Here at IFLScience‚ we like to cover some of society’s most pressing questions about science. Should death be taught in schools? What do ultra-processed foods mean for our health? And on today’s agenda‚ perhaps the most important question of them all: what causes an “innie” or an “outie” belly button?What is a belly button?Before we get into the ins and outs of innies and outies‚ it’s important to know what a belly button actually is. The fancy clinical name for a belly button is the umbilicus‚ which is a handy reminder that it’s the point where the umbilical cord used to be‚ connecting a developing fetus with the placenta.After birth‚ the umbilical cord isn’t needed anymore‚ so typically it’s cut and clamped‚ leaving a little stump that eventually dries up and falls off. The belly button is the scar that’s left after this process.The formation of innies and outiesSome people believe whether you have an innie or an outie belly button depends on how the umbilical cord is cut or where the clamp is placed – but that isn’t the case. It comes down to how the area heals and the scar forms‚ which depends on the individual. However‚ some medical conditions – primarily umbilical hernias and granulomas – can be mistaken for an outie belly button.For a regular outie belly button‚ there’s nothing to worry about‚ though they’re certainly the rarer of the two types – an estimated 90 percent of people have an innie belly button‚ whereas only the remaining 10 percent are left with an outie. Even within the innie and outie categories‚ there can be various subtypes‚ relating to features like shape‚ orientation‚ and depth.If you happen to be the proud owner of an innie‚ while you’re (hopefully) clearing out any fluff that might have accumulated up in there (it happens to the best of us)‚ you might also be inadvertently digging out a wealth of bacteria. A 2012 study that involved swabbing people's navels for science found over 2‚300 different species of bacteria in just 60 belly buttons. Some people have even used belly button bacteria to make cheese.      IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Belly buttons can sometimes changeAlthough for the vast majority of people‚ their belly button will not change‚ there are a couple of reasons why some people’s navels might change appearance. The first is what’s known as an umbilicoplasty‚ which is a cosmetic surgery to change the size and/or shape of the belly button.The second is medical conditions that put extra pressure on the area‚ forcing an otherwise innie belly button into an outie. The most common of these is pregnancy‚ where the growing fetus is the one putting the pressure on an innie to put itself out there. This can lead an innie to “pop” at around 26 weeks gestation‚ though it usually goes back to its normal introverted self after the pregnancy ends.Whatever kind of belly button you have‚ it’s perfectly normal. Just please‚ for the love of all that’s good‚ make sure you clean all the nooks and crannies.

In the hyper-arid deserts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)‚ water is scarce but sunshine is bountiful. The oil-rich nation currently uses a small army of cloud-seeding drones and aircraft to ease their water woes‚ but scientists have recently proposed another way to promote precipitation in the region: gigantic solar farms. In a new study‚ researchers at the University of Hohenheim in Germany show that vast arrays of solar panels have the potential to foster rainclouds above the UAE and bring much-needed water to tens of thousands of people. The logic behind the idea goes like this: dark-colored solar photovoltaic panels absorb heat and‚ if large enough in scale‚ can create "artificial heat islands" in local areas. With the help of the UAE’s sea breeze‚ the warmth could be drifted upwards via convection and promote cloud formation in the skies.Using computer models‚ the team ran several simulations to see how big the solar farm would need to be to have the desired effect. The modeling suggested a 10-kilometer square (3.8 square miles) field of black solar panels would have “very little impact” on rainfall. Upwards of this though‚ larger solar farms could potentially produce substantial downpours.A 20-square-kilometer (7.7 square miles) solar panel field would create around 570‚000 cubic meters each day of rain. If this occurred for just 10 days in a year‚ it could provide enough water for over 31‚000 people annually.As for a 50-square-kilometer (19 square miles) solar field‚ this would create enough rain to provide 125‚000 extra people with water each year. “Some solar farms are getting up to the right size right now. Maybe it’s not science fiction that we can produce this effect‚" Oliver Branch‚ lead study author and climate scientist at the University of Hohenheim‚ told Science.It’s an extremely creative solution‚ but it might not work for every region of the world that’s facing water stress. Another study in 2020 investigated a similar idea for the Sahara Desert in Africa. Although it would increase rainfall in the local area‚ it would have a profound knock-on effect across the globe‚ causing droughts and forest degradation in the Amazon‚ as well as temperature increases and sea-ice loss in the Arctic.This latest proposal is effectively a form of geoengineering‚ the deliberate manipulation of Earth’s natural processes to tweak its climate and weather conditions. Many believe this kind of meddling could be a viable solution to the planet’s climate crisis – but it’s a risky business. As the 2020 Sahara study shows‚ interfering with complex systems‚ such as Earth’s climate‚ can easily have unforeseen consequences and disastrous ripple effects. This latest study about the UAE didn't identify any such impacts beyond the surrounding region‚ although it's certainly something scientists need to keep an eye on in future research.The new study is published in the journal Earth System Dynamics.

In the near future‚ astronauts and private citizens might be able to travel to space and spend time in the Orbital Reef – a private space station for long-term living and used for commerce‚ research‚ and tourism. The project‚ headed by Sierra Space and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin‚ aims to be operational in low-Earth orbit by 2027 and it has just passed important NASA tests.The NASA-funded commercial space station needs to demonstrate that its critical life-support system will work as it should. The latest four milestones were about air and water purification‚ storage‚ and recycling.Nothing is wasted in space – not even waste – so air needs to be scrubbed of carbon dioxide and return oxygen. Water‚ including urine‚ needs to be reclaimed and cleaned but kept in the system. It is neither cheap nor easy to get new air or new water in orbit.“These milestones are critical to ensuring that a commercial destination can support human life so NASA astronauts can continue to have access to low Earth orbit to conduct important scientific research in the unique microgravity environment‚” Angela Hart‚ manager of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program‚ said in a statement. “Additionally‚ each milestone that is completed allows NASA to gain insight into our partner’s progress on station design and development.”One of the tests focused on the trace contaminant control test – the ability of filters to remove harmful impurities from the air. The water system was tested in three ways: a water containment oxidation test to check how the water is cleaned; urine water recovery tests focused on the reclaim of waste; and last‚ but not least‚ a water tank test to assess how water is stored in the system.The International Space Station has systems like this in place and they guarantee environmental control and the welfare of astronauts. This is not the only successful test for Orbital Reef we have seen recently. In January‚ Sierra Space pushed its inflatable station module LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) to the limits until it exploded. LIFE exceeded NASA recommendations by 27 percent.Orbital Reef is only one of the commercial space stations NASA is supporting – some of them through funded agreements‚ others through unfunded agreements. With the International Space Station retiring over the next decade‚ human presence in space will look very different in a few years.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has slowed substantially since the mid-90s‚ a new study reveals. AMOC is an essential component of the systems that keep the Earth’s regional climates in balance. Without it‚ Europe could suffer colder winters while the tropics could heat up even faster. Climatologists have identified AMOC as one of the most vulnerable parts of the planetary heat balance for decades‚ but uncertainty has remained about how much change is taking place.Ocean currents move quantities of water that make the world’s largest rivers seem small by comparison. In the process‚ they redistribute heat‚ as well as helping oxygenate deeper waters. The factors causing these currents vary‚ with physical processes such as the Coriolis force having an important influence. AMOC‚ however‚ is primarily the result of salty water left behind when sea ice forms sinking to the depths‚ leaving space for tropical waters to flow in.Many climate models suggest that as melting ice from Greenland floods the North Atlantic with cold‚ but very fresh‚ water‚ it will sit above more salty water instead of sinking. Without an impulse to the depths‚ water will stop moving south in the deep ocean‚ and the Gulf Stream will flow more weakly. However‚ the Atlantic is a large place‚ and tracking the movements of this much water is hard‚ particularly since the data gets patchier the further back you go. Measurement efforts consistently show AMOC is weakening‚ but disagree on how much.Dr Alexey Mishonov of the University of Maryland and co-authors have measured the strength of AMOC in a new way. They studied temperatures and sea surface heights across the North Atlantic using extensive databases. Salinity and density measurements were also used where they are available‚ providing a more comprehensive picture than previous efforts.“It is shown that although the entire North Atlantic is systematically warming‚ the climate trajectories in different sub-regions of the North Atlantic reveal radically different characteristics of regional decadal variability‚” the authors write. Specifically‚ subpolar regions are warming more slowly than those in the subtropics and even off Norway. Since in general global warming heats the poles faster‚ that’s an indication of reduced transport of warm water out of the tropics.The team found patterns consistent with AMOC having remained stable from 1955‚ when widespread measurements started‚ to 1994. Since then‚ however AMOC has slowed. “There is also a slowdown of the thermohaline geostrophic circulation everywhere in the North Atlantic during the most recent decade‚” the authors note.AMOC involves so many currents and subcurrents it is hard to put a single figure on the changes‚ but the authors note a 20 percent reduction in the warm water transported by the Gulf Stream.The currents of the North Atlantic are very complex‚ contributing to the difficulties of measuring its changes over time.Image credit: Mishonov et al‚ Frontiers in Marine Science 2024 (CC BY 4.0)"If AMOC slows down‚ the heat exchange will be reduced‚ which in turn will affect the climate‚ causing hot areas to get hotter and cold areas to get colder‚" said Mishonov in a statement. Most climatic changes have at least some beneficiaries‚ but this one is likely to be bad for almost everyone affected.A paper published last month detected warning signs of an impending AMOC collapse. Mishonov and co-authors’ work looks backwards not forwards‚ and they explicitly state it does not confirm that study. Nevertheless‚ it arguably makes it more plausible.An additional fear in regard to AMOC failing is of oxygen depletion causing the collapse of deep-water ecosystems. This remains a genuine threat‚ but one recent study raised the possibility other sources of oxygenation could be stronger in a warming world‚ partially offsetting this aspect of AMOC’s weakening.The possibility of AMOC’s collapse attracted public attention when it was the centerpiece of the Hollywood blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow. Like most disaster films it took something real and exaggerated it to ridiculous proportions. “Of course‚ most climate scientists do not share these Hollywood fantasies‚ and no one inside scientific communities believes anything remotely similar can happen‚” Mishonov said. "However‚ most do believe that substantial slowing of AMOC might result in significant climate change that cannot be foreseen and predicted. Therefore‚ increased interest in AMOC functionality is fully warranted."The study is published open access in Frontiers in Marine Science. 

The dessert options available to us nowadays span a wide range of tastes‚ from a pint of Ben &; Jerry’s to good ol’ apple crumble and custard. But how did the glorious concept of dessert begin?To find out‚ let’s travel back to the ancient Middle East‚ a region that nowadays covers countries like Turkey‚ Armenia‚ and Iraq. This period began around 6‚000 years ago‚ continuing through to roughly the seventh century. Though it’s not known exactly when‚ at some point during this timeframe a tradition began that oriented around the landing of Noah’s ark.The legend goes that after rocking up on Mount Ararat in Turkey once the flood receded‚ Noah and his family celebrated the world being a bit less wet by preparing a porridge-like dish out of the ingredients left on the boat – and thus was born ashure (pronounced ah-shoo-ray)‚ or “Noah’s pudding”.It’s thought that people in ancient times began eating ashure as a way of commemorating the ark’s landing‚ and this has remained a tradition through to the modern day. In Turkey‚ for example‚ it’s celebrated on Ashura‚ the 10th day in the Islamic calendar month of Muharram‚ with people preparing Noah’s pudding for family‚ friends‚ and neighbors.However‚ ashure isn’t just eaten in Turkey‚ or even by people belonging to one particular religion. Though it can have different names‚ ashure is also eaten in places like Armenia and the Balkans‚ and is prepared by some to mark holidays in Judaism and Christianity too.But whilst its popularity might have transcended time‚ any specific recipe certainly hasn’t. Granted‚ it’s primarily wheat-based and often features white beans and chickpeas‚ which doesn’t sound especially pudding-y. However‚ people usually throw in a whole array of nuts‚ fruits‚ and spices – think apricots‚ pomegranate seeds‚ figs‚ pistachios‚ and cinnamon – to make a sweet and rich dessert. What you find in a bowl of ashure is likely to vary from region to region‚ and even person to person.Whilst its primary ingredients might seem unconventional to those not in the know‚ there’s more to this ancient dessert than satisfying your own tastebuds. Though it can be found in restaurants‚ often‚ at its heart‚ ashure is prepared to share amongst the community‚ tying people together regardless of their beliefs.As Suna Çaaptay‚ professor of architectural history and archaeology at Istanbul's BahçeÅŸehir University‚ told BBC Travel: "I loved how ashure or its slight variants symbolises sweetness‚ commemoration‚ new beginnings and so on. I think very few recipes have the power of ashure: widely known‚ bearing Biblical and Muslim references‚ and directing us to think along similar lines."

The nature of consciousness‚ how it emerges‚ and how it relates to the physical world has been a major philosophical and scientific topic of debate for as long as humanity has been thinking. Are mind and body separate? Some think yes‚ others think no‚ but a third camp expresses an in-between and yet more radical idea: everything in the universe has consciousness‚ and that includes the Sun.This vision of the universe is known as panpsychism. The idea that consciousness arises from the physical world is known as physicalism‚ although we remain uncertain as to what makes animals conscious. Instead‚ the idea of mind and matter as two separate entities is covered by the dualist view of the world. Panpsychism sets out as a bridge between the two. Consciousness arises in us because consciousness is present in everything.Concepts akin to this have been seen across the globe and over millennia in religions and philosophies. The concept has experienced a resurgence in analytical philosophy of late and there is a particularly unorthodox paper that discusses the potential consciousness of the Sun written by biologist Rupert Sheldrake‚ known for his work in morphic resonance – the belief that similar organisms somehow share telepathic interconnections and that species share collective memories.In a paper published in the Journal of Consciousness Studies back in 2021‚ Sheldrake argues for the consciousness of the Sun and all the other stars. The biologist puts forth that “consciousness‚ awareness‚ or experience may be present in self-organizing systems at many levels of complexity.” Sheldrake states that this moves us from the physicalism concern of how consciousness emerged from a simple system and instead brings consciousness to stars‚ solar systems‚ galaxies‚ and the universe as a whole.“Consciousness does not need to be confined to brains‚” Sheldrake told Popular Mechanics. “The link between minds and physical systems seems to be through rhythmic electromagnetic fields‚ which of course are present in our brains. They are also present in and around the sun‚ and these could be the interface between the solar mind and the body of the sun.”                Now‚ there are many philosophical and scientific arguments challenging panpsychism‚ but in the paper‚ we were particularly intrigued by what the consequences of a conscious Sun and the 100 billion other conscious stars making up the Milky Way would be. One proposed consequence‚ for example‚ is that the stars can move by releasing directional jets that place them where they want to.According to Sheldrake's study‚ some suggest that stars do not move under the gravitational influence of dark matter‚ but instead steer themselves into their appropriate position. As always‚ extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. While stellar jets are found in many objects‚ they are never a way for stars to propel themselves.There's also an incredible map of the Milky Way thanks to the European Space Agency’s Gaia observatory. And it does not just detail the position of almost two billion stars‚ but also their motion. This data allows us to rewind the clock on the Milky Way and see how stars moved over billions of years.If there were stellar motions that were not governed by the laws of gravity in a universe where dark matter is supposed to exist‚ well‚ scientists would certainly shout about them. The motion of stars as though there was a lot more matter than we could see is how dark matter came to be proposed in the first place.In the paper‚ a lot of the argument is based on the Sun’s magnetic field and its complex nature. But if we want to consider something even more complex‚ we should look at the magnetic field of Uranus. Unlike the solar dynamo or Earth’s magnetosphere‚ the magnetic field of Uranus is off-center‚ and it might open and close daily‚ tumbling around. Significantly more complex than the Sun‚ but maybe “Is Uranus Conscious?” does not have quite the same ring to it.[H/T: Popular Mechanics]

Warning: shocking content! On the morning of June 24‚ 1999‚ in the town of Santa Isabel‚ near Sao Paulo‚ Brazil‚ a 25-year-old woman‚ Sonia Aparecida Da Rocha‚ went into the room of her elderly mother-in-law‚ Alzira Maria de Jesus‚ to bring her coffee. Alzira was 70 years old and had been ill for a long time and needed special care‚ which is why she almost never got out of bed. Sonia looked after her every day. That morning‚ at eight o’clock‚ Sonia saw that the old woman was lying in bed completely motionless‚ as if dead. She called her name… This premium content is for PLUS+ members only. Visit the site and log in/register to read. The post Woman who had her face stolen: Horrific death of an elderly woman from Brazil appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Dory’s story unfolds in Tenerife‚ where her plight captures the essence of compassion and the stark realities of neglect. The horse’s journey from a distressing state of neglect to helping raise awareness begins with an urgent call for help. It sets off a mission that delves deep into human misunderstanding and the resilience of an... The post Rescuers hearts break upon sight of suffering horse that’d been neglected for years appeared first on Animal Channel.

Imagine a world where our understanding of animal intelligence and emotional capacity expands through the most unexpected encounters. This narrative unfolds with Poe‚ a raven with an extraordinary tale of resilience‚ companionship‚ and intelligence. Rescued in 2009 after sustaining a wing injury that left him partially flightless‚ Poe’s journey transcends mere survival‚ weaving a narrative... The post Elderly 15-yr-old raven makes most ‘amazing’ sound when he sees his favorite girl appeared first on Animal Channel.

Dory’s story unfolds in Tenerife‚ where her plight captures the essence of compassion and the stark realities of neglect. The horse’s journey from a distressing state of neglect to helping raise awareness begins with an urgent call for help. It sets off a mission that delves deep into human misunderstanding and the resilience of an... The post Rescuers get call to help suffering horse but even they’re shocked by what they discover appeared first on Animal Channel.