It won't Forget

Wild crows can recognize individual human faces and hold a grudge for years against people who have treated them badly. Scientists at the University of Washington donned a rubber caveman mask and then captured and ringed wild crows. If the crows were later approached by someone wearing the same mask, they loudly scolded the intruder. The crows' antipathy to the caveman mask has lasted more than three years, even though they have had no further bad experiences with people wearing it.

Going to extremes

On April 23, the Swift X- ray satellite witnessed a record-breaking gamma ray burst (G R B), a blast that signals the explosive death of a massive star. Swift saw 10 seconds of gamma rays followed by an X-ray after glow. Such afterglows occur because the star's gamma-ray jets plow through surrounding material that has star previoulst shed. As they barrel through, the gamma rays transfer energy to the material and cause it to radiate. After localizing its position with Swift, and then performing follow-up observations with multiple ground based observatories, scientists determined that the burst called GRB 0800423, occurred when the universe was just one 630 million years old. (That corresponds to a red shift of 8.2)
The recorded red shift makes this GRB the most distant blast yet seen. The object's red shift corresponds to when the universe was just one-twentieth of its current age. Astronomers believethe first stars began forming around 200 million years after the Big bang, and GRB 090423's progenitor stars brings them closer to that time period.
It also gives astronomers clues about the little understood cosmic Dark Ages, and the following "reionization"epoch.

A Mammoth Discovery

An ivory carving provides evidence of Ice Age artisans. The little figurine
approximately half an inch long and weighing a fraction of an ounce-may not look like much, but at 35,000 years old, it's believed to be the oldest ivory carving ever found. Archaeologists recently unearthed the mammoth sculpture, along with four other Ice Age relics, in a cave in southwestern Germany. The pachyderm is impressively wrought and has a slim design and crosshatches on its feet. Scientists say it's among the earliest evidence of Ice Age artistry. Radiocarbon dating of the dig site's sediment places the sculpture at a point in time alongside the arrival of the first modern humans in Europe.

The Iron Snail

The snail, Crysomallon squamiferum is known as the scaly-foot gastropod, and lives deep beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean near a group of hydrothermal vents. The iron armor protects the snail against its predators. The iron-plated shell of this deep water snail could inspire a new class of lifesaving armor for soldiers according to new research.

Does the alcohol in alcohol gel get absorbed through our skin??

Yes, although the quantities are normally quite small. Hand sanitizer gel is about 6.2% ethanol or propanol. This is only about 60% more concentrated than gin and you only use a few millimeters almost to wash your hands. In addition alcohol is very volatile and nearly all of it will evaporate before it is absorbed.

Which way would a compass point in space?

The direction of a compass needle is dictated by the local magnetic field, which on Earth has a clear north-south direction. There are magnetic fields in space as well, but they're generally far weaker and lacking in any obvious direction. So, in the absence of anything like a nearby magnet, a compass in space will just move around at random.

Do hot drinks really cool you down?

During rest, your body generates around 360 kilojoules of heat per hour, so a cup of tea is equivalent to about five minutes of heat production. The heat goes straight to your body to think you're hotter than you really are. You'll sweat more and divert hot blood to your skin, which might cause you to lose more heat than you actually gained from the drink.