These Are The First Images From China’s Zhurong Mars Rover
The Zhurong rover has now sent back its first images of the surface of Mars – the first images of the Red Planet taken by a non-NASA mission. Named after a Chinese god of fire, the rover is equipped with a plethora of equipment to study its surroundings. The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) landed the rover in Utopia Planitia on May 15, making China the second country to successfully land a rover on Mars.
Study Reveals What Happens When Drugs Are Legalized
A new study has shown how legalizing recreational cannabis has impacted US illegal drug markets. Analyzing data from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the crowdsourcing tool Price Of Weed, they discovered that the price of illegal cannabis sold by unlicensed dealers dropped by 9.2 percent in states with recreational cannabis laws. They also found that seizures of illegal opioids dropped by 50 percent, although street heroin potency increased by 54 percent and prices increased by 64 percent.
Anole Lizards Become First Known Vertebrate To Use Air Bubbles To Rebreathe Underwater
A type of lizard native to the tropical Americas has demonstrated an underwater respiration technique previously only seen in arthropods. Anolis lizards, a genus of anoles, exhale a bubble that clings to the skin around their nose. The air in this bubble can then be re-inhaled, and can sustain them underwater for up to 18 minutes. This natural rebreathing apparatus is thought to help the lizards hide out in the water to evade predators.
Our Brains Can Adapt To Having A Robotic "Third Thumb" With Incredible Ease
Researchers have discovered that not only can people learn to use a 3D-printed “third thumb” with ease, our brains can also quickly adapt to the extra robotic digit. Worn on the hand next to the pinky finger and controlled by wireless pressure sensors on the feet, the thumb can contract to help grasp objects. After five days of using the thumb, fMRI scans revealed subtle and temporary changes in the way hand movement was represented in the brain.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Shrinking The Stratosphere
Analysis of satellite data from the past four decades has revealed that the thickness of the stratosphere has decreased by about 400 meters (1,312 feet) since 1980. The stratosphere contains the ozone layer, and plays an important role in absorbing UV rays from the Sun. The researchers on this new study blame rising greenhouse gas emissions – specifically carbon emissions – for this shrinking, and fear that the stratosphere could thin by 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) by 2080.
Featured: A Shark Vomiting Up A Tattooed Arm Sparked Australia's Most Bizarre Murder Case
On April 25, 1935, visitors to Coogee Aquarium in Sydney witnessed a very unexpected event. A large tiger shark kept on display at the aquarium threw up a severed human arm, which had a tattoo of two boxers sparring. This bizarre occurrence sparked an investigation into the owner of the limb, and set off one of the most unusual murder investigations in Australian history.