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Showing posts from July, 2022

Five planets line up 'like string of pearls'

Watch:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhYawpOQAgY Five major planets in our solar system lined up in a row over the weekend in a celestial event called a conjunction. In many parts of the world, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn could be seen with the naked eye (without the need for a telescope). The rare planetary conjunction was visible in clear skies before dawn. The AccuWeather website said the best time to view this event was about an hour before sunrise. Astronomer Professor Lucie Green described the event as being, "like a string of pearls spread out from close to the horizon". Professor Green was particularly happy at seeing Mercury, which is usually hard to spot. She said: "It is very satisfying [to] see this faint twinkling planet." AccuWeather said a conjunction in this order would not be visible from Earth again for another 20 years. The next time it will happen will be August 2040. It said this planetary event was special because the planet...

Octopuses and humans share intelligence gene

Watch:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xV3z7fjgRA It is common knowledge that sea creatures like dolphins have a high level of intelligence. Scientists have now discovered that octopuses also have "remarkable" intelligence. A team of Italian marine biologists have revealed that octopi have a gene that also determines the intelligence of humans. The eight-tentacled sea creature has short sequences of DNA called "jumping genes". These same genes make up 45 per cent of the human genome. The researchers said the DNA sequences are important for learning and for creating and storing memories in the brain. The scientists say the DNA may give octopuses cognitive abilities that are similar to those humans have. The scientists say their research findings are important as they give an insight into how octopuses amend their behaviour in response to different stimuli. Scientists describe this process as "behavioural plasticity". Biologist Graziano Fiorito suggest...