Real Invisibility Shields, Neanderthal Backaches, What Dogs Dream About and More Mysterious News Briefly — March 23, 2022

Mysterious News Briefly — March 23, 2022

A clinical and evolutionary psychologist at Harvard Medical School studied the sleeping patterns of dogs and determined they are likely dreaming about their everyday experiences, just like humans, including dreaming about their owners – they’re probably dreaming about running when their paws or legs twitch, and dreaming about interacting with another dog when they start barking. Do they dream about not studying for a test in obedience class?

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine found that the odor-sensing nerve cells of mosquitoes shut down when those cells are forced to produce odor-related proteins, or receptors, which allows them to ignore the scent of common insect repellents – a smell that causes fruit flies and most other insects to flee. They still can’t ignore the sound of one hand clapping on an arm.

A paper published by Nature Ecology and Evolution explains how wild orangutans demonstrate distinct 'vocal personalities' or ‘vocabularies’ that change depending on the social groups they live in – demonstrating that wild orangutans socially mingle just like humans. This will help find the origin of language … and cocktail parties.

A team of researchers at UC Davis have genetically modified a lettuce to grow a protein that will help to strengthen astronauts’ bones and build bone mass without exercise on long-term missions like trips to Mars. Lettuce seeds are very tiny, but Martian spaceships will need a huge cargo bay for croutons and ranch dressing.

Invisibility Shield Co. is selling -- you guessed it – real invisibility shields for just $400 each … the three by two feet shields deflect light around the object immediately behind it using a “precision engineered lens array,” leaving the hazy but clearly identifiable background untouched. Shoplifters beware – the store owner can still see your fingers holding the shield in front of you.

Since January 1992, NASA has officially identified 5,005 exoplanets outside of our Solar System using peer-reviewed research and multiple detection techniques. No, NASA still won’t help you find your keys.

NASA rolled its Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center recently for tests, and the moon-bound ship is so huge, it was seen from space by the Pléiades Neo satellite. No, Pléiades Neo can’t help you either.

Thirteen epilepsy patients who had electrodes implanted in their brains to monitor their condition volunteered for a new study which found that seeing a human face caused minute eye movements (saccades) that triggered unique brain communications between the amygdala and hippocampus parts of the brain. In layperson terms, the researchers found the part of the brain that goes “I know you from somewhere.”

Blame that pain in your back on your Neanderthal ancestors – a new study found that the wedging of Neanderthals’ lumbar, or lower, vertebrae caused their spines in this region to curve less than those of modern humans in the US or Europe who in the post-industrial age have forced this area to wedge more due to less physical activity, bad posture, and the use of furniture. Once again, the picture of Neanderthals shows they were not the knuckle-draggers we thought they were.

Aquarian Space announced it has received $650,000 in seed funding to develop a broadband internet connection that will link the Earth, the Moon, and possibly Mars, starting with a lunar satellite launch in 2024 that will be the first phase of Solnet, a "commercial high data rate, high-speed delivery satellite network" with speeds of 100 megabits per second. “What (pause) about (long pause) us?” texted everyone on Earth with crappy internet connections.