Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 4h

What's your favorite memory from the Museum of Science? ❤️🧪

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 6h

According to Stephen Hawking’s groundbreaking theory, black holes can slowly lose mass by emitting radiation, meaning even the darkest objects in the universe might not last forever. 🧪

#SpaceWeek #BlackHole #FunFact #Science

1 3 12

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 11h

While the bacteria grew more slowly, it still survived, proving that life doesn’t need all 64 codons to function.

4

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 11h

Life typically uses 64 of these codons to build proteins, but scientists wanted to see if bacteria could do with fewer. They engineered a strain of bacteria that uses only 57 codons, a simplified version of the genetic code.

1 3

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 11h

Could scientists make artificial life using simpler DNA language? 🧪🧬🧫

The genetic code is like a language made of four letters: A, T, C, and G. They are arranged into 3-letter “words” called “codons”.

YouTube

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

youtube.com

1 3 6

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 1d

Old books sometimes get a strange "vanilla" smell... 🤔👃

That scent comes from the breakdown of paper and ink — releasing hundreds of volatile organic compounds, including vanillin, aldehydes, and acids.

So that cozy library smell? It’s literally the odor of books slowly decaying...📚

2 6 13

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 1d

This involves inhaling for 4 seconds, holding your breath for 4 seconds, exhaling for 4 seconds, and holding again for another 4 seconds. These practices engage the brain's prefrontal cortex and help calm the amygdala.

4

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 1d

Scientific studies indicate that techniques such as box breathing, can lower cortisol levels, slow heart rate, and reduce symptoms of anxiety.

How are you taking care of yourself today? 🧠❤️

1 10

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 1d

These hybrids reveal how rising temperatures are accelerating unexpected evolutionary outcomes. This is a signal that ecosystems are being pushed beyond their limits. Scientists are now racing to study how these hybrid species might adapt, survive, or reshape food webs entirely.

7

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 1d

Warming temperatures aren’t just melting ice, they’re merging ecosystems. 🪶🐳🧪

As habitats shift, species that evolved thousands to millions of years apart are coming into contact again, creating wild hybrid offspring like the “pizzly bear” and the newly spotted “grue jay”.

1 8 23

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

Watch the full interview with Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Dr. Svante Pääbo, here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRMk...

You Carry Ancient DNA: Here’s What It Reveals About You

YouTube video by Museum of Science

www.youtube.com

1 3

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

Scientists can sometimes smell it when they carefully drill into preserved remains during DNA extraction.

1 2

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

In mummified tissues, sugars and proteins slowly react over centuries, producing new compounds that darken the skin and release those familiar toasty aromas. It's chemistry at work on a biological timescale.

1 1

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

Why do ancient mummies smell like warm bread? 🍞🧪

Nobel Prize–winning scientist Svante Pääbo shares that the scent comes from the Maillard reaction. This is the same chemical reaction responsible for the browning of bread, seared meat, and roasted coffee.

Watch the full video here:

Why Mummies Smell Like Bread

YouTube video by Museum of Science

youtube.com

2 7 21

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

🐙 Happy World Octopus Day! 🐙

Octopuses can taste with their arms, regrow lost limbs in months, and many females sacrifice themselves to guard eggs after mating. These wild adaptations make them some of the most fascinating creatures in the ocean. 🌊✨

Which octopus ability would you want to adapt?

4 16

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

In this range, quantum effects and surface interactions drive groundbreaking advances across various fields such as medicine, electronics, and materials science.

2

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

Nanotechnology involves manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale, typically between 1 and 100 nanometers.

What's something nanotechnology is used for
that others might not know? 🕹

1 2 12

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

This project is part of IF/THEN®, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

Learn more about Xyla Foxlin and more IF/THEN Women here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmXN...

Is Engineering Another Form of Art?

YouTube video by Museum of Science

www.youtube.com

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 2d

You don’t have to fit a mold to make an impact in STEM. 🧪

Engineer and Creator Xyla Foxlin is challenging outdated ideas of who belongs in the field. She is doing this by combining technical skill with creativity, and showing that identity and innovation aren’t mutually exclusive.

1 4 20

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 3d

Earth's magnetic field is generated by the motion of molten iron in the outer core. It creates a protective magnetosphere that deflects high-energy solar wind particles and cosmic radiation away from the surface. 🧪

#SpaceWeek #Earth #Space #Science #FunFact

1 4 11

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 4d

Captured by the Gemini South Telescope in Chile’s clear, dark skies, this rare image shows one of our last good views before the comet moves behind the Sun. Scientists expect it to reappear later this year.

5

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 4d

Could a comet from another solar system be flying past us right now? ☄️🧪

Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object ever spotted in our solar system. It’s an icy traveler that likely formed in a distant star system and has been drifting through space for billions of years.

3 10 26

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 4d

Your brain is wired to notice the bad more than the good...

This is called negativity bias. It’s rooted in the amygdala, which helps us spot danger — but it also makes us dwell on criticism and overlook good news.

Do you ever notice this happening in your own thinking? 🧠

2 2 9

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 4d

Astronauts describe the smell of space as metallic, which can be attributed to single oxygen atoms clinging to their suits and recombining into ozone during repressurization. 🧪

#SpaceWeek #Smell #Astronaut #FunFact

1 3 18

Museum of Science @museumofscience.bsky.social · 5d

The Sun is so massive that you could fit about 1.3 a million Earths inside it. Thanks to its immense volume and gravitational pull, it's the powerhouse at the center of our solar system.

How many would you have guessed? ☀️🌎🧪

#SpaceWeek #Earth #Sun #FunFact

1 4 10