IFLScience - Break It Down

This week on Break It Down: The discovery of some fossilized human teeth reveals the oldest known members of our genus weren’t alone; their neighbors were a species we’ve never found before. A world-first study reveals that sex reversal is surprisingly common in wild Australian birds. A law of abbreviation that mysteriously fits all human languages also applies to bird song from several species. Orange crocodiles lurking deep within caves in Central Africa have the potential to become a new dwarf species. The lack of a standardized definition is holding back long COVID research. And has anybody ever died by getting hit by a meteorite? The records show: just one. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: New human species HUMAN with Ella Al-Shamahi Tunnel of bones Sex reversal in wild birds Zipf’s law applies to birds Orange crocodiles Defining long COVID Death by meteorite Why do we feel pain? Interview with Chris Hemsworth and Dr BJ Miller The Big Questions – Will We Ever Get A Universal Flu Vaccine? We Have Questions

This week on Break It Down: just a week after the discovery of our third-ever interstellar visitor we may know where it came from, ancient enamel provides a snapshot into the lives of prehistoric rhinos, the moa becomes the fifth species targeted for de-extinction, a robot performs gallbladder surgery – no human required, chimps start a new fashion trend with grass in their ears (and rears), and 100 years since The Scopes (Monkey) Trial, how much has changed? So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Interstellar visitor Prof Chris Lintott interview Ancient enamel Moa de-extinction Moa foot Robot surgery Fashionable chimps The Scopes (Monkey) Trial The Big Questions We Have Questions Human origins Malayan tigers

This week on Break It Down: feast your eyes on the stunning first images from the world’s largest digital camera, capturing millions of galaxies and thousands of new asteroids. Why killer whales are rubbing each other luxuriously with seaweed, the world’s oldest rocks aren’t that much younger than the planet, mice born from two dads prove they’re fertile, a French woman becomes the only known person in the world with a new kind of blood type, and we celebrate 50 years of the European Space Agency with a special interview with astronaut Luca Parmitano. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: World’s largest digital camera Vera C Rubin images of space Be the first to spot a galaxy Orcas allokelping World’s oldest rocks Mice with two dads Brand new blood type Can we make blood? 50 years of ESA Brain uploads Bonus episode of We Have Questions Dolphins help a lost whale

This week on Break It Down: Seeing the Sun’s south pole for the first time ever, Ice Age puppies frozen in permafrost turn out to be wolves, a world-first fossil discovery reveals a sauropod’s final meal, “razor blade throat” and a traveling nimbus reveal what to expect from the new COVID variant, the deepest map of the universe now reaches 13.5 billion years into the past, and is giving nature a personhood a good way to get it better legal protections? Maybe. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Sun’s butt Permafrost puppies Sauropod stomach contents Her name is ANNE Tyrannosaur stomach contents COVID variant Deepest map of the Universe Should nature have personhood? UNDERDOGS Ed the Zebra The Big Questions returns

This week on Break It Down: The oldest fingerprint in the world might be left by a Neanderthal hoping to complete a face, scientists propose seeding life on Enceladus to see what would happen, we’re starting to understand more about the Incas’ mysterious string writing system, bioacoustics research could pave the way for us to chat to wolves in Yellowstone, prions prove they are just as scary as we always thought when they take over a woman's brain after 50 years, and we explore just how much memory humans really have in these big old noggins of ours. Links: Neanderthal fingerprintsInjecting lifeInca string writing systemLanguage of wolvesPrionsMemory capacity of the brainPapahānaumokuākeaTrawling impactKilaueaCURIOUS Magazine

This week on Break It Down: a new kind of leather is borrowing its foundations from fossil T. rex collagen, we’ve just discovered an enormous glow-in-the-dark gas cloud surprisingly close to Earth, a musical sea lion has shown it can keep beat better than some humans, a new-to-science embalming technique has been discovered in Austria, man who let himself be envenomated by all the snakes inspires an antivenom not thought possible, and do scientists have a responsibility to fight misinformation about their subjects? We asked them. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: T. rex leather Glow-in-the-dark gas cloud Get 30% off with code VE30* Ronan the rhythmic sea lion New embalming tekkers What happens to eyes during the mummification process? Novel route to snake antivenom Scientists VS misinformation 5 kinds of headaches Ballymacombs More Woman *Terms and Conditions: 30% OFF PROMO CODE: VE30 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from May 1, 2025, until May 24, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.

This week on Break It Down: old skin samples have revealed the first-ever evidence for an intersex Southern right whale, a dangerous asteroid that might hit the Moon has an unusual origin, what dire wolf “de-extinction” really means and how it’s helping red wolves, a mushroom that contains one of the most bitter compounds known to humans, a promising new candidate to topple debilitating long COVID, and is time an illusion? So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Intersex whale Dangerous asteroid Dire wolves and red wolves Should we de-extinct species? Animal cloning as a conservation tool Get 35% off with code POD35 * A very bitter mushroom Long COVID treatment candidate Is time an illusion? Octopus in a bottle Grapefruit and medication The Big Questions We Have Questions *Terms and Conditions: 35% OFF PROMO CODE: POD35 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from April 4, 2025, until April 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.