Weekly Science Picks

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Well, it’s Sunday again. It’s our time to recapitulate all the scientific contributions, ideas, events and discoveries that have occurred in this week. To be honest, the job was quite challenging, since the science and technology market is highly competitive and unpredictable. Luckily, we made it. Now we would like to present you top stories that were published during this week.

How to learn like a memory champion

For most of his 20s, Ed Cooke had been hovering around the top 10 of the World Memory Championships. His achievements included memorising 2,265 binary digits in 30 minutes and the order of 16 packs of playing cards in just an hour. But at the age of 26, he was getting restless, and wanted to help others to learn like him. “The memory techniques take a certain discipline,” he says. “I wanted a tool that would just allow you to relax into learning.”

Take that, space junk! Australian scientists to zap debris with lasers

It may sound like science fiction but an Australian team is working on a project to zap orbital debris with lasers from Earth to reduce the growing amount of space junk that threatens to knock out satellites with a “cascade of collisions”.

The ozone hole saga takes a new twist

The atmosphere’s ozone layer was being depleted – and CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) were responsible. CFCs were one of the main chemicals in hairspray (as well as every other aerosol product) and were used in refrigerators and air conditioners.

First animals oxygenated Earth’s oceans, study suggests

The evolution of the first animals may have oxygenated Earth’s oceans — contrary to the traditional view that a rise in oxygen triggered their development. New research contests the long held belief that oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans was a pre-requisite for the evolution of complex life forms. The study builds on the recent work of scientists in Denmark who found that sponges — the first animals to evolve — require only small amounts of oxygen.

Until next Sunday, stay thirsty for new updates from the world of science and technology.