The planet, completely covered in water, was about 100 light years away ● Alcoholism could be treated with hallucinogenic mushrooms ● China just lost another wild species ● What aquatic reptile “ruled” in the seas 66 million years ago

The planet, completely covered in water, was about 100 light years away

Don’t rejoice, we saved ourselves from the drought not because we take away their faces, their water, and not because this planet is very close! A light year is about 9 trillion kilometers, so don’t count on handing Elon Musk a beer and he’ll get you there in no time. The idea is different. Namely, that water is not as rare in the universe as was believed, and that worlds similar to Earth are still waiting to be discovered. In fact, there are about 14 bodies in our system alone that are believed to have oceans (Europa, Callisto, Titan, Miranda, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Triton, Ganymede, Enceladus, Pluto, Ariel, Dione, and the last planet). list, with you, Terra).

Please, this planet in the constellation Draco (Latin Dragon), named TOI-1452 b, is similar to Earth in only some aspects. As if it is far enough from its star to hold water in a liquid state. I mean, not too cold, not too hot. In terms of size, it’s about 70% bigger than the Terra, but that’s no reason to be nervous. There are others much larger. By the way, the TOI-1452 b solar system has two stars, so it is not exactly like ours.

What is interesting about TOI-1452 is told by a study published in Astronomical journal by some astronomers of the University of Montreal. Namely, the planet in question looks completely covered in water. Just like Terra was in the beginning. And this could mean the existence of life. Maybe, it is not known for sure. But we will definitely not get there in our lifetime. At most, we could try to figure it out through the existence of compounds in the planet’s atmosphere. But it takes more time. That is why TOI-1452 b will be the subject of careful research in the future. We’ll let you know if anything pops up, don’t worry.

Alcoholism could be treated with hallucinogenic mushrooms

Honestly, when you see the news about it, you think it’s more of a stand-up comedy thing. But it is not so. Especially when you see it posted in Journal of Psychiatry of the American Medical Association (JAMA).. What does it mean to treat addiction even more? It’s like treating a fire with gasoline.

Here’s how some American doctors claim it will work. Specifically, they tested 98 patients, all with severe alcohol dependence. Half of them received a placebo treatment, the other half received two doses of psilocybin, an organic compound with hallucinogenic effects found in certain types of mushrooms. What happened After eight months, 48% of those who received psilocybin stopped drinking. They even became interested in gastronomy, especially recipes for chulam or mushroom omelet. Among those who had a placebo effect, only 24% gave up alcohol.

What the study doesn’t say, and it would be very interesting to know, is whether those patients who got rid of addiction with psilocybin somehow jumped out of the lake and found a slightly more questionable and obviously illegal alternative to feed his vices . It was only a purely scientific question, no need to rush now. Oh, and one more thing, don’t try this at home! Ask your doctor first! So?

China just lost another wild species

Dugong is, more precisely, a species of aquatic mammal, the family of which also includes manatees. They looked really good. Well, these dugongs lived all over China, but no one had seen it for about 12 years, when the last specimen was reported to have been caught. Either way, this catch doesn’t sound too good for the dugongs. And this is obvious, especially when you look at the fact that they have just been declared an extinct species.

What we can tell you about dugongs is that they were gentle, did no harm, didn’t bother anyone, just ate seaweed and went about their business. Well, we can say that they did very well, especially on the Chinese plates, which is why they ended up where they are. Please, they didn’t eat them all. It also contributed to their disappearance and excessive pollution, habitat loss and food sources. That’s all. What to do now? They went? They went! You scold the Chinese if they wear seat belts!

The good news is that dongons still exist in other parts of the world, although they are not even considered pink. In conclusion, this species would have another chance, all is not lost. To do this, start recycling, reduce pollution, do what you can, don’t sit back and blame others! That’s it, hand in hand.

What aquatic reptile “ruled” in the seas 66 million years ago

Between us, if we fix that, these reptiles have also found their way to dominate the seas, research has shown Chalk Research Magazine, It wasn’t exactly an inspired decision. why Well, that’s when the asteroid Chicxulub fell and the dust was removed from their world, implicitly from them as well. If these reptiles had done this a hundred million years ago, things would have been different. But this is where the skepticism and the whole interesting part of the evolutionary paradigm of these animals lies.

Instead of just reporting the news that some paleontologists have found a new species of mosasaur in Morocco, which is sure to blow your mind this morning, we’ll try to explain what this discovery tells us. In short, mosasaurs appeared about 90 million years ago. And since no species suddenly took the top of the food chain, mosasaurs also appeared in the shadow of other top predators of the time, some of which had more ancient states, such as ichthyosaurs or plesiosaurs.

Well, what paleontologists discovered in Morocco is proof of the evolution of these marine reptiles (be careful, they weren’t dinosaurs, because dinosaurs only lived on land). More precisely, the new species identified there, called Thalassotitan, shows us an animal with a slightly shorter skull than other representatives of this animal group, with teeth that show signs of severe wear and with a body that is also shorter but stronger than other mosaics. How does it translate? The fact that this species today has become the equivalent of white sharks or killer whales. That is, the top of the food chain. The secret lies both in the shape of the body, which is much better adapted to large-scale battles, and especially in the teeth. A diet based mainly on fish does not leave such traces.

In fact, the discovery of fossils of large animals, including three other different species of mosasaur, all in the same context as Thalassotitan but with visible traces of stomach acid, tells us that it hunted almost everything it caught. And he ate them, because this is evolution. Today you’re on big horses, and tomorrow you’re smiling in a shop window with monkeys staring at you.