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This week in science news, we find out what your cat's face might be telling you, gear up for an impending solar maximum and discover the gruesome answer to the "mermaid" mummy mystery.
Cats, mysterious creatures that they are, always seem to be up to something, but we're never completely sure what's going on in those feline brains. Scientists' curiosity into what cats might be thinking led to a study of the felines in cat cafes, which revealed they have nearly 300 different facial expressions — but can they recognize themselves in the mirror?
If you look closely, you can see the thick filament (in blue and mint green) interacting with the thin filament of muscle (in lime green).
(Image credit: Max Planck Institute Dortmund)
The skeletal and heart muscle cells of mammals are made up of building blocks known as sarcomeres. These contain thick and thin filaments, called myosin and actin respectively, that interact and enable the muscle to contract. This stunning, multicolored image is the clearest picture to date of what the thick filaments in mammalian heart tissue look like.
The image was taken using a cutting-edge technique known as cryo-electron tomography, or cryo-ET, which helps scientists to paint a clearer picture of the appearance of large molecules within living cells. The team behind it, from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Molecular Physiology in Germany, says that it is the world's first true-to-life 3D image of the thick filament in mammalian heart tissue, and that a better understanding of how muscles work could accelerate the development of new therapies to treat heart and muscle disorders.
"Our aim is to paint a complete picture of the sarcomere one day," Stefan Raunser, a director of structural biochemistry at the MPI of Molecular Physiology, said in a statement. "The image of the thick filament in this study is 'only' a snapshot in the relaxed state of the muscle. To fully understand how the sarcomere functions and how it is regulated, we want to analyze it in different states e.g. during contraction," he said.
Who is this man? (a) an Oscar-winning actor (b) a Nobel Prize winner (c) Ramesses II, an Egyptian pharaoh
(Image credit: Liverpool John Moores University Face Lab)
This man was Ramesses II, one of ancient Egypt's most powerful pharaohs. The 19th-dynasty king ruled for 66 years, beginning in 1279 B.C., and his likeness has been chiseled into colossal statues and printed in textbooks around the world. But until recently, only those who met the man knew what he really looked like.
But earlier this year, researchers digitally reconstructed the iconic king's face using a computed tomography (CT) scan of the pharaoh's mummified skull. The final image brought the long-dead ruler back to life.
Alexander McNamara is the Editor-in-Chief at Live Science, and has more than 15 years’ experience in publishing at digital titles. In 2024 he was shortlisted for Editor of the Year at the Association of British Science Writers awards for his work at Live Science. He has previously worked at New Scientist and BBC Science Focus.
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