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Dinner of the European astronaut. |
Alongside remarkable advancements in cutting-edge scientific fields, there are also studies published that receive little attention. Among 330 stories about scientists, the following 10 tales are the most entertaining yet least known from 2005.
1. If you are fortunate enough to be a crew member on the upcoming European space station for a long-duration mission, you will be able to choose from one of 11 dinner dishes, such as “Martian-style bread and green tomato jam” or “cake made from potatoes and tomatoes” (June 15).
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Bees that can find landmines |
2. Bees that find landmines: Around the world, each year, 15,000 people die from landmines buried underground (a consequence of war). At the current rate of removal, it will take at least 450 more years to clear all the hidden landmines in known areas, not to mention the unidentified regions. Therefore, scientists at universities in the U.S. are exploring ways to train bees to detect landmines underground through scent recognition (August 17).
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Square-wheeled robot |
3. Robots with square wheels: Throughout history, humanity has evolved from square wheels to round wheels. Today, can robots follow suit? From the idea that a system of square wheels could work, a company produced a robot with square wheels designed to maintain balance using gravity (December 5).
4. Monarch butterflies do not get lost: Monarch butterflies are known for their long migrations between Canada and Mexico each year without ever getting lost across 3,000 km. The secret lies in a device in their eyes that detects ultraviolet light, which provides them with navigational abilities (August 22).
5. Controlling the speed of light: Scientists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) announced that light can travel faster than the speed of light. They revealed that, using a special type of lens,
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Spaghetti noodles dry when about to break |
they could slow down light to 71,000 km/s or accelerate it to exceed 300,000 km/s in an extremely special medium. This discovery was expected to cause a stir in the scientific community, but it unexpectedly… (August 20).
6. Why can’t spaghetti break into two?: French scientists have discovered that raw spaghetti can only break into 3, 5, 7, or even 10 smaller pieces, but rarely into two parts. The reason lies in the unique wave patterns of the pasta at its bends. They believe this discovery is significant as it can be applied to improve the stability of structures (September 11).
7. Storing carbon dioxide in the ocean: One method to reduce air pollution is to liquefy it and store it in another medium, such as the ocean. However, the challenge is to pump this liquefied carbon dioxide into the sea at depths of 800 – 3000 m to prevent it from returning to the atmosphere. This idea seems utterly bizarre, assuming that fish do not need to breathe like humans do (November 4).
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Train powered by biogas |
8. Train powered by biogas: The world’s first train powered by biogas from cow dung was introduced in Sweden. It can carry 60 passengers in just one carriage and can travel 600 km at a maximum speed of 130 km/h. Regardless, it is far superior to Vietnam’s trains in terms of speed and cost (October 27).
9. Pillows can be harmful to our health: It is no surprise to learn that our beloved pillow is an ideal breeding ground for mold. According to a 70-year-long study by a group of scientists from the University of Manchester in England, the fungal cells in pillows can cause diseases, even death (October 15).
10. Mathematical equations for the processes of life: Known as the quarter-power scaling law, it can explain the metabolic processes of animals. For instance, the metabolic rate of animals is proportional to their mass raised to the power of 3/4. This 3/4 law applies to all living organisms, from microorganisms to whales (February 21).
Sometimes, scientific studies that seem utterly bizarre and trivial can have a profound impact on our lives.
