Curio Cabinet

It seems that time can be reflected—but don’t worry, you won’t have to re-live any embarrassing teenage moments! Some reflections are fairly easy to understand: when lightwaves bounce off of a reflective surface, like glass, or soundwaves bounce off a non-absorbent surface, like a concrete wall, we see a reflection or hear an echo. Since the 1970s, however, scientists have theorized that there is another, stranger way for waves like sound or light to be reflected, in which they actually move backwards in time. Now, researchers have finally managed to recreate the phenomenon, known as a time reflection, in a lab. Time reflections happen when a wave, such as a soundwave, becomes stretched and changes frequency while, at the same time, the medium through which the wave is traveling also abruptly changes course. If you’ve ever heard a police siren seemingly change frequency as it whizzes by, then you’re familiar with at least the first part of this phenomenon. But imagine if you counted from one to ten out loud, and then both the frequency of the soundwave you created and the structure of the air it was traveling through changed all at once. One end of the soundwave might “curl” back at you, so that you would hear yourself counting backwards, from ten to one, in a much higher pitch than you originally spoke. This is a time reflection.
 
Until now, researchers assumed that it would take too much energy to recreate a time reflection in a lab, since they’d have to suddenly and drastically change whatever material their experimental waves were traveling through. They were able to solve the problem by creating a special material specifically designed to interact with electromagnetic radiation, so that its structure could be changed very quickly. They then sent different lightwaves through the material via a metal strip wired with switches. When the switches were triggered, the frequencies of the lightwaves changed, altering the material itself at the same time by changing its impedance, or opposition to electrical flow. This caused some of the lightwaves to reflect back in an altered way, thus proving that time reflections exist and can, to some degree, be controlled. It’s probably too early to get excited for mass-produced time machines, though.

[Image description: A small round mirror sits outside in the snow, reflecting back snowflakes and green vegetation.] Credit & copyright: Lisa from Pexels, Pexels.
 

Here’s some hot news that’s worth reflecting on: volcanic eruptions can turn human brains into glass. In the 1960s, archaeologists unearthed many artifacts and preserved human bodies from the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and the town of Herculaneum, both of which were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. The bodies from these sites are famous for being incredibly well-preserved by layers of volcanic ash, showing the exact poses and sometimes even expressions of the volcano’s victims in their dying moments. In 2018, however, one researcher discovered something even more interesting about one particular body, which had belonged to a 20-year-old man killed in the eruption. Italian anthropologist Pier Paolo noticed that there were shiny areas inside the body’s skull, and upon further investigation discovered that part of the victim’s brain and spine had turned into glass. Now, scientists believe they’ve uncovered the process behind this extremely rare phenomenon.
 
Glass does sometimes form in nature without human intervention, but the process, known as vitrification, requires extreme conditions. It can happen when lightning strikes sand, rapidly heating the grains to over 50,000° Fahrenheit, which is hotter than the surface of the sun. As soon as the lightning is done striking, the sand can rapidly cool, forming tubes or crusts of glass known as fulgurites. Glass can form after volcanic eruptions too. Obsidian is known as volcanic glass because it’s created when lava rapidly cools. However, 2018 was the first time that a vitrified human organ had ever been discovered. Researchers now believe that they know how it happened. First, a superheated ash cloud from the eruption of Vesuvius swept through Herculaneum, instantly killing those in its wake with temperatures of around 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead of incinerating victims’ bodies, the cloud left them covered in layers of ash. The cloud then dissipated quickly, allowing the bodies to cool. The brain in question was somewhat protected by the skull surrounding it, allowing it to cool rapidly and form into glass rather than being completely destroyed. It seems this ancient, cranial mystery is no longer a head-scratcher.

 
[Image description: A gray model of a human brain against a black background.] Credit & copyright: KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA, Pexels

That mama mollyhawk could use a bit of mollycoddling; after all, she’s 74 years old! Albatrosses, also known as mollyhawks, are amazing seabirds. Known for their human-like facial expressions, long lifespans, and loyalty to their mates, they’ve appeared in all sorts of human media, from Disney movies to 18th century poetry. Now, an albatross named Wisdom is making headlines for becoming a mother at age 74. She’s also the world’s oldest known wild bird.
 
There are 22 species of albatross, which live in different parts of the Southern hemisphere and North Pacific. Since Wisdom is a Laysan albatross and one of the world’s most famous birds, her species is likewise the most famous. Laysan albatrosses are some of the world’s largest flying birds, weighing up to 5.6 pounds with wingspans of up to 80 inches. They spend most of their lives on the open waters of the North Pacific, where they can fly without landing for weeks at a time. When not flying, they float on the water’s surface like ducks and plunge their heads underwater to grab prey swimming near the surface, such as crabs, fish eggs, and squid.
 
Once a Laysan albatross is around three to five years old, it will return to land during breeding season, from November to July, to look for a mate. Breeding colonies of Laysan albatrosses can be found on many islands in the Hawaiian archipelago as well as small islands off of Japan and Mexico. Mating is serious business for albatrosses, since they return to the same partner year after year. When a male albatross finds a female that he fancies, he initiates a courtship dance that includes shuffling feet, head-bobbing, and raised wings. If the female dances back and synchronizes her movements to his, then the two mate. This doesn’t mean that the pair will successfully breed, though. Female albatrosses usually only lay one egg per successful season, and they often skip laying an egg every other year.
 
Of the 22 species of albatross, seven are endangered while two are critically endangered. Many albatrosses are killed by waste from the fishing industry, choking on hooks and bobbers or getting tangled in nets. Invasive species like cats sometimes kill adult albatrosses, while invasive rats can eat their eggs. Habitat loss is also a concern as human development encroaches on areas where the birds breed. Albatrosses’ slow reproductive cycles make population recovery difficult. Since they won’t breed in captivity, scientists have set out to help these seabirds in other ways. Some programs have installed artificial nests, which are more resilient to climate change than natural nests, in albatross breeding locations. Others have taken wild albatross chicks and raised them in captivity to give them a better chance of survival. Hopefully more albatrosses are able to follow in Wisdom’s footsteps in the coming years.

 
[Image description: A white-and-gray Albatross with a red band on one leg grooms her chick, which is fluffy and dark brown.] Credit & copyright: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Item ID: 55467033734e97399d40b. Public Domain.

Your living space can never be too clean…right? According to a team of American researchers, it actually can, and their proof lies in the International Space Station (ISS). They found that the space station is far more sterile than most environments on Earth, and that could be a bad thing considering the way that human immune systems function.
 
Researchers began by collecting more than 800 samples from various areas aboard the ISS. When they compared the samples to ones taken from buildings on Earth, like homes and office buildings, they found that microbial diversity on the space station was severely lacking. On Earth, microbes from soil, water, dust, and other sources keep our immune systems robust by exposing them to different stimuli, allowing them to build immunities to common bacteria and other harmful microscopic matter. But on the ISS, almost all of the bacteria comes from human skin shed by the astronauts who live and work there. Also worrying was the fact that chemicals from cleaning products used on board seemed to have built up, since fresh air and sunlight can’t help break them down over time, as they would on Earth.
 
Even on our planet’s surface, environments that are too sterile are known to cause health problems. These include immune dysfunction, cold sores, and spontaneous allergic reactions. As with many things in space, there is no obvious, simple solution. Certain bacteria could be purposefully added to the ISS, but as of right now there’s no way to know if that’s safe. After all, bacteria are living things capable of evolving. Just because they behave and adapt a certain way on Earth doesn’t mean they’d do the same thing in space, and unchecked bacterial growth could lead to all sorts of new health problems. For now, space will likely remain a largely microbe-less place. Hey, at least ISS astronauts don’t have to worry about pandemics.

 
[Image description: A starry sky with some purple visible.] Credit & copyright: Felix Mittermeier, Pexels