science news 11.10.2019

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary in italics in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without italics if I have any.


astrobiology

Study suggests ice on lunar south pole may have more than 1 source


earth

Aerial photographs shed light on Mont Blanc ice loss


bees

Honeybees are math stars
Many creatures, including humans, can determine quantities up to four at a glance, but struggle to distinguish four from five. However, scientists based in Australia and France wondered if honeybees might be able to do better if trained correctly. Amazingly, they discovered that bees can learn to distinguish four from five if they receive a bitter tasting reprimand when they make mistakes during training. Honeybees are better mathematicians than we had thought.


sustainability

Light my fire: How to startup fusion devices every time


humans

Ancient DNA reveals social inequality in bronze age Europe households
Providing a clearer picture of intra-household inequality in ancient times, new research reports that prehistoric German households near the Lech Valley consisted of a high-status core family and unrelated low-status individuals.

Musical perception: nature or nurture?
A study [...] comparing how the brain reacts when the musical sequences perceived do not finish as might be expected. The study is part of a H2020 international European project which the CBC is conducting the with Fundació Bial to understand the bases of musical cognition.



Topographic map of how the brain reacts in musicians and non-musicians.
Credit: Juan M. Toro (UPF)


Linguists track impact of cognitive decline across three decades of one writer's diaries



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From the news media:

While Extinction Rebellion are out and about this week, the Guardian runs a big series with investigations re. the big polluters and how they are trying to block climate change policies all this week. Here's George Monbiot's comment piece on the issue at stake.