🔎 The Curiosity Files #7 - The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled (Plutarch)
Curiously exploring the mysteries of our past, present, and future
“Curiosity is its own reason. Aren’t you in awe when you contemplate the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure behind reality?” Albert Einstein
Welcome to The Curiosity Files!
Twice a week, I’ll journey through the most fascinating discoveries - from ancient enigmas and human origins to cosmic wonders and the unexplained!
🗿 Ancient Mysteries, Archaeology & Lost Civilizations
Researchers Map 7,000-Year-Old Canal System of World’s Oldest City.
Located in southern Iraq, Eridu was the southernmost of all the great Sumerian cities, and it is believed to be the oldest city in history, having been founded around 5,400 BC.
Lost for 13,000 Years, Scientists Have Finally Decoded This Ancient 3D Map.
The Ségognole 3 rock shelter, recognized since the 1980s for its engraved depictions of two horses in a Late Palaeolithic style, has now revealed another remarkable feature — a miniature representation of the surrounding landscape.
Breakthrough after skeleton of ancient Neanderthal-and-human child found.
Scientists have dated the skeleton of an ancient child, that carries features from both humans and Neanderthals, to between 27,700 and 28,600 years ago.
Northwestern Morocco was inhabited long before the Phoenicians arrived, 4,200-year-old settlement reveals.
The Phoenicians are famous for settling northern Africa and later battling Rome, but new excavations at the archaeological site of Kach Kouch reveal that northwestern Morocco was inhabited long before the Phoenicians arrived around 800 B.C.
Ancient Dorset burial site raises questions over age of Stonehenge.
A prehistoric burial site in Dorset is now thought to be the earliest known large circular enclosure in Britain prompting researchers to question whether current dating of Stonehenge may need revising.
Oldest human skeleton in Thailand dating back to 29,000 years could rewrite history.
This finding pushes back the established timeline of human presence by tens of thousands of years, opening a new window into the ancient past.
🌌 Cosmic & Space Mysteries
Something Mysterious Swept Over Our Entire Solar System, Scientists Say.
A giant wave of undulating gas and dust appears to have engulfed our Solar System millions of years ago.
Mysterious cosmic body is a rogue ‘Super-Jupiter’.
Although discovered in 2006, the “free-floating planetary-mass object” known as SIMP 0136 has continued to stump astronomers for nearly two decades—is it a rogue planet, failed star, or something else entirely?
World's oldest meteorite impact crater found, rewriting Earth's ancient history.
The team from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences investigated rock layers in the North Pole Dome—an area of the Pilbara region of Western Australia—and found evidence of a major meteorite impact 3.5 billion years ago.
New evidence for water lurking under the moon’s poles
Chandrayaan-3’s lunar surface temperature data hints at some unexpected H20.
Hidden Beneath Mars: Water Reservoirs and Fiery Magmas Rewrite Its History.
Mars’ thick crust may have been a hidden engine of geological activity, producing granitic magmas and sustaining underground water reservoirs.
🧠 The Mind, Consciousness & the Origins of Life
Possible foundations of human intelligence observed for the first time.
A study has demonstrated how neurons in the human brain generate memories and establish narratives. Contrary to previous beliefs, individual neurons represent the concepts we learn, regardless of the context in which we encounter them. This allows humans, unlike other animals, to establish higher and more abstract relationships, which lays the foundation of human intelligence.
Do we all see red as the same colour? We finally have an answer
It is impossible for us to know exactly how another person's experience of the world compares to our own, but a new experiment is helping to reveal that colour is indeed a shared phenomenon.
The highly sensitive person.
Those with this little-known trait think more deeply and feel more empathy. But they also deal with significant challenges.
How does the brain construct reality?
Do you perceive red the same way I do? What is wrong with the textbook model of vision? Why do brains have so many internal feedback loops? And what does any of this have to do with Plato’s cave, Ernest Hemingway, or artificial neural networks that perceive dogs everywhere? Join Eagleman with guest Anil Seth, author of “Being You”, to explore the scientific problem of consciousness.
🦠 Evolutionary Oddities & Life on Earth
A travelling-wave strategy for plant–fungal trade.
For 450 million years, mycorrhizal fungi have built underground trade networks to exchange nutrients with plants. Scientists tracked them with a custom robot and found they grow in pulsing waves, optimizing flow and expanding efficiently.
New Fossil Discovery Reveals Surprising Insights into Prehistoric Human Behavior.
In a study published in The Journal of Human Evolution, it is revealed that Paranthropus robustus, a species of prehistoric human, were bipedal and walked upright much like we do today.
Human Chromosomes Evolved at Hyperspeed to Give Us Better Brains.
A study of artificial human and chimpanzee nerve cells revealed how faster-evolving DNA gives neurons the ability to build increasingly complex brain power.
This Professor Is Training the Public to Echolocate.
The use of reflected sounds to navigate, known as echolocation, is a behaviour most associated with bats, whales and dolphins, but other species also use the sensory technique — including humans. It was once thought that only blind people could excel at echolocation, but research has shown that anyone can learn the skill.
🚀 Cutting-Edge Science & Technology
China hits new landmark in global quantum computing race.
It processes quantum random circuit sampling tasks at a speed quadrillion times faster than the world's most powerful supercomputer and 1 million times faster than Google's latest results published in Nature in October 2024.
Paralyzed man moves robotic arm with his thoughts, thanks to AI-driven brain implant.
A paralyzed man bound to a wheelchair is now able to fetch water and food for himself with the help of an AI assisted sensor fitted on the surface of his brain, that remembers how to command his robot arm to carry out the tasks for himself.
Feeling is believing: Bionic hand 'knows' what it's touching, grasps like a human.
Engineers have developed a pioneering prosthetic hand that can grip plush toys, water bottles, and other everyday objects like a human, carefully conforming and adjusting its grasp to avoid damaging or mishandling whatever it holds.
🛸 The Unexplained & the Unusual
Director of Groundbreaking UFO Doc Says What He Learned Left Him 'Rattled': 'Things Could Get Really Bad, Really Fast'.
"I've tried to make a serious, credible, eye-opening movie that brings out as much of the truth as possible," says 'The Age of Disclosure' director Dan Farah.
Nonhuman ‘Intelligence’ Is Hiding in the World’s Oceans, Ex-Navy Admiral Says. That’s a Legit Threat.
“I don’t believe they’re of the natural world as we know it,” he says in an exclusive interview.
🌀 Beyond the Known
Does the multiverse explain our fundamental constants?
There are some 26 fundamental constants in nature, and their values enable our Universe to exist as it does. But where do they come from?
Can a Quantum Particle Move in Two Directions at Once?
A quantum superposition, in which a wave function contains 2 possibilities simultaneously, does not mean that both possibilities occur. It means that one *or* the other may occur; e.g. a quantum particle cannot be observed to go in 2 directions at once.
Something Strange Happens When You Trust Quantum Mechanics. Does light take all possible paths at the same time?
Which story intrigued you the most? Let me know in the comments below and provide links to any curiosities you have found!
Until next time, stay curious!
Not sure what I love and respect more: your stack or your curiosity. Tough call.
A great collection, thanks! I especially enjoyed the Lost Civilizations section, the one n echolocation, and Super-Jupiter. The Quantum computing one melted my brain a bit😆