This week, the bodies of 1,200-year-old mummies uncovered in Peru have been found to have ultrafine line tattoos, China reveals plans to build a giant solar power station in Earth’s orbit, and mid-gestation marsupial embryo development in an artificial uterus has been achieved in an effort to de-extinct the thylacine. Finally, in a guide to studying extinct love lives, we ask: how did dinosaurs have sex?
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For Possibly The First Time Ever, A Meteorite Was Captured Hitting The Ground On Video And Audio
For possibly the first time ever, a meteorite has been captured on video and audio as it struck the Earth, just outside one man’s home. Checking his door camera, Joe Velaidum of Marshfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada, found that there was footage of the moment the debris was deposited in his front garden, and it looked an awful lot like a meteor impact. Read the full story here
Lasers Reveal Ultrafine Line Tattoos On 1,200-Year-Old Mummies In Peru
Delicately detailed tattoos have been discovered etched onto the bodies of 1,200-year-old mummies uncovered in Peru. Although the passing of centuries has faded these once-living artworks, new research is uncovering the remarkable skill and complexity with which they were created. Read the full story here
“Three Gorges Dam In Space”: China Reveals Plans To Build Giant Power Station In Earth’s Orbit
China has revealed plans to build a gigantic power station in space, comparing the project to building Three Gorges Dam 36,000km (22,370 miles) above the Earth. Though we have greatly improved on solar power in the last few decades, there is one ambitious way we could potentially give it a real boost: moving solar panels slightly closer to the Sun. Read the full story here
Celtic Women Ruled Iron Age Britain, 2,000-Year-Old DNA Reveals
When the Romans first entered the British Isles, they found a land ruled by warrior queens and other high-status women – or at least, that’s how Julius Caesar and other witnesses described the situation in this new and strange territory. And while modern historians have tended to distrust these ancient Roman accounts as over-exaggerated and inaccurate, a new analysis of 2,000-year-old DNA suggests that women really were the big dogs in prehistoric Britain. Read the full story here
Thylacine De-Extinction Achieves Mid-Gestation Marsupial Embryo Development In Artificial Uterus
The de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences has reached another big milestone in its mission to make extinction a thing of the past, securing a further $200 million in Series C funding from TWG Global. It brings their total funding to $435 million to date, capital they have used to pioneer a de-extinction toolkit that has already contributed to advancements in species preservation and human healthcare. Read the full story here
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Feature of the week:
How Did Dinosaurs Have Sex? A Guide To Studying Extinct Love Lives
Researchers are forever finding and naming new-to-science species of dinosaurs, but it feels like we don’t speak as much about where new dinosaurs came from in the most literal sense. That is, when two dinosaurs wanted to make baby dinosaurs, how did they do it? Read the full story here
More content:
Have you seen our e-magazine, CURIOUS? Issue 30 January 2025 is available now. This month we asked, “Why Do Humans Love Watching Fire?” – check it out for exclusive interviews, book excerpts, long reads, and more.
PLUS, the We Have Questions podcast – an audio version of our coveted CURIOUS e-magazine column – continues. In episode 4, we ask “What Attacks You In The Most Remote Place On Earth?”
Season 4 of IFLScience’s The Big Questions podcast has concluded. To revisit all of season four’s episodes, click here.
