BY THE WAY
AND SPEAKING OF MAMMOTHS...
SCIENTISTS REVIVE
MAMMOTH CELLS
Japanese scientists have extracted cell nuclei from
the bone marrow of a 28,000-year-old mammoth and
inserted them into mouse egg cells. Subsequently, they
observed that the cell nuclei showed signs of division,
but they were too damaged to complete the process. The
result is a major step on the way to reviving mammoths.MAMMOTH GENES TO
SAVE THE ELEPHANTS?
US scientists aim to create a
cross-breed between an
elephant and selected mammoth
genes. The aim is to allow the
elephant a better chance of surviving
in nature, where it is now
endangered. Scientists aim to provide
the new animal with the mammoth’s
ability to survive in colder climates.MAMMOTHS HAD TO
RETREAT DUE TO HUMANS
It has been unknown whether
climate change or hunting led to
the extinction of mammoths. Now
palaeontologists have mapped out the
range of mammoths and compared the
data with the expansion of humans.
According to the scientists, there is now
every indication that hunting was
decisive in the fate of the mammoths.PRINTS SHOW COMPASSION
AMONG PREHISTORIC GIANTS
A set of 117 footprints in the
American state of Oregon
demonstrate how a mammoth family
crossed a dry lake bed 43,000 years
ago. The prints show that one adult
mammoth limped, and that the
younger animals repeatedly sought it
out and accompanied it – a behaviour
that can also be observed among
modern elephants.TECHNOLOGY (^) Scientists from
the University of California have
developed a new super-light
insulation material that tolerates
both higher temperatures and
faster temperature changes than
any other known material.
The new material is an aerogel
consisting of small air pockets
divided by walls as thin as an
atom. Aerogel is not a new
invention, but here the insulating
power has been very much
improved. Each wall between the
air pockets consists of two ceramic
layers that work in the same way
as the layers of glass in a double-
glazed window, so less heat is
conducted between pockets.
The scientists created the new
aerogel based on experience with
graphene’s 2D structures of
carbon atoms, where the plates
of carbon are only one atom
thick. The graphene plates can be
united into a 3D structure, but
the material does not tolerate
high temperatures. So the
scientists used the 3D graphene
structure to build a skeleton to
which they applied the ceramic
material, subsequently burning
the skeleton. The result was a
new ceramic aerogel.
The scientists successfully
tested the material through 500
cycles during which temperatures
varied between -198 and +
degrees Celsius. The aerogel also
survived long-term heat exposure
in which it was subjected to 1400°C
degrees for a week.
The new insulation material
could be particularly valuable in
space, where probes and
satellites require protection
against the temperature changes
that occur when parts of a
spacecraft are directly exposed
to solar radiation.
Even a thin layer of aerogel can protect a flower from the heat of
a flame. To the right, you can see the heat distribution in the material.
1400 °C
for a week – and the new material
still survived in laboratory
conditions without melting.
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New material offers the
world’s best insulation
700 °C
350 °C
-20 °C
Ordinary light Infrared light
AEROGEL
12 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
SCIENCE UPDATE