Colorado State University

2024-02-12 @ 19.12.24 ∈ In English

New study on decomposing microbes could help transform forensic science

For the first time, researchers have identified what appears to be a network of approximately 20 microbes that universally drive the decomposition of animal flesh. The findings have significant implications for the future of forensic science, including the potential to provide crime scene investigators with a more precise way to determine a body’s time of death.

2023-10-24 @ 12.26.11 ∈ In English

(Lots of rambling about experiments, but the description in the quote I picked does feel familiar, tee-he.)

Déjà vu – a window on the past and a key to human survival | Aeon Essays

Déjà vu occurs when there is a hiccup in the system, and we notice the pull on our attention; it grabs hold of our focus, allowing us to catch a quick glimpse of our memory’s operation occurring in slow motion. What would ordinarily take place quickly beneath the surface […] suddenly has a light shining on the spot where the halt occurred, where the retrieval piece was not successful, and we find ourselves in a heightened state of searching our memory, trying to find out why the situation feels so familiar.

2023-09-04 @ 14.51.49 ∈ In English

Scientists finally know why Germany’s wild boar are surprisingly radioactive

While cesium from both the nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident spread through the soil, [cesium seeps very slowly.] Deer truffles, located between 20 and 40 centimeters, have already absorbed the “older” cesium from six decades ago. The “younger” cesium from Chernobyl […] is just now integrating at the soil depths where the mushrooms are located.