SoT 321: Our Favourite Science Stories of 2018
Channel: Science on Top
Date: 15/01/2019

SoT 285: Our Favourite Science Stories of 2018
https://scienceontop.com/321

There's a planet orbiting star HD26965, exactly where Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry said Spock's homeworld Vulcan would be.
A fresh analysis of 10 year old data finds the best evidence yet of water vapor venting from Jupiter's fourth largest moon, Europa.
The oldest example of abstract art, from 73,000 years ago, resembles a hashtag.
Scientific debate has erupted over what could possibly be the world's oldest fossils ever found - or they could be just rocks.
Eating a California Reaper is probably a bad idea, as one man found out when he tried what was then the world's hottest chili.
Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the Caribbean, but they also provided a unique glimpse at evolution. The research involved a lot of measurements, some lizards, and a leaf blower.
This year, we found out how wombats make cubed poops.
Ice cores have long been used to track global climate change, but a team from Oxford have studied ice cores for a more archaeological purpose – detailing the economic booms and busts of the ancient Roman empire.
Geneticists around the world were shocked when Professor He Jiankui announced he'd created the world's first ever gene edited babies. His claims of HIV immune babies are extraordinary, but mired in contention amongst ethical and procedural controversy.

https://scienceontop.com/321

Chapters:
00:01:10 Hey, Spock! Real-Life 'Planet Vulcan' Orbits Sun Featured In 'Star Trek' https://www.space.com/41862-planet-vulcan-real-star-trek-discovery.html
00:04:16 Signs Of Water Plumes Boost Chances Of Finding Life On Jupiter's Moon Europa http://theconversation.com/signs-of-water-plumes-boost-chances-of-finding-life-on-jupiters-moon-europa-96507
00:05:17 Watching Europa http://watchingeuropa.com/
00:05:27 
00:06:11 73,000-Year-Old Hashtag Is Oldest Example Of Abstract Art https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/73-000-year-old-hashtag-is-oldest-example-of-abstract-art/
00:10:14 Oops, The Oldest Fossils Ever Found Might Be Just Rocks https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/10/oops-oldest-fossils-ever-found-might-just-be-rocks/573244/
00:14:09 Man Eats World's Hottest Chilli Pepper - And Ends Up In Hospital http://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/apr/09/competitive-eater-taken-to-hospital-after-eating-worlds-hottest-chilli-pepper
00:18:06 After Last Year's Hurricanes, Caribbean Lizards Are Better At Holding On For Dear Life https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/07/hurricanes-irma-maria-lizard-grip/566006/
00:21:16 Mystery Of Wombats' Cubed Poop Revealed https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-46258616
00:25:02 An Ice Core Reveals The Economic Health Of The Roman Empire https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/science/ice-core-lead-roman-empire.html
00:28:48 A Reckless and Needless Use of Gene Editing on Human Embryos https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/11/first-gene-edited-babies-have-allegedly-been-born-in-china/576661/