ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 526

How We Can Save Global Fish Stocks

Environment





Photo credit:

A shoal of tuna. Rich Carey/Shutterstock

Our ocean’s fisheries are in a bleak state. Despite 3 billion people relying on seafood as a key source of protein, around 85 percent of global fish stocks are over-exploited. But an increasing number of mouths to feed isn't even half of the story.

Incredible New Image Shows Two Galaxy Clusters Colliding

Space





Photo credit:

NASA, ESA, CXC, NRAO/AUI/NSF, STScI, and G. Ogrean (Stanford University), Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz (STScI), and the HFF team

This kaleidoscopic image of twinkling stars and cosmic hazes shows the site of a colossal collision of two galaxy clusters, coming together to form a single entity known as MACS J0416.1-2403.

Galaxy clusters can be made up of thousands of galaxies, along with hot gas and dark matter, bound together by gravity. Under the right circumstances, these clusters can collide and clump together, creating a larger galaxy cluster.

How Do Our Big Noses Compare To The Flatter Ones Of Other Primates?

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

Air is conditioned poorly in the human nasal cavity. T. Nishimura et al., PLOS Computational Biology 2016 CC BY 2.0

One of the jobs of the nose and nasal passage is to “condition” the air we breathe: Matching the temperature and humidity of inhaled air to that of the lungs prevents damage to tissues in the respiratory system. Compared to the flat nasal features of chimpanzees and macaques, our protruding nose – a legacy of earlier Homo – conditions the air poorly, according to new findings published in PLOS Computational Biology.

African Wild Dogs Sharing Kill With The Pack Are More Efficient Than Cheetahs

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

An impala escapes from African wild dogs. Leanne van der Weyde

Instead of chasing their prey across long distances in open grass plains, African wild dogs are hunting in wooded areas using multiple short-distance, high-speed bursts. Data from GPS collars reveal that their individual success rates are low, but they share their kills with other pack members: The energy return from group feeding outweighs the cost of multiple short chases. And in this way, their strategy may be more efficient than the sheer athleticism of cheetahs hunting alone in the same area.

Acupuncture Is No Better Than A Placebo For Treating Back Pain, Says Report

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Acupuncture is based on ancient theories relating to energy flow, and is now not recommended by the NHS. Yanik Chauvin/Shutterstock

Since 2009, the use of acupuncture has been recommended as a treatment for chronic back pain by the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS).

Amazonian Tribes Are Being Poisoned By Illegal Miners

Environment





Photo credit:

Indigenous communities across the Amazon are facing the threat of mercury poisoning. Filipe Frazao/Shutterstock

Some of the world’s most vulnerable communities are currently experiencing high rates of mercury poisoning as a result of the activities of illegal miners. A recent study (in Portuguese) involving 19 communities of indigenous Yanomami and Yekuana people in the Brazilian Amazon revealed that 90 percent have been severely affected by mercury poisoning.

Enceladus’ Tiger Stripes Create Long-Lived Eruptions

Space





Photo credit:

Modeling has provided an explanation for how these geysers survive on Enceladus. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Planetary Science Institute

The discovery of volcanic eruptions on Saturn’s moon Enceladus tantalised astronomers with questions of how these eruptions occur, and whether they are a semi-permanent phenomenon or something we were lucky to see. New research offers a theory, and indicates that the moon’s distinctive “tiger stripes” can sustain eruptions over geological timespans.

This Incredible Map Shows Every Single Known Bright Object In Deep Space

Space





Photo credit:

One version of the all-sky survey. Each spot is a different, energetic object in deep space. Boller et al./Astronomy & Astrophysics

Astronomers are always on the hunt for bright lights flaring up in the dark reaches of space, whether they are titanic stellar explosions or two black holes catastrophically merging into one. With this in mind, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany have released a new all-sky survey.

A Leading Cause Of Child Deaths In The Early 20th Century Is Once Again Sweeping Through Britain

Health and Medicine





Photo credit:

Symptoms of scarlet fever include a high temperature, a swollen tongue and a rash on the chest and stomach. Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock

One of the leading causes of child deaths in Victorian times is currently back on the rise in the U.K., and while the condition is now treatable and therefore no longer fatal, medics are completely stumped as to what has caused this sudden outbreak.

Japan’s Space Agency Has Lost Contact With Its X-Ray Satellite

Space





Photo credit:

An artist's rendering of Hitomi. Akihiro Ikeshita/JAXA

Japan may have just lost control of its latest space telescope. ASTRO-H, also known as Hitomi (meaning an eye’s pupil), is designed to study the most energetic objects in the universe, but it looks like it may have tumbled out of control and could be lost for good.