake for 42 hours and found that activity in some brain areas would increase and decrease along with circadian rhythms, while activity in other areas would continue to decrease the longer the person was awake.
Greenland shark believed to have lived for 400 years
A female Greenland shark may be the oldest vertebrate, estimated to have lived about 400 years, according to radiocarbon dating. Researchers studied 28 of the slow-moving sharks, which don’t reach sexual maturity until they are about 150 years old, by dating special material in the creatures’ eye lenses, according to findings published in Science.