This Week in Science: Volcanoes, Astronauts, and a Woman Who Can Smell Parkinson’s Disease
It’s time for “Nerd News,” covering the most important news for your brain. Here’s a quick rundown of this week in science . . .
1. People in the Seattle area thought they saw steam venting from Mount Rainier, which is still an active volcano but hasn’t had a big eruption in 500 years. Experts confirmed it wasn’t steam though . . . it was just a cloud.
2. A team in London discovered the oldest known mammal . . . an eight-inch-long ratty thing that kind of looked like a shrew. It was around 225 million years ago, right around when the first dinosaurs showed up.
3. In space news: We found a planet only 100 light years away that could potentially sustain life. That’s still 590 TRILLION miles though. And a new study found even short amounts of time in space are devastating to our bodies. Every blood sample from astronauts shows genetic mutations from radiation.
4. In health news: A woman from Scotland who can smell Parkinson’s disease is working with scientists to develop a swab test that could help diagnose it.
