Phosphine And Possibly Ammonia Detected Deeper In Venus's Atmosphere, Stegosaurus Fossil Fetches $44.6 Million At Auction, And Much More This Week

This week, butter created from CO2 tastes like the real thing (according to Bill Gates), the first cave has been found on the Moon , and a new microcontinent has been discovered between Greenland and Canada. Finally, we investigate how to tell the difference between pseudoscience and anti-science – and how to fight both.

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New Detection Of Phosphine Deeper In Venus's Atmosphere – And Possibly Ammonia Too

Astronomers have made new discoveries in the atmosphere of Venus, adding to the compelling complexity and debate over recent discoveries of the molecule phosphine there, and what it means. The unexpected presence of phosphine continues to perplex scientists, but the idea of life in the clouds of Venus continues to be a tantalizing possibility. Read the full story here

Lab-Made Butter Created From CO2 Tastes Like The Real Thing, Says Bill Gates

A start-up is literally making butter out of thin air. Using a host of biochemical wizardry, the company is developing ways to make fats out of carbon dioxide taken from the air and hydrogen from water, all without the need for animals, plants, or farmland. Read the full story here

"Apex" The Stegosaurus Fossil Shatters World Record Fetching $44.6 Million At Auction

After less than an hour and a half of bidding, the remains of a Stegosaurus dubbed “Apex” sold for a whopping $44.6 million at Sotheby’s on Wednesday, making it the most expensive fossil ever to have been sold at auction. It’s not exactly unusual for a lot of money to be thrown about at a Sotheby’s auction, but the sale of Apex certainly surpassed expectations. Read the full story here

The First Cave Has Been Found On The Moon – Is It Ready For Occupation?

A tunnel has been identified under the surface of the Moon for the first time, appropriately on the Sea of Tranquility where humans first set foot. Although this particular spot is not a likely place to build a future colony, where there is one cave there are likely to be more, boosting the prospects for future colonization. Read the full story here

New Microcontinent Discovered Between Greenland And Canada

A microcontinent has been discovered in the Davis Strait between Canada's southeastern Baffin Island and southwestern Greenland. In a new study, researchers from the UK and Sweden mapped the microcontinent using gravity data, and seismic reflection data to create a plate tectonic reconstruction of the region. Read the full story here

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Feature of the week:

Pseudoscience Vs Anti-Science: How To Tell The Difference And Fight Both

The internet was meant to be an “information superhighway” – a place where all human knowledge could be available, allowing humanity to find the truth of any situation at the touch of a button. Instead, it’s a place where anti-vaxxers tout deworming tablets for viruses and people pretend that birds aren't real . It’s a wild west of pseudo- and anti-science – and a recent paper into the two phenomena has now outlined just how dangerous it can get. Read the full story here

More content:

Have you seen our e-magazine, CURIOUS ? It’s just turned 2! Issue 24 July 2024 is available now . Check it out for exclusive interviews, book excerpts, long reads, and more.

PLUS, season 4 of IFLScience's The Big Questions Podcast has begun. So far we’ve asked “ Why Are We The Only Surviving Human Species? ” and “ How Is Climate Change Impacting Our Health? ”