Strange Science News

STRANGE SCIENCE NEWS

I love strange science and strange science facts, especially when they make it into recent headlines of strange science news!

So this post is a smorgasbord of three strange science discoveries that I think you’ll find intriguing! 

I apologize about the hiatus but things have been in flux with us. Taking a break was a necessary option for several reasons, however I’ve missed sharing science news and facts with you.

Louie has missed you, too.

He hopes you’re happy to see him again!

Louie looking sad
I've missed you!

NOT STRANGE SCIENCE NEWS BUT NEWS

Louie has a nephew! Meet Teddy.

Teddy currently is teething and his puppy teeth are sharp. (Louie can attest to that!)

As Ted was nibbling on my hand, I perked up when I saw an actual strange science fact relating to teeth.

Louie and Teddy
Louie and Teddy

IRON TEETH

Athough Teddy’s puppy teeth are sharp, they don’t have an iron coating.

One animal, however, does have iron teeth! A Komodo dragon.

puppy teeth
Iron Teeth? No, they just feel like it
komoto dragon
Komodo Dragon

WHAT ABOUT MY TEETH?

YOU'RE GENTLE, LOUIE.

No need to worry about your teeth!
The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Padar.
more komodo dragon facts
They are the heaviest lizard in the world
175 pounds! That's more than double Louie's weight
They're also one of the most ferocious, with sharp, curved teeth that they use to hunt & rip apart prey from small reptiles and birds to deer, horses and even water buffalo.
It seems to me that they don't need iron teeth.
But I'm not mother nature. I'm merely offering you a strange science fact.
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It seems strange that there are any species of animal left on the islands except for Komodo dragons!

 

KOMODO NATIONAL MARK MAP INDONESIA
Red mark designates where the dragons live, so you can avoid this area

Scientists have recently discovered that the serrated edges of Komodo dragons’ teeth are tipped with iron.

IRON TEETH! Because I find it strange that this fact has only recently been discovered, it’s first on my list of strange science news.

The study, published in Nature, July 2024, demonstrates a striking and previously overlooked predatory adaptation in the Komodo dragon, V. komodoensis: iron-enriched, protective layers along their tooth serrations and tips.

The ability to sequester iron into a discrete coating along the cutting edges of a tooth has never been observed in any animal before.
Iron teeth study
courtesy Le Blanc, et al
Iron sequestration is found in the dental enamel of specialized mammals such as screws and rats
But their teeth aren't coated with iron.
SHREW
Not a shrew
A rat, not a shrew
Iron in the structure of enamel too, but not coated iron teeth like Komodo dragons
beaver enamel
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Since iron oxidizes and forms rust when it comes into contact with water and oxygen, fossil records don’t give archeologists any indication whether or not  any prehistoric predators had iron-coated teeth. 

Iron oxidizing is a chemical reaction!

(To perform that experiment with your kids using things around the house, pick up a copy of my book!)

Chemical Reactions STEM LEARNING FOR THE WIN
Affiliate link purchase above.

Anyway, maybe the iron teeth of Komodo dragons has been overlooked in the past because no one wanted to get close to these ferocious reptiles. 

 

If I were going to venture onto one of these Indonesian islands, I’d want to invest in a good pair of running shoes, so I could run away quickly!

Alex with sunglasses
I'm already fast enough without the running shoes.
louie and Ian
Louie and I can outrun any lizard.
frowning millenial
We might not be fast enough. We want the shoes, like Sue.

No casualties allowed. Everyone gets shoes!

 

Science Blog Susan Berk Koch
YAY!

Investigating Komodo dragons and their teeth has made us far more tolerant of Teddy’s puppy antics.

louie ears back
Speak for yourself, Mommy!

Moving on to the next strange science fact. It’s also metal related. I don’t want to knock iron, but, in my opinion, this next metal is better. 

I suspect many people would agree.

GOLD!

alaska gold rush 1896
Alaska Gold Rush 1896

HOW GOLD IS FORMED

cartier bracelet
This beauty is on my list...of things I will never have. HA!
Join Us and Make Sense of Science_
A toast to learning how gold is formed

Technically, the element gold (Au) was formed in the core of a dying star billions of years ago, only coming to earth when all the dust & debris from that dead star formed our solar system. Strange science because it’s difficult to wrap one’s head around.

 

My heading ‘how gold is formed’ is a bit of a misnomer. 

This new discovery is technically more about how gold aggregates into beautiful nuggets than how gold is formed.  

But I find it odd because this science news made headlines in September, 2024!

family!
It's all good! We like to read about gold

First we need to cover a few established science facts.

I do the research so you don't have to_Make Sense of Science
We love science facts! No dunce cap for us!
Gold nugget and quartz

Of all the minerals mined from the Earth, none is more useful than gold.

Not a strange science fact, just a fact
Gold conducts electricity, does not tarnish, is very easy to work, can be drawn into wire, can be hammered into thin sheets, alloys with many other metals, can be melted and cast into highly detailed shapes, and has a wonderful color and a brilliant metallic luster.
It's not strange that gold has been coveted for thousands of years due to its rarity in nature, beauty & physical properties such as durability and ductility.
From the early Egyptian civilization to the California gold rush, the prospection and exploitation of gold ores has aroused considerable interest.
Due to its low abundance on our planet, gold is usually measured in parts per million, where 0.001 to 0.006 ppm represents the estimated range in the crust.
% Gold report
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Gold Mineralization
How gold is formed from an atomic element into the large enough aggregates used in applications from jewelry to electronics is through a process known as gold mineralization.
gold mineralization
It occurs when hot fluids, rich in gold and minerals, move through cracks and fissures in the earth’s crust.
Oftentimes gold veins are found near fault lines.
fault lines lead to gold
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This seems a little bit like the question, ‘why is the sky blue?’ Scientists know the answer to that–and the highlighted text will provide you with the answer– but scientists didn’t really quite grasp the why behind gold mineralization.

gold and quartz
Gold embedded in quartz

For decades, researchers have known that quartz and gold were linked—nearly 75% of gold circulating today came from nuggets originally embedded in quartz deposits near faults.

We find gold near faults? What kind of strange science fact is that? Gold aggregates along faults?

What are faults, anyway? Those boys are not at fault.

three boys
We love strange science facts!

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAULTS AND TECTONIC PLATES

Faults are cracks or fractures in Earth’s crust that form along plate boundaries or within individual plates.

Tectonic plates, on the other hand, are giant, rigid slabs of rock that form Earth’s outermost layer. They move slowly over millions of years, shaping continents and oceans.

Faults are where earthquakes occur.

‘Earthquakes are the result of sudden movement along faults within the Earth.’

 

fault lines
Fault Lines!

QUARTZ

We need a few more nuggets of not-so-strange science facts before we put this ‘how gold is formed’ section together. (Pun intended!)

quartz crystal
Quartz
Quartz
Quartz or silicon dioxide, or silica, SiO2, is the second most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust.
quartz facts
Another strange science fact we need:
Quartz crystal is piezoelectric!
Piezoelectric
A crystal can generate a tiny electric charge when its atomic structure is squeezed strongly enough!
This occurs in many minerals but is particularly strong in quartz.
Piezoelectric crystals are a cool and strange science fact
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Now that we’ve got the not-so-strange science facts about gold, quartz,  tectonic plates, fault lines & earthquakes covered, and the weird science of piezoelectricity down, we can get to the strange science news.

alex and a whiteboard
Nicely done, Sue!

HOW GOLD IS FORMED (aggregates)

New research led by Monash University geologists suggests that electric currents generated within the earth play a role in how gold is formed!
Monash U
Ressearchers submerged quartz crystals in a gold-rich fluid and applied stress using a motor to simulate movements along faults.
how gold is formed study
The electric spark generated by the piezoelectric effect of quartz causes gold atoms to precipitate from the fluids on the quartz surface, forming ideal conditions for further gold accumulation.
As the quartz is repeatedly stressed by tectonic movements, over time this microscopic layer grows to form at first a network of gold crystals, and finally a larger gold nugget.
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Essentially, quartz acts like a battery, slowly accumulating more gold with each seismic event. 

This new understanding of gold nugget formation not only sheds light on a longstanding geological mystery but also highlights the interrelationship between Earth’s physical and chemical processes.

So this study qualifies as strange science news!

For more on chemical reactions, purchase my book! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist. but it’s a great STEM book w/ lots of hands-on, fun  science for kids)

Those are amazon affiliate links. Meaning I’ll earn 15 cents!

Chemical Reactions are not scary_Winner of my book
Buy this cool book!

THE WEIRDEST STRANGE SCIENCE NEWS!

I saved the strangest science news for last. On to the third strange science discovery that qualifies as strange science news!

This involves a yellow substance, like gold, except edible.

birthday cake Louie
Did you say edible?
Can we eat potato cips?
Pringles are edible!

Yes, cake is edible! (I removed the candle before Louie tucked into his birthday treat)

Pringles are sort of yellow & a snack food so it’s good guess, because close to what I’m getting at! We’re talking about Cheetos!

And the strange science news is that scientists used Cheetos to turn skin transparent.

Cheetos
Cheetos, obviously

HOW TO TURN SKIN TRANSPARENT

YES! A dye in Cheetos creates skin transparency. It isn’t the red dye in Cheetos! It’s the yellow dye.

Before you go and rub Cheetos all over your stomach, you need an aqueous solution of the yellow dye tartrazine.

tartrazine molecule
Tartrazine molecule

Alright, Cheetos are more orange than yellow but the dye tartrazine is considered yellow.

Biocompatible dyes have made living tissues transparent by tuning the refractive index of the surrounding medium to match that of the cells.

What a mouthful

Let's back it up w/ some not so strange science facts first.

INDEX OF REFRACTION aka REFRACTIVE INDEX

Index of Refraction
This is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the material.
It’s the same principle that allows the lenses in your glasses to focus light onto your retinas.
When light passes through materials with different refractive indices, its path bends.
For example..
Light travels through water at three-quarters its speed in a vacuum, making water’s index of refraction 1.33
While air has a refractive index slightly above one.
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index of refraction shown with water and air
Index of refraction in water & air example
showing light bending
Index of refraction used to make a pencil invisible!

Light and its properties are amazing!

How do we know the speed of light
For more about light, click on the pic

STRANGE SCIENCE NEWS

Now that we understand the index of refraction, and how the yellow dye in Cheetos changes the index of refraction of light, why do we care?

Why did this  Cheetos thing make news? 

To see what’s going on beneath our skin, doctors depend on an array imaging techniques from MRIs to CT scans, x-rays, ultrasound, endoscopy to name a few.
As an aside, Rare Earth Metals
are important for proper functioning of imaging equipment
Rare earth metal article
...Back to Tartrazine
Massaging the tartrazine onto a mouse’s shaved skin creates an orange-tinted biological stained-glass window through which the researchers observe each animal’s heart beat & its GI push food through the intestine.
Skin transparency study
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mouse skin b4 and after tartrazine dye
Before & after tartrazine application

This strange science fact offers a potentially new means of visualizing the structure & activity of deep tissues & organs in vivo (meaning in a live organism) in a safe, temporary, and noninvasive manner.

Which is why it made my list of strange science news.

I hope researchers can find a way to use tartrazine clinically in humans!

 

Kevin making a face
Three great science concepts!

Hm. 

The person wearing that gold bracelet in the pic must have skimmed this strange science news post!

Rubbing Cheetos on the belly of a Komodo dragon is not the way to make its skin transparent, but you all know that!

Doing that is not what I would consider helpful for anyone’s longevity, either. (for actual science facts about improving your health & increasing your longevity, click on the word longevity)♥

komodo dragon and cheeto
Oh, no...

So which of these three strange science news stories did you find the most intriguing?

Or the weirdest?

No need to beg. Subscribe to Make Sense of Science Louie
Do you have Cheetos in that bag?

Make Sense of Science by reading my blog!

Thanks for sticking with Louie & me!

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Alyssa
Alyssa
September 12, 2024 1:12 pm

Great post! I like the story about gold best. (Your comment box is working again and just in time for me to comment.)

Ami
Ami
September 12, 2024 1:13 pm

The Cheetos news is hysterical. Did you give Louie a Cheeto? Thanks for sharing the science news with us.

Gail Is This Mutton
Gail Is This Mutton
September 13, 2024 1:39 am

Fascinating facts, I love reading this sort of thing. I’ve always been interested in Komodo dragons but didn’t know they had iron teeth!

Stephanie Graber
Stephanie Graber
September 13, 2024 2:26 pm

On the way to the store to buy Cheetos! Haha! Iron teeth fun facts were the most intriguing to me.

Fransic verso
September 14, 2024 5:59 am

This is interesting, always love to read the news about science. Learned new things from your post. Thank you for sharing.

Unwanted Life
September 15, 2024 2:01 am

If I remember rightly, beavers also have iron teeth, which would make sense given what they chew through. So bad ass

Olivia
Olivia
September 16, 2024 6:00 am

Teddy is gorgeous!! I love Boxer dogs. Really enjoyed reading this blog post and was so surprised to see Cheetos have the possibility to turn your skin transparent! Fascinating!

Chloe
Chloe
September 17, 2024 3:56 am

Wow these are great facts! Thanks for sharing.

Fadima Mooneira
September 17, 2024 6:41 am

All facts you shared are interesting. They something I did not learn back in school. Thank you for sharing.

Susan Berk Koch author

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