As a child in the 1980s, I visited the Jorvik Viking Center in York, England to learn about Scandinavian sailors. The museum stank, and the stench was deliberate. Visitors to the attraction were, and still are, treated to the unpleasant odors of a Nordic village: a cesspool, dead fish, and wood smoke. The trip has stuck in my mind, perhaps because the nose plays a unique role in forming memories. In those days, curators had to largely guess what a 10th-century Viking settlement might have smelled like. Today, scientists can decode past odors with much greater precision, using powerful new biomolecular approaches to resurrect some. particularly distinct ephemeral treasures. Pioneers The challenge of finding past scents is figuring out how to capture a short-lived phenomenon. a process for separating the components of a mixture, and mass spectrometry, which can detect compounds by calculating the weight of different molecules, allows scientists to study residues left on incense burners, perfume bottles, and food storage jars to reconstruct the aromas of the substances they once contained. Some historians and chemists are recreating the perfume Cleopatra may have used based on recipes recorded in Egyptian texts and inscriptions on temple walls. A recipe studied by researcher Sean Coughlin of the Czech Academy of Sciences indicated that ancient perfumers heated the oil for 10 days and 10 nights before infusing it with certain woods. “That was a big mystery to us,” Coughlin said. “If you’ve ever cooked oil for 10 days, it stinks.” But he soon discovered that there was a method to madness. Look upTiny glass beads scattered across the moon’s surface could contain trillions of pounds of water, according to a new study of lunar soil samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 mission, its first. such specimens returned to Earth from the Apollo flights of the 1970s. Chang’e-5, an unmanned probe, made a soft landing on the Earth-facing northwest corner of the moon and carried back a sample of regolith, or rocky lunar soil, back home in 2020. Scientists in China believe the glass beads could have formed as a result of asteroids crashing into the lunar surface. Understanding how water is stored on the moon is helpful: Such knowledge could point future lunar astronauts to potential resources that could one day be turned into drinking water or even rocket fuel. The wonder Scientists in Israel have discovered a hidden realm beyond our own sensory bubble. Recordings of several different plant species revealed that they make a clicking noise that is not detectable by the human ear. It sounds a bit like popping popcorn or bubble wrap, and plants make more sounds when dry or stems are cut. There is no evidence to show that the noise made by plants is intentional or a form of communication, but the sounds could convey useful information to other animals such as insects, bats, or moths. DiscoveriesResearchers have found an unexpected ingredient in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci and other Old Masters from the 16th to early 18th centuries. These influential artists used protein, especially egg yolk, in their painting, according to a new study. Trace amounts of protein residue have long been detected in classical oil paints, but experts thought it was the result of contamination over the centuries. Now, scientists believe that the inclusion was deliberate. Mixing paint with yolk could have had several lasting effects, including making expensive color pigments last longer and avoiding a wrinkling effect evident in some very famous works. The discovery could help conservators better preserve ancient works of art. Once upon a planet Human noise pollution disturbs wildlife on land and in the oceans. The sounds we make can affect how animals communicate, their reproductive behavior, or where they choose to hunt. A species of lizard that exists only in a corner of Colorado has evolved a unique mechanism to cope with its noisy environment near the US Army’s Fort Carson military base in Colorado Springs. When researchers recently examined blood samples from these lizards, they detected heightened levels of stress caused by the roar of low-flying fighter jets, transport planes and helicopters. The study team also found that the creatures moved less and ate more when aircraft noise was present. It is not known how this stress feeding might affect lizard populations in the long term.
As a child in the 1980s, I visited the Jorvik Viking Center in York, England, to learn about Scandinavian sailors. The museum stank, and the stench was deliberate.
Visitors to the attraction were, and still are, treated to the unpleasant odors. of a Nordic village: a cesspool, dead fish and wood smoke. The trip has stuck in my mind, perhaps because the nose plays a unique role in forming memories.
In those days, curators largely had to guess what a 10th-century Viking settlement might have smelled like. Today, scientists can decode past odors with much greater precision, using powerful new biomolecular approaches to resurrect some treasures. particularly distinct ephemerals.
pioneers
The challenge in finding past scents is figuring out how to capture a short-lived phenomenon.
Techniques such as chromatography, a process to separate the components of a mixture, and mass spectrometry, which can detect compounds by calculating the weight of different molecules, allow scientists to study residues left behind in incense burners, perfume bottles and food storage jars to reconstruct the scents of substances they once had.
Some historians and chemists are recreating the perfume Cleopatra may have worn based on recipes recorded in Egyptian texts and inscriptions on temple walls. A recipe studied by researcher Sean Coughlin of the Czech Academy of Sciences indicated that ancient perfumers heated the oil for 10 days and 10 nights before infusing it with certain woods.
“That was a big mystery for us,” Coughlin said. “If you’ve ever cooked oil for 10 days, it stinks.” But he soon discovered that there was a method to madness.
Look for
Tiny glass beads scattered across the moon’s surface could contain trillions of pounds of water, according to a new study of lunar soil samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 mission — the first such specimens. returned to Earth from the Apollo flights of the 1970s.
Chang’e-5, an unmanned probe, made a soft landing on the moon’s northwest corner facing Earth and brought a sample of regolith, or rocky lunar soil, home in 2020.
Scientists in China believe that the glass beads could have formed as a result of asteroids hitting the lunar surface. Understanding how water is stored on the moon is useful: such knowledge could point future lunar astronauts to potential resources that could one day become to drinking water or even rocket fuel.
The wonder
Scientists in Israel have discovered a hidden realm beyond our own sensory bubble.
Recordings of several different plant species revealed that they make a clicking noise that is not detectable by the human ear. He sounds a bit like the pop of popcorn or bubble wrap, and the plants make more noise when they are dry or have had their stems cut.
There is no evidence to show that the noise made by plants is intentional or a form of communication, but the sounds could convey useful information to other animals such as insects, bats, or moths.
Discoveries
Researchers have found an unexpected ingredient in paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and other Old Masters from the 16th to early 18th centuries. These influential artists used protein, especially egg yolk, in their painting, according to a new study.
Trace amounts of protein residues have long been detected in classical oil paints, but experts thought it was the result pollution over the centuries. Now, scientists believe that the inclusion was deliberate.
Mixing paint with yolk could have had several lasting effects, including making expensive color pigments last longer and preventing a wrinkling effect evident in some very famous works. The discovery could help conservators better preserve ancient works of art.
once upon a planet
Human noise pollution disrupts wildlife on land and in the oceans. The sounds we make can affect how animals communicate, their reproductive behavior, or where they choose to hunt.
A species of lizard that exists only in a corner of Colorado has developed a unique coping mechanism for its noisy environment near the US Army’s Fort Carson military base in Colorado Springs.
When researchers recently examined blood samples from these lizards, they detected heightened levels of stress caused by the roar of low-flying fighter jets, transport planes and helicopters. The study team also found that the creatures moved less and ate more when aircraft noise was present.
It is not known how this stress feeding might affect lizard populations in the long term.