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- We Finally Know Where the "Black Death" Came From, and Other Surprising Discoveries of the Month
We Finally Know Where the "Black Death" Came From, and Other Surprising Discoveries of the Month
Five new things to feel smarter about this month.
Jason Feifer
July 01, 2022
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The world is full of fascinating things.
Even more exciting: It's full of fascinating things we don't know yet — which means our greatest revelations, and solutions to intractable problems, could be right around the corner.
It's why I publish a monthly series I call "Look what we found!" Here was last month's edition. And now, here are are five awesome new discoveries that can expand our world... and beyond.
Let's go!
Photo credit via National Museums Scotland
Remember class yearbooks? The awkward photos! The scribbled inscriptions!
Turns out, the ancient Greeks had yearbooks too — though with fewer laser backgrounds.
At the National Museums of Scotland, researchers recently translated a 2,000-year-old stone tablet — and it is now being recognized as an ancient version of a yearbook. The tablet has the names of a group of young Athenian men who had just finished the equivalent of graduate school / military training, called the ephebate. There were 31 names on there, some of which were nicknames. Theogenes went by Theogas, for example. Dionysodoros went by Dionysas. Researchers say that shortened names were unusual for the time, which means these graduates were especially tight.
For historians, this was different from anything known before. It will add deeper context to Greek history and society while under Roman rule in the mid-first century.
Photo credit via History/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
We've spent two years debating where Covid-19 came from, but that's nothing compared to the hundreds of years that scientists have tried to pinpoint the origins of the Black Death. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing the death of 75-200 million people in Europe and the Mediterranean between 1346 and 1353. And its origins have (ahem) plagued scientists and historians ever since...
Until now!
Researchers say they have identified the source of the plague, after examining DNA from human remains at an ancient burial site. Here's the quick of it: Sometime more than 700 years ago, a strain of plague split into four different kind of variants. (And oh, do we know about variants today!) Those variants then evolved, spawning their own lineages — and one of them became the Black Death. It began in what is now modern-day Kyrgyzstan. And it gave rise to most of the modern plague strains in the world today.
Because yes, people still get the plague today — but now it can be treated with antibiotics. Progress!
Photo credit via JohnnyGreig/Getty Images
Prosthetic limbs restore lost function for many amputees, but they can't actually restore a lifelike sense of touch.
That may change soon, because researchers are reporting a breakthrough. Scientists are using thin, flexible plastic to create novel electronic sensors that send signals to the brain tissue of mice. This similarly mimics the nerve messages of touch sensors in the skin of humans.
Also, researchers are working with spinal implants to provide sensory feedback from artificial legs and feet. This means that prosthetic limbs could become even more useful because humans need continuous feedback from our legs and feet in order to stand upright.
Photo credit via Government of Yukon
An almost perfectly preserved, 35,000 year-old baby woolly mammoth was found by a miner in Canada's Klondike region. Researchers believe that the female calf was only one month old at the time of death.
While many fossils are often found in the Yukon, this mammoth is unique because of how well preserved it is. These mummified remains are among the most complete woolly mammoth remains ever discovered. One called it the "most important discovery in palaeontology in North America."
Photo Credit via Jeff Gunn / NASA
On Wednesday, NASA officials started receiving images from the largest and most powerful telescope that humans have put in space. It can see the far reaches of the universe, and will provide valuable insights about the habitability of worlds around other stars.
And we're aaaaaallllmoost able to see the goods. NASA is processing the initial data now, and won't start sharing images with the public until July 12.
"It's an emotional moment when you see nature suddenly releasing some of its secrets. and I would like you to imagine and look forward to that," said Thomas Zurbuchen, who leads NASA's scientific programs, in a news conference. He said the first set of photos nearly brought him to tears.
I want those images now! But hey, it took a couple decades to build this telescope — so I can be patient for a couple more weeks.
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Cover credit via Pierart Dou Tielt (FL. 1340-1360) / Wikimedia Commons