IFLScience - Break It Down

Shingray Update, Seahenge, And The Longesssst Rock Art

This week on Break It Down, Charlotte the stingray is back and it’s not good news, a zig-zagging snake stretching over 40 meters might be the world’s longest rock art, the irony of offering endangered orangutans as a form of diplomatic gift, the mysterious aurora STEVE gets a long-lost twin, why Seahenge was built, and how the iconic “March of Progress” evolution image is actually all wrong.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Stingray: https://www.iflscience.com/aquarium-solves-mystery-after-stingray-alone-in-tank-of-sharks-appeared-pregnant-74480

Parthenogenesis: https://youtu.be/W31JiNsN3mg

Snake rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/2000-year-old-snake-engraving-is-among-the-worlds-largest-rock-art-74508

Orangutan diplomacy: https://www.iflscience.com/orangutan-diplomacy-malaysias-new-plan-to-give-endangered-primates-to-palm-oil-partners-74547

STEVE’s twin: https://www.iflscience.com/steve-the-aurora-like-phenomenons-morning-twin-has-been-spotted-in-a-photograph-74538

Seahenge: https://www.iflscience.com/forget-stonehenge-why-was-seahenge-built-over-4000-years-ago-74465

March of Progress: https://www.iflscience.com/the-famous-march-of-progress-image-is-wildly-wrong-74557

Claude the koala: https://www.iflscience.com/claude-the-koala-has-gone-on-another-heist-this-time-he-brought-a-crew-74510

Dinosaur discovery: https://www.iflscience.com/rare-teen-t-rex-fossil-discovered-by-three-kids-hiking-in-north-dakota-74530

Colossal Squid, A Titanic Trip, And Debunking Star Signs

This week on Break It Down, a mystery sighting in the deep ocean could be the first-ever footage of a colossal squid baby, orca attacks are more mischief than vengeance, astrology is debunked yet again, a second billionaire plans a trip to the Titanic, the world's largest genome comes in a surprisingly small package, and we explore the differences between human and chimp DNA. 

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Mystery Squid: https://www.iflscience.com/mystery-glass-squid-in-antarctica-could-be-first-ever-colossal-squid-baby-filmed-74424

Orca attacks: https://www.iflscience.com/the-puzzling-rise-in-orca-attacks-on-boats-has-been-explained-by-whale-scientists-74395

Astrology: https://www.iflscience.com/your-star-sign-has-no-impact-on-your-well-being-debunking-yet-another-astrology-claim-74448

Billionaire Titanic Trip: https://www.iflscience.com/billionaire-aims-for-new-sub-trip-to-titanic-wreck-one-year-after-oceangate-disaster-74429

World’s Largest Genome: https://www.iflscience.com/tiny-fern-breaks-the-world-record-for-the-largest-genome-of-any-organism-74447

Chimp and Human DNA: https://www.iflscience.com/human-and-chimp-dna-is-988-percent-identical-so-how-are-we-so-different-74406

Virtual Event: https://ifls.online/3y4rMoS

Instagram Videos:  https://www.instagram.com/iflscience

Sexy Neanderthals, Head Transplants, And Dark Extinction

This week on Break It Down, we now know when humans and Neanderthals hooked up, could a human head transplant ever be realistic, a dino fossil skin preserved like glass has both scales and feathers, sometimes stars completely vanish, a skull from China tells us more about the Dragon Man, and we delve into the concept of dark extinctions.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Humans and Neanderthals: https://www.iflscience.com/we-now-know-exactly-when-humans-and-neanderthals-hooked-up-74337

Human head transplants:https://www.iflscience.com/hair-raising-human-head-transplant-machine-concept-unveiled-by-startup-but-is-it-realistic-74332

Dino skin fossil: https://www.iflscience.com/hidden-gem-fossil-of-dinosaur-skin-preserved-like-glass-reveals-it-had-scales-and-feathers-74317

Vanishing stars: https://www.iflscience.com/hundreds-of-stars-have-vanished-without-a-trace-a-new-study-could-explain-why-74343

Dragon Man lineage: https://www.iflscience.com/mysterious-1-million-year-old-skull-from-china-may-belong-to-dragon-man-lineage-74301

Dark extinctions: https://www.iflscience.com/how-dark-extinctions-are-silently-erasing-life-on-earth-74316

Euclid images: https://www.iflscience.com/dark-matter-hunting-euclid-releases-incredible-new-images-sparkling-with-stars-and-galaxies-74331

Heart symbol video: https://youtu.be/tmIj7cohdCQ

Hot Dinosaurs, Alien Megastructures, And Reaching Point Nemo

This week on Break It Down, COVID’s new FLiRT variants, when and which dinosaurs went warm-blooded, could a lost river explain the pyramids, the search for alien megastructures, the shrinking Y chromosome, and what’s it like sailing to Point Nemo? Really hard, apparently.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

FLiRT: https://www.iflscience.com/whats-going-on-with-the-new-covid-flirt-variants-74245

Hot dinosaurs: https://www.iflscience.com/the-first-warm-blooded-dinosaurs-probably-evolved-180-million-years-ago-74237

Lost river: https://www.iflscience.com/this-lost-river-could-explain-how-the-pyramids-were-built-74246

Alien megastructures: https://www.iflscience.com/two-new-searches-find-60-potential-alien-megastructures-in-our-galaxy-74222

Shrinking Y chromosome: https://www.iflscience.com/whats-happening-with-the-y-chromosome-74217

Point Nemo: https://www.iflscience.com/point-nemo-what-its-like-sailing-to-the-most-remote-place-on-earth-74242

Point Nemo video: https://youtu.be/POApwucft2c?si=9SfKuJg9OqX17JQw

CURIOUS Live register: https://ifls.online/3y4rMoS

CURIOUS, May issue: https://curious.iflscience.com/issue-22/full-view.html

Poles of Inaccessibility: https://inaccessibility.net/

Fox in a sink-hole: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-fox-cub-rescued-after-getting-head-stuck-in-a-sink-drain-74238

Talking Whales, Dinosauroids, and Psychedelic Milk Toads?

This week in Break It Down, scientists discover the “sperm whale phonetic alphabet”, AstraZeneca pull their COVID vaccine from the shelves, why a weak magnetic field might be a good thing for life on Earth, rock art reveals that the Sahara looked a little different 4,000 years ago, toads might be helping treat depression, and what on Earth is a dinosauroid?!

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Whale alphabet: https://www.iflscience.com/sperm-whale-phonetic-alphabet-surprisingly-similar-in-structure-to-human-language-74097

[Whale Audio Credit: Project CETI]

AstraZeneca pull their COVID vaccine: https://www.iflscience.com/why-has-astrazeneca-taken-its-covid-19-vaccine-off-the-market-74136

Magnetic fields and complex life: https://www.iflscience.com/earths-magnetic-fields-near-collapse-590-million-years-ago-may-have-helped-complex-life-74049

Rock art: https://www.iflscience.com/rock-art-shows-the-sahara-was-a-radically-different-place-4000-years-ago-74114

Toads as antidepressants: https://www.iflscience.com/could-this-toads-psychedelic-venom-be-the-next-big-thing-in-antidepressants-74122

Dinosauroids: https://www.iflscience.com/if-dinosaurs-werent-extinct-would-the-dinosauroid-walk-among-us-74131

Virtual event: https://ifls.online/3y4rMoS

What is “virgin birth”: https://youtu.be/W31JiNsN3mg

Alpaca Sex, Brainy T. Rex, And Could Earth Have Rings?

This week in Break It Down, the debate on T. rex intelligence rages on, a world-first video shows an orangutan applying leaves as medicine, the most complete Neanderthal gets a face, why alpaca sex is so weird that no other mammal does it like them (that we know of), the mystery of a giant hole in Antarctic ice solved, and could Earth ever get its own rings?

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Brainy T. rex: https://www.iflscience.com/t-rex-was-a-smart-giant-crocodile-not-a-massive-brainy-baboon-73991

Dr Orangutan: https://www.iflscience.com/orangutan-seen-treating-a-wound-with-a-medicinal-plant-in-world-first-observation-74034

Neanderthal face: https://www.iflscience.com/best-preserved-neanderthal-skeleton-in-over-25-years-found-in-flower-funeral-cave-74024

Alpaca sex: https://www.iflscience.com/alpaca-sex-is-so-weird-its-never-been-seen-in-another-mammal-73994

Antarctic ice hole: https://www.iflscience.com/eight-years-ago-a-huge-opening-appeared-in-antarctic-sea-ice-now-we-know-why-74029

Earth’s rings: https://www.iflscience.com/what-would-the-earth-be-like-with-rings-74015

Register for CURIOUS Live: https://webapp.spotme.com/login/eventspace/c-u-r-i-o-u-s-live-may-2024?utm_source=iflscience-podcast-shownotes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=curious-live-may-2024

Megaliths: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9GauXgPanI

Shamrock the green puppy: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6eYbE6JGaO/

Gassy Uranus, Giant Megaraptors, And The Pharaoh's Curse

This week in Break It Down, we explore why Uranus might contain more methane than we thought, just what is happening to bacteria on the ISS, quite how long animals have been making their own light for, why carvings on a bear bone are culturally important, giant megaraptor footprints in China, and whether anything spooky might happen if you dare to enter the Pharaoh's tomb.

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Methane on Uranus: https://www.iflscience.com/uranus-may-be-filled-with-a-lot-more-methane-than-we-thought-73921

Space bacteria: https://www.iflscience.com/bacteria-on-the-iss-have-mutated-into-something-not-seen-on-earth-before-73932

Glowing animals: https://www.iflscience.com/bioluminescent-animals-have-been-glowing-for-at-least-540-million-years-73948

Bear bone culture: https://www.iflscience.com/engraved-bone-of-prehistoric-bear-is-the-oldest-example-of-neanderthal-culture-73884

Megaraptor:  https://www.iflscience.com/meet-a-megaraptor-new-dinosaur-footprints-reveal-raptors-grew-scarily-big-73951

The Pharaoh's Curse:  https://www.iflscience.com/the-pharaohs-curse-does-opening-a-tomb-really-lead-to-an-untimely-death-73959

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Why is the Dead Sea so salty? https://youtu.be/MYE1d_3-ZB8

Tiny Titanosaurs, Giant Snakes, And Transatlantic Heart Transplants

This week in Break It Down, a new species of tiny titanosaur is compared to a cow, a 47-million-year-old snake becomes the largest ever, an RNA breakthrough brings us closer to "universal vaccines", a heart flies 7,000 kilometers to its recipient, we question Stonehenge's relationship to the Moon, and why the philosophy of science matters in the modern day.

Sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down...

Links:

Tiny titanosaur: https://www.iflscience.com/anyone-for-a-mini-titanosaur-new-species-is-one-of-the-smallest-ever-found-73817

Giant snake: https://www.iflscience.com/new-species-may-be-the-largest-snake-to-have-ever-lived-73871

Vaccine breakthrough: https://www.iflscience.com/vaccine-breakthrough-could-mean-future-proof-shots-with-no-need-for-boosters-73825

Stonehenge and the Moon: https://www.iflscience.com/stonehenge-may-be-aligned-to-this-rare-lunar-event-73831

Transatlantic heart: https://www.iflscience.com/world-first-as-donor-heart-travels-nearly-7000-kilometers-across-atlantic-for-successful-transplant-73827

Philosophy of science: https://www.iflscience.com/why-the-philosophy-of-science-matters-73821

The largest marine reptile: https://www.iflscience.com/202-million-year-old-ichthyosaur-may-be-the-worlds-largest-marine-reptile-73855

Avocado testicles: https://www.iflscience.com/does-the-word-avocado-have-a-double-meaning-73854