COSMOS MAGAZINE

6 predictable scientific discoveries in 2024

Archaeologists have described work-related injuries in the skeletons of ancient Egyptian scribes for the first time. Some of their injuries are all too familiar to today’s office workers. They found greater incidence of osteoarthritis in the scribes’ hips, jaw, neck, thumb and shoulder joints.

The Infinite Monkey Theorem is a thought experiment that a monkey – or an infinite number of monkeys – given typewriters and an infinite amount of time would eventually type out the complete works of William Shakespeare. In an epic “well, actually” moment, mathematicians of the light-hearted project crushed the dreams of monkeys everywhere.

Lake Enigma – a permanently frozen lake, deep in the northern foothills of Antarctica’s Victoria Land – was thought to be solid ice. But, according to a new study, the lake’s icy surface rests on liquid water that is filled with bizarre microbial life.

Across the UK and Ireland, people from Belfast are best at detecting when someone is faking their accent – while people from London are worst at it, according to a new study.

In an unusual study to test human embarrassment, scientists have asked teenage girls to sing karaoke songs and then watch the recording. As expected, the researchers found that participants blushed more while watching their own recordings in comparison to other participants’ recordings.

Bin chickens love bins, say scientists. A study has found that Australian white ibis (or more familiarly, ‘bin chicken’) are more abundant within 10km of waste management facilities.

cosmosmagazine.com 

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