010302040506070KMSCIENCE UPDATE16 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATEDOur oldest
ancestor
had no anus
A 540-million-year-old fossil
of an only 1-mm-long creature could
be an ancient relative.PALAEONTOLOGY In
central China, scientists from
the Cambridge University
discovered fossils of what may
be the oldest known ancestor of
vertebrates – and consequently
of humans. The creature, which
is approximately 540 million
years old, has been named
Saccorhytus coronarius, and it
looks like a scary mask with its
mouth wide open.
The small creature is just 1
mm long, and it has surprised
scientists by not having an anus.
According to scientists, it
probably got rid of its waste
products via its mouth, which
was also used to filter water and
sand in search of food. The
microscopic creature lived on the
ocean floor, where it wriggled
about among the sand grains.Women are
better at
multitasking
Scientists have shown
women are better at
doing several things at the
same time. Studies link
this ability to oestrogen
which explains why the
gift can sometimes lessen
after menopause.NEWS FLASH!
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Mountains send winds on collision course
Astronomers assume that the mysterious wave in the atmosphere was created by
winds forced upward in Venus' thick atmosphere by mountains.WAVE DRIFTS ACROSS VENUS
ASTRONOMY Images from the Japanese
Akatsuki probe have revealed a huge, curved
wave in Venus’ upper atmosphere at an
altitude of 65 km. The wave is about 10,
km long and stretches all the way from the
north to the south pole.
Akatsuki is analysing Venus' atmosphere
and climate, and it photographed the huge
wave over a period of four days in December- The wave held position high above a
mountain range in spite of the fact that high
winds of about 350 km/h were blowing in
Venus’ atmosphere. Just as suddenly as it
appeared, the wave faded, and although
astronomers are still not sure what they
witnessed, they have a theory. They think
waves like this form when winds blowing
across mountains and hills are suddenly
forced upwards. The wave is so pronounced
because Venus’ atmosphere is so thick –
over 90 times thicker than Earth's – so
waves in the air behave much like waves in
water here. Scientists now intend to study
data from the wave, hoping to learn more
about the atmospheric activity under the
cloud cover of Venus.Huge "Wave"
Detected on Venus
A Japanese space probe has photographed a
mysterious phenomenon in Venus' atmosphere.JAXA & ESAThe probe
observed a large,
curved wave
above Venus.1
Intense, transverse
winds at the surface
collide with mountains.8 December 9 December 10 December 11 DecemberThe winds are
forced upwards,
whirling up through the
atmosphere.WAVESLOW WIND INTHE ATMOSPHERE3 At an altitude of about 65 km, the
winds encounter a thick
cloud cover, reducing
their speed, so the
wave stands still.THE WAVE IS PRODUCED HERE.2