The brightest take on this week’s science

Upon closer inspection, Uranus is hotter than scientists thought – and no, that’s not a joke.

Ever since NASA’s Voyager probe flew by Uranus in 1986, astronomers assumed that the seventh planet from our Sun was a bit of a cold fish.

But perhaps they caught the blue world at a bad time.

Decades of data now suggest the stinky, cold giant is giving off more warmth than we thought.

• By some recent calculations, Uranus is emitting 12.5 percent more heat than it receives from the Sun.

• Most of that heat is left over from planetary formation. So maybe Uranus is super old. Or maybe a collision sapped it of its youthful energy.

Whatever the reason, Uranus is a good reminder that first impressions can be deceiving…

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A few years ago, scientists discovered that plants emit an ultrasonic ‘scream’ of distress when they are cut or dehydrated.

It’s a nightmare realization for all of us bad plant parents. But for the cotton leafworm moth, listening to the distress calls of plants makes them better mothers.

New experiments from Tel Aviv University have shown that if a female moth detects the high-frequency clicks of a dehydrated tomato plant, she will avoid laying her eggs on its foliage.

The findings open up a potential new world of audio interactions between flora and fauna happening behind our backs.

It’s time for scientists to listen up. Our species has been left out of the conversation for too long…

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A) Mussel shell
B) Shale
C) Fish scale
D) Cement

Answer at the bottom.

A dentist in London thinks he has solved a 500-year-old mystery in Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic illustration, the Vitruvian Man.

The perfect proportions of this ‘ideal human body’ depend on a crucial clue, hidden between the man’s spread legs:

An equilateral triangle with a height-to-base ratio of roughly 1.64 to 1.65.

That’s remarkably close to the tetrahedral ratio of 1.633 – a uniquely balanced geometric form, whose principles of optimal spatial organization were not formally established until 1917.

Da Vinci drew the Vitruvian Man in 1490, more than four centuries before.

Talk about a triangle ahead of the curve.

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The Apollo astronauts who first visited the Moon didn’t just take one step for humankind. They took quite a few – and some were not so dignified.

Today, there exists extensive footage of Apollo astronauts tripping over on the Moon as if in slow motion.

At the time, ground control meticulously documented each fumble, stumble, and tumble for pure enjoyment science.

We salute their service.

Don’t let the falls get you down.

Microscope answer: Mussel shell.

Mussel shells are made from nacre, sometimes known as nature's toughest material. The nano-sized ‘bricks’ are held tight with a gluey ‘mortar’, allowing for a strength and lightness that puts many advanced human-made materials to shame.