Rare 'bionic' armor discovered in 2,500-year-old China burial

Surgeons transplant pig's heart into dying human patient in a first | Rare 'bionic' armor discovered in 2,500-year-old China burial | Hungry badger accidentally unearths hundreds of ancient Roman coins in Spain Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( January 11, 2022 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  [Facebook]( [Twitter](  [LIVESCIENCE]( [LIVESCIENCE]( Amazing science every day [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE](  [] Top Science News [] [Surgeons transplant pig's heart into dying human patient in a first]( [Surgeons transplant pig's heart into dying human patient in a first]( (University of Maryland Medical Center) Doctors have transplanted the heart from a genetically modified pig into the chest of a man from Maryland in a last-ditch effort to save his life. The first-of-its-kind surgery is being hailed as a major step forward in the decades-long effort to successfully transplant animal organs into humans. Although it's been tried before — one of the earliest subjects, known as Baby Fae, survived 21 days with a baboon's heart in 1984, according to Time — the practice has fallen into disuse because the animal organs are usually quickly rejected by their human host. But doctors say this new transplant is a breakthrough because the donor pig had undergone gene-editing to remove a specific type of sugar from its cells that's thought to be responsible for previous organ rejections in patients. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] History & Archaeology [] [Rare 'bionic' armor discovered in 2,500-year-old China burial]( [Rare 'bionic' armor discovered in 2,500-year-old China burial]( (Dongliang Xu/Turfan Museum) About 2,500 years ago, a man in northwest China was buried with armor made of more than 5,000 leather scales, a military garment fashioned so intricately, its design looks like the overlapping scales of a fish, a new study finds. The armor, which resembles an apron-like waistcoat, could be donned quickly without the help of another person. "It is a light, highly efficient one-size-fits-all defensive garment for soldiers of a mass army," said study lead researcher Patrick Wertmann, a researcher at the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies of the University of Zurich. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Hungry badger accidentally unearths hundreds of ancient Roman coins in Spain]( [Hungry badger accidentally unearths hundreds of ancient Roman coins in Spain]( (Shutterstock) A hungry badger searching for food seems to have uncovered what turned out to be hundreds of Roman coins in a Spanish cave, according to a new study. Archaeologists first discovered several coins laying on the ground at the entrance to a small cave in the woodlands outside Grado in northern Spain in April 2021. The researchers suspect that the coins were unearthed by a European badger (Meles meles) from a nearby den after a heavy storm dumped several feet of snow on the ground, making it harder for animals to find food. The hungry badger probably ventured into the cave looking for something to eat but came across the coins instead. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Remains of a man and dog trying to escape ancient tsunami found on Aegean coast]( [Remains of a man and dog trying to escape ancient tsunami found on Aegean coast]( (Vasif Şahoğlu) Roughly 3,600 years ago, the massive Thera volcano in the Aegean Sea blew its top, unleashing massive tsunamis. Now, archaeologists in western Turkey have unearthed the bones of a young man and a dog killed by one of those tsunamis. It's the first time that any victims of the ancient eruption have been found in their archaeological context, and it's the northernmost evidence found of the tsunamis that followed it. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/10) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Enormous sea dragon fossil from 180 million years ago discovered in England]( [Enormous sea dragon fossil from 180 million years ago discovered in England]( (Courtesy of Anglian Water) The remains of a monstrous, 33-foot-long (10 meters) "sea dragon" that swam in the seas when dinosaurs were alive some 180 million years ago have been unearthed on a nature reserve in England. The behemoth is the biggest and most complete fossil of its kind ever discovered in the U.K. "It is a truly unprecedented discovery and one of the greatest finds in British palaeontological history," excavation leader Dean Lomax, a paleontologist and visiting scientist at the University of Manchester, said in a statement. Though many such ichthyosaurs have been found in the U.K., none have been as large as the current discovery. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/10) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Life’s Little Mysteries [] [How do energy saving light bulbs work?]( [How do energy saving light bulbs work?]( (Getty Images) Energy saving light bulbs were invented as a greener alternative to traditional bulbs, needing 90% less electricity to produce the same light, according to the Centre of Sustainable Energy. But how do they do it? As bright ideas go, it’s almost impossible to overstate the impact the humble light bulb has had on human civilization. Before Thomas Edison had the original ‘light bulb moment’ and patented his invention all the way back in 1879 people were literally living in the dark ages, according to the Franklin Institute. People depended on oil or gas lamps and candles to light their rooms and streets, and when the sun went down the world would look much duller than it does today. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Astronomy & Astrophysics [] ['Diamond rain' on Uranus and Neptune seems likely]( ['Diamond rain' on Uranus and Neptune seems likely]( (Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) The ice giants Uranus and Neptune don't get nearly enough press; all the attention goes to their larger siblings, mighty Jupiter and magnificent Saturn. At first glance, Uranus and Neptune are just bland, boring balls of uninteresting molecules. But hiding beneath the outer layers of those worlds, there may be something spectacular: a constant rain of diamonds. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/11) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Scientists watched a star explode in real time for the first time ever]( [Scientists watched a star explode in real time for the first time ever]( (W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko) Astronomers have watched a giant star blow up in a fiery supernova for the first time ever — and the spectacle was even more explosive than the researchers anticipated. Scientists began watching the doomed star — a red supergiant named SN 2020tlf and located about 120 million light-years from Earth — more than 100 days before its final, violent collapse, according to a new study published Jan. 6 in the Astrophysical Journal. During that lead-up, the researchers saw the star erupt with bright flashes of light as great globs of gas exploded out of the star's surface. Full Story: [Live Science]( (1/10) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Quiz [] POLL QUESTION: Is Earth expanding or shrinking? (Learn the answer [here]() [Vote]( [Expanding]( [Vote]( [Shrinking](   [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Cookies Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:livescience@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE]( Future US LLC © 10th floor, 1100 13th Street, Suite #1000, N.W Washington, DC 20005