The brightest take on this week’s science
A highly anticipated clinical trial has started this week.
A patient is becoming the first person in the world to receive a radical therapy to reverse signs of aging in the cells of the eye.
But some scientists are concerned.
Read on below to find out why…
Also in this issue:
🐕 A scorpion the size of a dog
🤯 The mind-blowing number of humans who have ever existed
🔬 A microscope mystery
To the science!
LOOK IN
First Patient Receives Radical Therapy to Make Cells Young Again
(Siarhei_Fetisenkov/Creatas Video+/Getty Images Plus)
An eagerly awaited and controversial clinical trial on a radical longevity therapy has officially started.
This week, the first patient in the world began a novel treatment to 'wind back the clock' on aging cells in their eye.
The hope is that the therapy will turn damaged nerves in the eye into a more ‘youthful’ version, potentially restoring vision.
But not all scientists are convinced that the medicine is ready for clinical trials.
Tinkering with gene expression is a risky endeavor, and a lot can go wrong.
Scientists will be watching this trial with great interest...
HEADLINES
This Week in Science
LOOK OUT
A Scorpion The Size of a Dog
An artist's impression of Praearcturus gigas. (Franz Anthony)
A scorpion of unusual size scuttled through Earth’s floodplains more than 400 million years ago.
An extensive fossil study sheds new light on this remarkable species.
At more than a meter in length (3.3 feet), the creature was likely the largest known scorpion in our planet’s history.
Fossils were first discovered in 1870 in the United Kingdom. But not everyone thought the bones belonged to a scorpion.
Now, it seems clearer than ever that they were. The pincers alone could grow up to 16 centimeters (6.3 inches) in length.
That’s longer than some of its scorpion relatives living today.
ZOOM ZONE
Microscope Mystery: What Do You See?
(Connect Images/Gregory S. Paulson/Getty Images)
A) Flower petal
B) Bee wing
C) Velcro
D) Caterpillar hair
Answer at the bottom.
LOOK DOWN
The Biggest Reason Sea Level Rise is Accelerating
(Evgen Prozhyrko/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
The rate of sea-level rise is accelerating, but the main cause may not be what you think.
It’s not melting glaciers or even shrinking ice sheets.
A new study suggests it is the steady expansion of our warming ocean waters.
The phenomenon is called thermal expansion, and it means that in the coming decades, the same amount of seawater will come to occupy more volume.
As climate change worsens, the waves lapping at Earth’s shores will begin to creep upwards because of this process.
It’s a key factor that, until now, some of our climate models haven't fully grasped…
WOW FACTOR
Science Fact of The Week
(Gif by primevideo on Giphy)
Have you ever wondered how many humans have ever existed on Earth?
You wouldn’t be alone. Mathematicians have spent a great deal of time pondering this question.
Today, the best guess is that more than 140 billion people have been born.
DOPAMINE HIT
Before You Go…
Flap away!
(Giphy)
Microscope answer: Bee wing
The wings of bees are laced with tiny ‘hooks’ called hamuli. Like ’nature’s Velcro’, these loops hook together to hold the front and hind wings close during flight.
That’s all for today… see you next week!
- Carly
