GoKawiilThe breaks risk undermining trust in heat-health research, argues physiologist Harry Brown. Plus, the month’s best science images and get to grips with computer chips.
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Credit: ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute
An invertebrate known as siphonophore swims 552 metres deep in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean — and is one of 31 species discovered during a deep-sea expedition off the coast of Brazil. The researchers explored the ocean’s midwater, an area that stretches from just below the sunlit surface to the sea floor, and forms the largest habitable ecosystem on Earth. With laser-imaging tools, the team captured 3D, millimetre-scale footage of animals in their natural habitat.
See more of the month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.
Nature | Leisurely scroll
Neural activity in the olfactory bulb — the brain area responsible for processing information about smells — follows a steady rhythm that could explain how humans can smell using relatively long sniffs compared to other mammals. Researchers found that a person’s sniff triggered a surge in electrical activity called a theta oscillation, which repeats a few times each second. This neural pattern was only activated when people took a deliberate sniff, which suggests that the intention to smell something is what triggers the surge.
Earth.com | 5 min read
Reference: Science Advances paper
Paint can be full of per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) — widely used, but toxic, ‘forever chemicals’ that don’t degrade naturally. The bad news is that most of the paint used in homes and businesses sticks around for ages, too — first on surfaces, and then in landfills. “So even if PFAS use in paints were reduced or phased out today, substantial future emissions could still occur from the large quantities already present in existing buildings,” notes environmental scientist Patrick Byrne.
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