Science Illustrated Australia - Issue 32 2014 PDF

STORING CARBON
BODY ENERGY
Can it work? Can burying

CO2 save the world?
How you can power

your next smartphone
DAINTREE RAINFOREST
The jewel in Australias crown
AU STR ALI AN
MEET
OLD
PLAGUES
RETURN
We thought we
had them beat
- but do we?
SEDNA,
ERIS,
CERES
AND MANY
MORE!
THE SOLAR SYSTEMS
SECRET
PLANETS
Beyond the 8 we know,
dozens of worlds could be hiding
THE REAL
REASON
WE HAD TO
DEMOTE
PLUTO
TWO
YEARS
ON MARS
Curiosity confirms: this
will be our second home
ARE YOU A
NEANDERTHAL?
Our nearest relatives
could be a lot nearer
than you think!
ISSUE #32
SCIENCEILLUSTRATED.COM.AU
Be inspired
REMARKABLE MEDICAL INNOVATIONS
cir
cu
Un
The universality of science and the importance of inquisitive

ivve
minds is applauded in the rst release of the Clever Australia
raalia
three-coin series, showcasing:
lat
ed C
oin
Celebrate ground
breaking Australian
contributions in the eld of
medicine with the intricately
designed Medi-mazing coin.
$1
4
01
Cry
Crystallography (Sir William Lawrence Bragg, 1912)
The pacemaker (Dr Mark C Lidwill, 1926)
Pe
Penicillin (Howard Florey, 1939)
IV
IVF embryo freezing (Professor Carl Wood, 1983)
Sp
Spray-on skin for burns victims (Professor Fiona Wood, 1999)
This ex
exquisite piece is a great reminder of the importance
of having big ideas and even bigger dreams.
Visit eshop.ramint.gov.au and be inspired today!
1300 652 020
EDITORS LETTER
Issue #32 (2nd October 2014)

EDITORIAL
Editor Anthony Fordham
[email protected]
DESIGN
Group Art Director Kristian Hagen
Art Director Malcolm Campbell
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ph: 02 9901 6150
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Circulation Director Carole Jones
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Relster
International Editor Lotte Juul Nielsen
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MAGAZINES
International Licensing Director
Amy Mangino
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Picture Editors Allan Bagges,
Lisbeth Brnnich, Peter Eberhardt
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THE SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED CREDO
We share with our readers a fascination
with science, technology, nature, culture
and archaeology, and believe that through
education about our past, present and future,
we can make the world a better place.
The Neanderthal:
Our Greatest Crime?
umans are
responsible for
some pretty terrible
things (as well as
some pretty great things)
but most of the atrocities
we feel properly bad
about - the genocides, the
slavery, the epic wars - are at least perpetrated
against our own species. And as for all those
animals we kill, eat, displace and drive
extinct... at least they dont really KNOW whats
happening to them, right?
Yet theres mounting evidence that not too
long ago - in geological terms anyway - we
systematically drove another intelligent species
to extinction: the Neanderthal.
As more fossils are uncovered, it seems
that in the last million or so years, there were
several species of intelligent human-like
animals. Modern humans are descended from
a plains-dwelling ancestor probably originating
from Africa. Neanderthals are different squatter, more physically powerful, but less
sophisticated in their tool-using, especially
when it comes to weapons. Their hunting
methods too, were possibly less effective than
ours, and that might have spelled their doom.
As humans moved up into Europe, they
followed an earlier migratory wave of
Neanderthal. Lets be clear - the difference
between humans and Neanderthal is pretty
minimal, sort of like the difference between
horses and donkeys. We could, and probably
did, breed with them. But we also forced them
out of their hunting grounds, drove them to the
sea, and eventually killed them.
Maybe we didnt do it in the same way we
practice genocide today. Maybe Neanderthals
simply slunk away whenever humans turned
up, and eventually there were too many humans
for the Neanderthal communities to survive.

But human nature hasnt changed much in
thousands of years. I suspect we did hunt them
down. I think some of our earliest true wars
would have been with Neanderthal tribes. Lithe
humans going up against a big, powerful but
sadly dumber enemy. Overwhelming them with
force of numbers or with clever traps.
And its possible the Neanderthals werent
our only victims. The evidence isnt in yet, but
its likely other species of hominid existed in
places like China or South East Asia, and we
out-competed them as well.
Perhaps there simply isnt room on a planet
as small as Earth for more than one intelligent,
technological species. It certainly seems strange
that humans are the only smart animals, since
for almost every other kind of animal you can
think of, there are many different species.
The explanation is grim, but obvious: there
were, and we killed them. Remember, most of
human history comes before we thought up the
concept of history. Our current civilisation only
goes back 2000-odd years. Then add another
2500 years for the Egyptians, and maybe go all
the way back to 10,000 BC for the founding of
Jericho and a few other settlements. But thats
only 12,000 years. The modern human, as a
species, could be as much as a million years old.
Nearly 90% of our past could still be waiting for
us to discover or decipher.
Its a past populated by people who, if
they were born today, would be physically
indistinguishable from us (give or take
some body hair). It will be fascinating to see
what other truths - pleasant and disturbing archaeologists uncover in the years ahead.
Anthony Fordham
Twitter: @sci_illustrated
Facebook: facebook.com/ScienceIllustratedAus
Things we learned in this issue

+ The Curiosity rover has spent TWO
YEARS ON MARS and made an incredible
number of discoveries already.
+ The Solar System has MAYBE 900 MORE
PLANETS than we originally thought.
+ The TREE LOBSTERS have survived
because birds mistook them for sticks!
+ If we harness BODY ENERGY we can
charge our phones just by walking around.
scienceillustrated.com.au
CONTENTS
#
ISSUE
32
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED AUSTRALIAN EDITION
PUBLISHED 2ND OCTOBER 2014
30
NEANDERTHALS
Our extinct cousins came off second-best in
the battle for Earth. But were we really to
blame for their demise?
24
COVER STORY
SECRET PLANETS
If youre still worried about Pluto

getting demoted, take heart: there
could be hundreds of undiscovered
planets in the Solar System...
60
OLD PLAGUES RETURN
If diseases like plague, smallpox, TB and
other historical killers came back, would
modern humans be able to withstand them?
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
REGULARS
46 54
TWO YEARS ON MARS
The Curiosity rover has already made
amazing discoveries, and taken more selfies
than any other space robot in history...
6
MEGAPIXEL
Volcanic lightning totally goes off!
CARBON SEQUESTER
While we wait for renewable energy
technologies to become economical, will
storing carbon dioxide stave off disaster?
8
EXTREME REMOTE
COMMUNITIES
Could you live in genuine isolation?
10
SCIENCE UPDATE
The latest news and developments in
science!
18
ASK US
Would getting painted gold kill you?
68 76
DAINTREE RAINFOREST
One of Australias most remarkable
wildernesses is just a few hours drive
from Cairns. Heres why you should go.
BODY ENERGY
Bored with having to plug your phone in to
charge every day? Soon you could generate
electricity - with your regular body movements.
72
TREE LOBSTER
Long thought extinct, this giant stick
insect survived - by looking like a stick.
80
TRIVIA
Now with more solar car supposition!
82
BIODIVERSITY
A blue butterfly... that isnt really blue
SUBSCRIBE
NOW!
62
Get Australian Science
Illustrated delivered to
your door and save $$$!
MEGAPIXEL
GEOLOGY
MARTIN RIETZE/POLFOTO
FIRE-SPITTING VOLCANO
CREATES LIGHTNING
When the Japans Mount Shinmoedake volcano
began to erupt in 2011, observers experienced a rare
phenomenon: volcanic lightning. The cause of the
massive energy discharges in the ash cloud above the
volcano could be that magma and volcanic ash are
electrically charged. As the volcano spits its contents up
in the air, charged areas are created, and the lightning
neutralises the difference between the charge and the
surroundings. The white-hot strikes may also be caused
by collisions between charged particles.
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
GLOBAL EXTREMES: TRISTAN DA CUNHA
The most remote

community
2,430 km
to the closest neighbour. That's the concept of

"local" for the 263 inhabitants of the South
Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, making their
community the most remote on Earth. The
nearest inhabited land, the island of Saint
Helena, is located 2,430 km to the north, or the
same as the distance between Moscow and
Amsterdam. The closest mainland is South
Africa, 2,800 km to the east.
Tristan da Cunha forms part of an archipelago
under British rule including a total of six islands.
The 98 km2 island mainly consists of a fertile
stratovolcano rising 2,062 m above the ocean
surface. The only flat area is located towards
the north-west, where you will find the
islanders homes in the village of Edinburgh.
The Tristans go all the way back to 1816.
Napoleon was placed under house arrest on
the island of Saint Helena, and the British
feared that France would use other Atlantic
islands to launch an attack. So, the UK
stationed a corporal and his family on Tristan
da Cunha. Until 1908, the island experienced
limited immigration. Today, the population lives
by agriculture, fishery, and the sale of coins.
TRISTAN DA CUNHA IS A DOT IN THE OCEAN

SOUTH
AFRICA
Tristan da Cunha
SOUTH
AMERICA
Seven families: All

Tristans descend from six
women and eight men, so
there are only seven family
names on the island: Glass,
Green, Hagan, Lavarello,
Repetto, Rogers, and Swain.
Volcanic refugees for
1.5 years: In 1961, the
volcano of the island erupt-
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
ed, and the entire

population was evacuated
to England. Most chose to
return 18 months later.
Successful community:
There is no unemployment
on Tristan da Cunha. People
are busy running for instance
a shop, a cafe, a school, and
two churches. Once a year,
a ship with supplies and mail

arrives from Saint Helena.
Animals and plants:

The Tristans breed cattle and
chickens and they grow
potatoes in small gardens.
The island is also endemic
to several wild animal
species such as the
Tristan albatross.
By Bjrn Bojesen. Photo: Getty Images, Alamy/Imageselect, NASA, CERN
OTHER REMOTE RECORDS

Tristan da Cunha
The 5 other islands

Name
Size
1. Gough Island
65 km
Inhabitants Distance
6*
400 km
2. Inaccessible Island 14 km
45 km
3. Nightingale Island 2.6 km
35 km
4. Middle Island
34 km
33 km
0.2 km
5. Stoltenhoff Island 0.14 km
1
4
* No residents, but the weather station is manned by around 6 people.
The most remote

land mass is the
Bouvet Island territory
of Norway, 1,642 km
from the island of
Gough and 1,700 km
from Antarctica.
5
3
The most remote

bat species
is the Hawaiian Lasiurus
cinereus semotus,
which lives 4,000 km
from its closest relative
in North America.
The most remote

tree was the Tnr
tree of the Sahara
Desert, located 400 km
from other trees, until
a car struck and killed
it in 1973.
The most remote

probe is the Voyager
The UK stationed Corporal

William Glass and his family in 1816.
Over the years, more men arrived,
and so, a whaler fetched five women
from Saint Helena. All islanders
descend from these five women
and Mrs Glass.
1, which has moved

19 billion km away from
Earth since 1977 and
has now left our
Solar System.
SCIENCE UPDATE
LATEST NEWS AND DISCOVERIES
Editor: Rasmus Palludan
One of the worlds most sophisticated deep sea

submarines, Nereus, has disappeared. The sub is believed
to have imploded at a depth of 10 km due to high pressure.
SUPER SATELLITES
BECOME EARTHS
GUARDIAN ANGELS
A new fleet of satellites will monitor Earth and protect it against threats.
ESA, CLAUS LUNAU
TECHNOLOGY 693 km above Earth, you will

find the Sentinel-1A satellite, which takes
extremely detailed photos of our planet,
using a 12-m-long radar antenna. At this
point, the satellite has already captured
melting glaciers and flooding.
The 2.3 tonne satellite was launched on
3 April 2014, and that is only the beginning
of what ESA has named the most
extensive observation programme ever
focusing on the surface of the Earth.
Approaching 2020, a total of five Sentinel
missions will be initiated. The satellites will
monitor our planet and provide data and
high-resolution radar images of anything
from pollution, oceans, landscape changes,
and flooding to earthquakes.
In 2016, the Sentinel-1A will be followed
by a twin, the Sentinel-1B. Together, the two
WRISTIFY
The Wristify wrist band decreases or

increases your body temperature at the
back of the wrist. The new temperature
spreads to the rest of the body, producing a
psychological effect: People feel warmer or
cooler than they really are.
10
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
The Sentinel-1A has

already sent the first
detailed images of ice and
mountains in Antarctica.
Calving ice, Antarctica
Level differences, Antarctica
FIORELLI ET AL.
WRIST BAND ADJUSTS

BODY TEMPERATURE
of them are capable of collecting data from

anywhere on Earth within a period of six
days. The special radar aerial of the
satellites enables them to take photographs
of Earth when it is cloudy or even dark.
These qualities come in handy in connection
with emergencies such
as flooding, when relief
agencies need fast
access to data. The
future Sentinel
satellites will all be
assigned a set of
unique tasks.
Dead 115-year-old
reveals limit of life
PHYSIOLOGY In 2005, Hendrikje van AndelSchipper of the Netherlands passed away at
the age of 115. Scientists have studied her
body and discovered a possible connection
between the number of stem cells and age.
The woman was running out of stem cells.
Approximately two thirds of the white blood
cells she had left originated from just two
blood stem cells. That is very few, as we are
born with around 20,000 blood stem cells
and typically, 1,000 stem cells are
constantly producing vital white blood cells.
Studies of the woman

reveal that stem cells may
determine how old we get.
10-m-long
solar panel
Radar sees in the dark

The satellite takes clear images, even if Earth is
wrapped in clouds or darkness. The images are
taken with a 12-m-long radar that sends
electromagnetic signals towards Earth from
where they are reflected back to the satellite.
12-m-long
radar aerial
GEO satellite
2. The Sentinel-1A transfers

images to the GEO satellittes.
SENTINEL-1AS
TASKS:
Radar beam
GEO satellite
3. The GEO satellites

transmit the images
to a radar station
on Earth at a speed
of 2 gigabits
per second.
1. Radar sends
OPhotographing sea ice by the

poles.
Monitoring oceans and lakes
to spot oil spills, etc.
Photographing disaster areas
to get a general idea of the
situation.
Mapping out land surfaces,
focusing on shifts in
connection with earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, etc.
electromagnetic signals
to and from Earth.
Monitoring city infrastructure.
WORKMEN FIND TOMB

ARCHAEOLOGY In a grassy
Bronze Age burial site in
Northern Israel, workmen
installing a gas pipe found a
sarcophagus, complete with
an approximately 3.300-yearold skeleton of an adult man
and his golden seal.
The lid of the sarcophagus is
made of clay and shaped like a
human being, including a lifelike impression of a face with
hair, ears, and hands folded
across the chest.
The seal is the shape of the
holy Egyptian scarab beetle.
Attached to a finger ring, it

includes the symbol of Pharaoh
Seti I, who ruled Egypt from
1304 to 1290 BC and
conquered the region of Israel,
in which the sarcophagus was
excavated. According to one
theory, the man in the
sarcophagus was a local, who
had been hired to be an
Egyptian government official.
He could also have been an
imposter, who copied
Egyptian burial rites. Scientists
believe he was an Israeli with
Egyptian relations.
Under a rare sarcophagus lid adorned with a human face, there were a wealth
of artefacts such as a knife, animal bones, and pottery.
ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY
11
SCIENCE UPDATE
17
times heavier than Earth - thats the mass of

the newly discovered, Earth-like Kepler-10.
The planets diameter is 2.3 times our planets.
3D PRINTED
SKULL SAVES
WOMANS LIFE
Customised plastic skull replaces growing natural skull.

MEDICINE In ground-breaking surgery, a
22-year-old Dutch woman has had her skull
replaced by a 3D printed artificial skull
made of plastic. The most extensive of its
kind ever performed, the surgery is
considered very successful by the
surgeons of the University Medical Centre
Utrecht south of Amsterdam.
Today, the woman is healthy, symptomfree, and back to work. Before the surgery,
she was deathly ill, suffering from a rare
disorder that made her skull grow thicker
all the time. Normally, a skull is 1.5 cm
thick, but the womans measured 5 cm. So

her skull began to press against her brain,
causing severe headaches. Moreover, the
immense pressure meant she was close to
going blind and had difficulties controlling
her facial muscles.
Based on accurate scans of the womans
skull, a 3D printer made an exact plastic
copy of her skull. When doctors previously
replaced the skulls of for instance road
accident victims, they made the skulls of a
type of cement, but the 3D printed skull
fits much more accurately.
STRANGE
BUT TRUE!
Road marks
will glow in the dark
Luminous road marks will make it
easier for Dutch motorists to
navigate in darkness. Using
luminous paint, scientists have
created a sustainable alternative to
street lamps - at the moment lamps
consume huge amounts of power.
STUDIO ROOSEGAARDE
Skull replaced in surgery

After surgeons removed the patients skull, they inserted
a 3D printed artificial skull, which was an exact copy of
the patients own skull. Using metal screws, the skull was
mounted on the remains of the existing skull.
Performed by surgeons from
Utrecht, the Netherlands, the
surgery lasted 23 hours.
Robots do the cooking

Artificial intelligence performs the
tough jobs at a restaurant in the
city of Nagoya, Japan. Robotic
waiters on wheels take orders. In
the kitchen, automated robotic
arms cook. 80 plates of soup are
served daily, and each plate takes
less than two minutes to prepare.
Name a crater on Mars

Plastic skull
At a price of US$5.00, anyone can

name a Martian crater. The name
will not be official, but appear on a
map which will travel to the Red
Planet in 2018 as part of the Mars
One mission.
HEPATITIS C CURE WORKS
UMC UTRECHT
Metal screws
12
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
In experiments, a new cure

against hepatitis C has worked on
90% of all patients in only 12
weeks. The cure works by
paralysing the protein that lets
the hepatitis C virus copy itself.
A 50-million-year-old bird fossil has been discovered in Wyoming, USA. Named Eocypselus
rowei, the bird is believed to be an extinct cousin of modern humming birds and apodiformes.
SCIENTISTS REVEAL
KILLER FLY DNA
GEOLOGY Scientists have made a list of the

number of asteroids that hit Earth in 20002013. A total of 26 times, our world was
struck by violent explosions, which were
caused by asteroids.
The count demonstrates that asteroid
impacts are not rare, but it also shows us how
often we should expect asteroid impacts
that could ruin entire cities. According to the
scientists, an impact of this type takes place
every 100 years. The latest asteroid of this

force hit the Russian city of Tunguska in
1908. The asteroid had a 45 m diameter and
an explosive energy of 5 megatonnes
(corresponding to 5,000 kilotonnes).
The impacts of the report ranked between
1 and 600 kilotonnes, as measured by a
global network of sensors. In comparison,
the Hiroshima nuclear bomb of 1945 had an
explosive power of 15 kilotonnes.
B612 FOUNDATION
10,000 people die annually in

Africa, infected with sleeping
sickness by tsetse flies. Now,
scientists on the verge of
developing a cure for the
disease. After 10 years of work,
they have managed to sequence
the killer flys genome. The
scientists have already
identified genes in the fly that
can cripple it. The knowledge
can be used to manufacture
new types of insecticides.
ASTEROIDS COULD DESTROY CITIES
Explosive
power
SPL/SCANPIX
1-10 kilotonnes
10-20 kilotonnes
20+ kilotonnes
LOCAL FOCAL POINT

500 m from Nishino-shima, Japan
Volcanic island doubled

A fuming volcanic island has risen out of the Pacific Ocean about
1,000 km south of the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The volcanic
island "vomited" magma, until after months of slow approaches
fusing with the nearby island of Nishino-shima. The new island
is approximately 1000 metres long and 60 metres
high at its most elevated point.
AFTER
BEFORE
Nishino-shima
Volcanic island
JAPAN COAST GUARD
Nishino-shima
Volcanic island
13
MONTREAL
NATIONAL
Hilton Bonaventure Hotel, March 2015
WHITTLEBURY
RY HALL UK, 20-21 SEPT
AUDIOSHOW
14
AUDIOSHOW
AUSTRALIAN
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NEWYORK
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AUDIOSHOW
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Live music, competitions, special

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Amazing to see (and hear!)

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Bernard from Geelong Victoria
Was able to hear about 30

headphones at the show.
Bought my favourite!
Nigel from Brisbane QLD
Great music and great

people able to answer all
the technical questions I had.
Coming back next year!
Morrisey NSW
14
Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, 26-28 SEPT
SCIENCE UPDATE
2000
years-old: The age of an ice core that has been extracted in

central Antarctica. The ancient ice core will provide scientists
with the most detailed local ancient climate data so far.
SOLAR-POWERED
PLANE TRAVELS
ROUND THE WORLD
Google
film surglasses
gery
O
rthopaed
Surgeon ic
Selene
Parekh fr
om the D
uk
Universit
y Medica e
l Center
in the US
records
he
surgery
by mean r
s of the
Google G
las
Subsequ s spectacles.
ently, the
films are
stored on
a
be watch hard drive to
ed later.
Solar cells supply energy 24/7.
Pilots:
2 (plus a support
team of 60 people
on the ground).
Fuel consumption:
0 litres.
Weight:
2,300 kg
(about the same as
a mid-sized car)
Top speed: 140 km/h.
Average speed:
70 km/h.
Cruising altitude:
8,500 m in daylight,
1,500 m at night.
Length of flight:
35,000 km.
Duration of flight:
10 laps lasting a
total of 500 hours.
Wing span of
70 m (more than a
jumbo jet).
TECHNOLOGY In March 2015,

the Solar Impulse 2 solar cell
plane will take off for a 35,000
km mission around the world
without consuming as much as
one droplet of fuel. More than
17,000 solar cells mounted on
the aircraft wings, which are
bigger than those of a jumbo
jet, will supply the energy
required for the flight.
The Solar Impulse 2 is made
of super strong and ultralight
carbon fibre composites with a
surface of integrated solar
panels which will supply all the
energy for four propeller
engines. The energy is stored

in lithium batteries, allowing
the aircraft to remain in the air
around the clock.
The solar plane was already
introduced in April 2014 and is
the successor of the Solar
Impulse, which took off for the
first time in 2010. The
predecessor has completed
several missions, including one
from San Francisco to New York.
The man behind the plane is
engineer Bertrand Piccard. He
hopes that the winged solar
aircraft can inspire other solar
powered planes.
Flying solar cell is ultralight

The plane body is made of ultralight carbon fibre,
consuming as little energy as possible. The top of the
plane is covered in 17,000+ solar cells, which supply
all the energy.
SOLAR IMPULSE
16
Four 17.4 hp
engines
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
The face of the seal depicts a saint

dressed in a frock and holding a cross
in his right hand.
MONASTERY SEAL
EXCAVATED
17,248 solar cells cover

an area of 269.5 square metres. The energy is
stored in lithium batteries
weighing 633 kg.
ARCHAEOLOGY In the Bayit
Carbon fibre
wings and body
ensure low
weight.
3.8 square
metre cockpit
FIORELLI ET AL.
BY THE NUMBERS
VeGan neighbourhood of Jerusalem,

archaeologists have found an
800-year-old seal from the Saint
Sabas Monastery.
Sabas was a saint and one of the
most influential leaders of the
Byzantine period.
The seal provides historians with
new knowledge about the Bayit
VeGan neighbourhood. It was
found in a farming area, possibly
the same area that the monastery
bought in 1163-64, but whose
location was unknown.
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ASK US
THE ANSWERS
TO LIFES
LITTLE MYSTERIES
EDITOR: Anne Lykke
How do astronauts
keep healthy?
How do the International Space Station
(ISS) astronauts keep fit? And what
happens, if they get ill?
Inside the ISS, the astronauts orbit Earth
in a state of weightlessness, and if their
stay lasts for weeks or months, keeping
fit is a specific challenge. The human body
is used to the gravity on Earth, and
without this effect, muscles and
bones will weaken fast. After just six

months in space, up to 15 % of the muscle
mass and up to 10 % of the bone mass
will disappear. Consequently, special
exercise equipment is required aboard the
station. The astronauts exercise in at
least three different ways, using
treadmills, exercise bikes, and a versatile
exercise bench, which can be utilised to
strengthen several different groups of
muscles. Although astronauts on long
missions exercise two hours a day, they
will still lose muscle and bone mass, but
not as much as without exercise.
If an astronaut is very unlucky and needs
medical treatment, at least one of the
astronauts on every mission ISS will have
ROOM FOR EXERCISE
high-level first aid and medication training

as the flight doctor. Moreover, the space
station is stocked with many types of
medication, equipment for infection
testing of saliva and blood, plus a heart
defibrillator. A sophisticated ISS monitoring
system keeps an eye on the quality of the
air and sounds the alarm if toxic gasses or
unhealthy microbes are detected. And as a
matter of standard procedure, the staff
tests the water quality and whether there
are bacteria on any surfaces inside the
station. In the longer term, the astronauts
health may be affected by cosmic
radiation, which can cause a slightly
increased risk of developing cancer and
damage to the nervous system.
Sleeping quarters
With an interior the volume two

Boeing 747s, the ISS can fit in
exercise, work, and
leisure activities.
Laboratory
SOYUZ SPACE CAPSULE
TREADMILL
In case of severe disease or

accidents, the Soyuz space
capsule can bring astronauts
back to Earth in a few hours.
The astronaut wears a safety harness, including

rubber bands, to hold him against the surface.
NASA, CLAUS LUNAU
Sleeping quarters
Space capsule
18
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Service module
Control room and storage
Control module
Control room
Air lock and

docking
Heroin is the most

addictive drug, physically
and mentally.
WHY DOES CO2 HEAT UP EARTH?

CO2, also known as carbon
dioxide, is a so-called greenhouse gas, as it retains heat.
When the sunlight hits Earth,
Earth emits thermal energy
into space in the form of infrared radiation - which is just
electromagnetic radiation
with a lower frequency than
the light absorbed. At the lower frequencies, greenhouse
gasses absorb a major part of

the radiation energy, and the
thermal energy is sent back
to Earth. So, heat remains.
Different greenhouse
gasses do not equally absorb
radiation energy in the
infrared spectrum. For
instance, methane is much
more efficient at holding
heat than carbon dioxide.
TOP5
WHICH DRUG
IS THE MOST
ADDICTIVE?
GREENHOUSE GASSES WORSE THAN CO2
Addiction can be measured

physically, as the body
adapts to the drug, and
mentally, as it provides
well-being and satisfaction.
Addiction is rated on a scale
from zero to three.
CO2 is a very mild greenhouse gas compared to others

such as natural gas, coolants, and laughing gas.
GAS TYPE
GLOBAL WARMING
POTENTIAL GWP IN 20 YRS
Methane (natural gas)
86
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
268
Carbon tetrafluoride (coolant)
4,950
Mental addiction
*) Carbon dioxide always

Without the
greenhouse effect,
the temperate zones
would have eternal
winters
1. Heroin
2. Cocaine
3. Nicotine
4. Alcohol
5. Hashish
boasts a GWP of 1. Hence,

the GWP of a gas indicates
how much more heat the
gas absorbs over a period
of time compared to CO2.
3.0
2.8
2.6
1.9
1.7
THINKSTOCK
SHUTTERSTOCK
Physical addiction
1. Heroine
2. Nicotine
3. Alcohol
4. Cocaine
5. Hashish
3.0
1.8
1.6
1.3
0.8
EXERCISE BENCH
Vacuum cylinders can be
adjusted to provide a resistance
corresponding to weights of up
to 270 kg. The exercise bench
can be used in several ways,
exercising all big muscles.
WHAT DETERMINES BREAST SIZE?
Laboratory and docking
THINKSTOCK
Sleeping quarters
and living room
According to a US study from 2012, at least seven

genes determine the size of breasts, but twin
studies indicate that the genes can only
explain 56 % of breast size differences.
Another important factor is the womans
weight. If she gains weight, some of
the extra kilos will end up in the breast
tissue, providing her with bigger
breasts. Moreover, hormones such as
oestrogen play an important role.
19
Did you know that some viruses attack

Is an MRI scan dangerous? No, only if the
bacteria and live inside them? Such a
patient has metal in his body. If so, the magnet will
virus
is called
abacteriophage
the
pull at the
metal,
and that
could be dangerous.
Latin word for bacterium eater.
ASK US
THE ANSWERS
TO LIFES
LITTLE MYSTERIES
HOW THINGS WORK
HOW DOES REMOTE

ENTRY WORK?
Radio
transmitter
A remote keyless entry system

involves a radio transmitter with a
reach of 5-20 m. By means of a random
number generator, a chip in the remote control
generates a code of 40 numbers either zeros or
ones. The chip can generate 240 different codes, so in
practice, it will never be the doors of your neighbours
car that unlock. The manufacturer hopes, anyway!
1. A radio transmitter in the key uses the same number

generator as the car's receiver, so transmitter and receiver will
always be synchronised. When a code is sent, the number
generator generates a new code, which is stored. The car does
the same thing.
2.When you press the remote control, the radio
transmitter sends the code to the car along with a function
code telling the car to lock, unlock, or open the boot.
3.The car's computer makes sure that its own code is the same
ARCHIVE
as the one received from the remote control. If so, the locking/
unlocking is carried out. Otherwise, nothing happens. Many
cars today do not even require the drive to press a button. The
car unlocks when it detects the remote nearby.
DO OTHER PLANETS HAVE CLOUDS?

Even if we leave aside gas giants (which
are made of clouds!), any planet big
enough to hold an atmosphere can form
clouds. But the clouds do not necessarily
SOLAR SYSTEM CLOUDS

Mercury has no clouds,
as the planet is not big
enough to maintain
an atmosphere.
NASA
20
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
VENUS: Sulphur dioxide

MARS: Water and carbon dioxide
JUPITER: Ammonia,
ammonium hydrosulphide, water
SATURN: Ammonia,
ammonium hydrosulphide, water
URANUS: Methane
NEPTUNE: Methane
consist of water droplets like on our

planet. Instead, they could be made up of
sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia,
ammonium hydrosulphide, or methane.
Large moons can also have clouds.
Saturns Titan, has a weather system with
clouds. According to new scientific
studies, planets elsewhere in the galaxy
also have clouds. In 2013, astronomers
found signs that the big, hot planet
Kepler-7 b - which is 1,000+ light years
away - has clouds made of silicon
compounds, so it is raining minerals.
Which storm was the most devastating?

Super typhoon Nina, which hit China in 1975, was
the most severe considering both financial and
human costs. The number of people affected was:
11 million
How can insects

survive freezing?
How can insects tolerate extreme cold
without suffering frost damage and dying?
Severe frost is a challenge for living
organisms, as cold weakens the
functionality of enzymes and cell
membranes, and ice crystals damage cells.
Insects feature low heat production and
poor insulation, so insects in cold regions
have developed enzymes and cell
membranes that can function at low
temperatures. Some insects can also avoid
ice formation in their tissue by producing
antifreeze proteins that lower the freezing
point of body fluids. Many freezing-tolerant
insects from the Arctic produce ice outside

cells in their bodies on purpose to protect
the cells' vital parts from ice, which takes
up much more space than water. The icefree environment inside cells means that
water tries to get out, making them shrink.
To avoid shrinking damage, the insects
have developed cryoprotectants often
proteins supporting the cell structure.
Another cryoprotectant is glycerol, also
known from windscreen washer fluid. It
accumulates inside cells, preventing them
from being emptied of liquid. In some frozen
insects, glycerol may make up to 30 % of
the body fluid.
WHICH LANGUAGE
IS THE EASIEST?
ICE-COLD
SURVIVORS
-60C
-55C
MOTH LARVAE
THIS ALASKAN BEETLE,
GALL MIDGE LARVAE
of the Gynaephora groenlandica species can pass the

winter frozen. They tolerate
body temperatures down to
minus 70 degrees C.
contains antifreeze molecules of sugar and fatty

acids enabling it to live on
even after winter months
of severe frost.
grow inside the stem of the

goldenrod plant and survive
by means of special proteins
that lower the freezing point
of body fluids.
SHUTTERSTOCK
-70C
The easiest language to learn

is Chinese Mandarin,
according to Norwegian
language professor Rolf Theil
from the University of Oslo.
Mandarin is spoken by
around 70 % of the Chinese
and ranks No. 1, as the
language is regularly
structured and easy to
pronounce. According to Rolf
Theil, Greenlandic is the most
difficult language to learn
due to sentence and word
complexity.
GETTY IMAGES, K. WATERS/UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, SCANPIX
IN SHORT
WHAT IS A FLAVOUR
ENHANCER?
Flavour enhancers have no
taste, but they can enhance
the flavour of other foods. The
most well-known is MSG,
also known as monosodium glutamate, which has
traditionally been used in Asia.
21
Are strawberries nuts? The myth that the red berries are
nuts does not hold water. But they arent really berries either.
Technically, a strawberry is a swollen floral receptacle
carrying the fruits of the plant: the small, brown nuts.
ASK US
THE ANSWERS
TO LIFES
LITTLE MYSTERIES
IN THE GROUND
WHAT IS A MINERAL?
Three examples of minerals are salt (NaCl), diamond,
which is only made up of carbon, and asbestos
(MgSiO(OH)). Sugar is not a mineral, as it is organic
and full of carbon-hydrogen bonds. And glass
is not a mineral, as its atoms are not organised in a
crystal grid. But water ice (HO) meets all the
requirements of a mineral and falls within the definition.
Salt exists in nature and is often extracted from salt
mines, seawater, or salt water lakes.
A MINERAL MUST MEET 5 REQUIREMENTS

It must:
1. be solid
2. be expressible as
a chemical formula
3. have its atoms

organised in a crystal lattice
4. be produced naturally
5. be inorganic (not hold carbonTHINKSTOCK
hydrogen bonds)
Salt has a simple

crystal structure.
The crystal grid of salt
is made up of 50 %
sodium atoms and
50 % chlorine atoms
linked by ion bonds.
CINa+
HOW DID STONE AGE PEOPLE

CUT THE UMBILICAL CORD?
22
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
SHUTTERSTOCK
Placenta, including
umbilical cord
Scientists most likely theory of how the

umbilical cord was cut is that the new mother
cut the cord using a sharp rock or shell.
However, this is pure guesswork, as no archaeological or written evidence exists.
The mother could also have
simply bitten the cord
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Will gold on your skin kill you?

In the Bond film Goldfinger, actor
Shirley Eatons character dies
after getting covered in gold paint
from head to foot by the baddies.
Were supposed to believe she
suffocated, as her skin couldnt
breathe. But would this happen?
The skin can absorb oxygen, but only for its

own use. Humans do not breathe through
their skin and consequently will not
suffocate after having their skin covered in
airtight paint. If a person were plastered with
gold paint in real life and died, the cause of
death would probably be something else.
Gold paint may contain heavy metals,
HYPOTHESIS
How can body

paint be lethal?
organic solvents such as turpentine, or other

toxins that have a damaging effect on body
cells. These substances are readily
absorbed through the skin, from where they
are taken to all corners of the body by the
blood system. A less likely cause of death
could also be overheating, as the paint
retains body heat.
In Goldfinger,
Jill Mastersons (Shirley
Eatons) death is explained by
fictional skin suffocation.
Most likely
Heavy metals: The epidermis absorbs
substances from the surroundings such
as heavy metals and solvents, which
could be lethal in large quantities.
Unlikely
Possible
Overheating: Sweat glands and blood
vessels control body temperature. Gold would
prevent the body from sweating and shedding
body heat - this could be lethal in
warm weather.
SCANPIX
Vitamin D deficiency:
The skin's production of
vitamin D depends on
sunlight. Hence, gold pain
could cause lethal vitamin
D deficiency over time.
23
THE
SOLAR SY
VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SPL/SCANPIX
SECRET
For many years, astronomers believed that
the remotest regions of our Solar System
were empty, but the discovery of an
ice-covered dwarf planet
indicates that hundreds of
small objects and a
planet are hiding on
the outskirts of the
System.
NEW DISCOVERY
2012 VP113
Diameter: 450 km
Distance to Sun: 12 billion km
Orbital period: 4,590 years
24
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
DISCOVERED IN 2003
SEDNA
Diameter: 1,000 km
Distance to Sun: 11.3 billion km
Orbital period: 11,400 years
STEMS
WORLDS
By Torben R. Simonsen
MYSTERIOUS NEIGHBOURS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM'S BACK YARD

Astronomers have discovered two dwarf planets, Sedna and 2012 VP113,
in a region far from the other inhabitants of the Solar System.
DICTIONARY
2012 VP113
ALLAN HJEN
AU: One astronomical

unit is the average
distance between Earth
and the Sun. 1 AU is
149,597,870.7 km.
SEDNA
KUIPER BELT
Sedna
Sednas orbit is
extremely elliptical,
varying from 76 to 975
AU from the Sun.
2012 VP113 orbits at a

distance of 80.6-446
AU from the Sun.
Inner Solar System
2012
VP113
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Pluto
Neptune
CTIO & SCANPIX
2012 VP113
ne November night in 2012, two

American astronomers have taken
their seats at the Cerro Tololo
observatory in the mountains of Chile. From
an altitude of 2,200 metres, they are
looking for dwarf planets in the Solar
System, which are usually located far
beyond the belt of planets orbiting the Sun.
In 2003, one of the astronomers,
Chadwick Trujillo, discovered the dwarf
planet of Sedna in an unusual orbit around
the Sun, and ever since, he has been
looking for other dwarf planets, which could
tell us more about the birth of the Solar
System. Trujillo and his colleague, Scott
Sheppard, are particularly interested in the
vast unknown zone that makes up the
remote outskirts of the Solar System.
The astronomers adjust the telescope to
photograph a region beyond the area in
which most planets are located. At regular
intervals, the scientists take photos with the
telescopes super-sensitive camera.
Sophisticated photo processing software
isolates objects which move over time as
compared to the stationary background
stars. And the two astronomers are lucky: A
new inhabitant, 2012 VP113, has been
discovered in our Solar System.
We have found an object of the Solar
The dwarf planet was discovered in

November 2012 and has been
observed several times by the
Chilean Magellan telescope.
GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE GMTO CORPORATION
The radioactive
irradiation of ice,
carbon dioxide, and
methane gives this
dwarf planet a
weak reddish glow.
System with the most remote orbit around
the Sun. The closest that 2012 VP113 ever
gets to the Sun is 80 AU (some 12 billion km).
The only other object orbiting the Sun, which
is also located outside the Kuiper belt, is
Sedna, whose closest distance to the Sun is
76 AU (some 11.3 billion km), Scott
Sheppard explains.
According to the astronomers, the
discovery of the new dwarf planet shows
that Sedna is no fluke or rogue, and that the
region outside the Kuiper belt has probably
got a lot more to offer.
ONLY 2 OBJECTS FOUND IN

THE REGION
The scientists spend the following months
making more observations to be sure
that they have a true and fair
impression of 2012 VP113, which
many astronomers now
consider a dwarf planet,
although it has not yet
been categorised (or
properly named).
Fe a t u r i n g
a
diameter of 450 km,
the dwarf planet has
ice on its surface as a
result
of
the
extremely
low
temperatures on the
outskirts of our Solar
System. But what is
very special about
2012 VP113 is its orbit. The dwarf planet

never gets any closer to the Sun than some
12 billion km, or 80 times Earths distance to
the Sun, and it is probably located in a region
called the Oort cloud.
Our Solar System is divided into a number
of regions relative to the Sun. At the closest
range, you will find the small rocky planets,
such as Earth, in a region 58 - 628 million km
from the Sun. After the rocky planets, the
asteroid belt follows, before the big gas
planets such as Jupiter in a region 748 million
- 4.5 billion km from the Sun. After the gas
planets, you will find the icy Kuiper belt, that
stretches 4.5 - 7.5 billion km from the Sun.
And beyond the Kuiper belt is the Oort cloud.
Until recently, astronomers did not
believe the Oort cloud to contain much more
than dust or comets, and so far, they have
only found two objects in the region: Sedna
and 2012 VP113. Like the dwarf planet of
Pluto, their orbits are inclined compared to
the those of other Solar System planets. But
unlike Pluto, the newly discovered objects
leave the Kuiper belt, as their orbits are highly
elliptical. Sedna moves 140 billion km away
from the Sun, whereas the maximum
distance of 2012 VP113 is 67 billion km.
THREE THEORIES EXPLAIN

THE OORT CLOUD
The astronomers behind the discovery still
do not know how the two dwarf planets
ended up in the special orbit, but they are
working with three theories concerning
Spotted by several telescopes

Officially, the dwarf planet was discovered in
2012, but actually, the Gemini telescope imaged
2012 VP113 in 2011, without astronomers
discovering nor registering the small object.
2011
26
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2011
The dwarf planet
is captured twice
by the Gemini telescope of Mauna
Kea, Hawaii, but is
not registered.
ALLAN HJEN
Dry air fine-tunes

super telescope
A DIGITAL CAMERA
(Dark Energy Camera)
records images of
the starry sky.
On 5 November 2012, the 2012

VP113 dwarf planet was detected
by the Victor M. Blanco telescope in
the dry mountain desert of Chile.
The observatory is in one of the
best locations in the world, as the
air surrounding the mountain
peaks is extremely stable and dry,
and that's ideal for astronomy.
THE APERTURE
of the dome allows faint
light from remote stars
and galaxies to enter.
A ROTATING WHEEL
keeps the telescope focused
at the same point during
long recordings.
THE REFLECTOR
has a diameter of 4 m.
It captures light and
sends it on to the camera.
1
3
ONE HECK OF A DIGITAL CAMERA

2
The Victor M. Blanco telescopes camera is the worlds

most accurate digital camera. It can cover an area
20 times bigger than the Moon in one single shot.
5
4
NOVEMBER 2012
The Victor M. Blanco
telescope of the Cerro
Tololo observatory
in Chile observes
the dwarf planet
several times.
2012
2013
Silicon blocks make up the cameras light-sensitive film,

allowing 570 megapixel recordings.
Six steering arms adjust the objective to a degree of

accuracy of 0.00015 cm. The arms can carry 3,500 kg.
Electronics draw data from the camera, passing the

information on to computers.
The camera filters can be exchanged, allowing

astronomers to analyse the images at different wavelengths.
Five lenses correct the incident light, so the images

across entire telescope diameter become accurate.
MARCH 2013
The 6.5 m
Magellan telescope
in Chile observes
2012 VP113 and
determines
its orbit.
AUGUST 2013
The surface
composition of
the dwarf planet
is determined
based on new
observations.
OCTOBER 2013
More Magellan
telescope
observations
verify the small
worlds surface
and orbit.
2014
GEMINI OBSERVATORY/AURA
27
The region includes

at least 900 objects
boasting a diameter
of 1,000+ km.
A few may even be
bigger than Earth
Scott Sheppard, astronomer.
The super sensitive camera in

Victor M. Blanco telescope
captures the faint light of the
starry sky using silicon blocks.
FERMILAB
SILICON BLOCKS
the birth of the Oort cloud.

According to one theory, a stray planet
was pushed out from the gas giant region at
an early point, perhaps by Jupiter. On its way
out, the displaced planet pushed objects,
including 2012 VP113, into the Oort cloud,

where the planet may still be located,
according to Scott Sheppard.
The second theory involves that a star
from another solar system passed by our
Solar System at some point, leaving
objects, including the two dwarf planets, in
the Oort cloud.
Or perhaps the explanation is the direct
opposite: the Oort cloud may have been
formed, when, in connection with the
formation of our Solar System, another star
passed by the Sun, taking a number of
objects from our Solar System with it.
Today, no other stars affect Sedna and
2012 VP113, so astronomers do not know
with any certainty how the dwarf
planets got their odd orbits.
The Oort cloud objects are
mysterious due to their eccentric
orbits, and at some point in
history, they must have been
subjected to considerable forces.
Based on what we know about
the Solar System, there is nothing
here that could have affected
the orbits of these objects,
Scott Sheppard explains.
900 HIDDEN
NEIGHBOURS
O n c e a s t ro n o m e r s
have found at least 10
other objects in the
Oort cloud, Scott
Sheppard expects
scientists to be
28
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
REIDAR HAHN/FERMILAB VMS
NASA & SCANPIX
The mountain desert of Chile is the

perfect place for telescopes,
as the air is both dry and stable.
Three types of planets

Huge gas planets, compact rocky worlds, and small
dwarf planets all exist in the Solar System.
ROCKY PLANETS
The four inner planets orbiting
the Sun are called rocky planets.
They are relatively small and
boast solid surfaces consisting
of silicate rock and cores made
of iron and nickel.
SOLAR SYSTEM ROCKY PLANETS
Planet
Diameter
Distance to Sun
Mercury
4,879 km
45,693,773 km
able to determine which theory is the

most likely one. The orbits of the
objects will be different, depending
on the applicable theory. According to
the astronomer, it should not be so
very difficult to track down new,
unknown dwarf planets in the
remotest regions of our Solar System.
We believe that the inner Oort
cloud contains more objects than the
Kuiper belt or the asteroid belt (region
occupied by rocks between Mars and
Jupiter), Scott Sheppard explains:
We expect the region to include at
least 900 objects sized 1,000+ km. A
few of them may even be bigger than
Earth, but most will be so far away that
they are impossible to discover.
In order for astronomers to spot
these remote neighbours, they need to
watch for when the distant member of
the planetary family gets close enough
to Earth for astronomers to make
observations and study the object long
enough to determine its orbit and how
it relates to the Oort cloud. This will
require some luck, if the other objects
of the region have just as extreme
orbits as Sedna and 2012 VP113.
The two astronomers, Trujillo and
Sheppard, are still searching for
planets and dwarf planets in the inner
Oort cloud. At the moment, the
scientists are observing six different
objects that could belong in this
remote, unexplored, and dark corner
of our Solar System.
Venus
12,104 km
107,476,002 km
Earth
12,756 km
147,098,073 km
Mars
6,805 km
206,644,545 km
DWARF PLANETS
Astronomers have discovered and categorised
five dwarf planets, but the Solar System probably
includes several hundred. Dwarf planets often
orbit the Sun further away than Neptune.
SOLAR SYSTEM DWARF PLANETS
Planet
Diameter
Distance to Sun
Pluto
2,390 km
4,436,824,613 km
Haumea
1,600 km
5,259,666,499 km
Eris
2,400 km
5,670,000,000 km
Makemake
1,420 km
6,850,000,000 km
Ceres
950 km
382,520,000 km
GAS GIANTS
The four so-called outer planets are called gas
giants. They are bigger and heavier than the
rocky planets and characterised by apart
from a small, solid core being made of
gas. The four worlds all have ring
systems and lots of moons.
SOLAR SYSTEM GAS GIANTS
Planet
Diameter
Jupiter
142,984 km
Distance to Sun
740,742,598 km
Saturn
120,536 km
1,349,467,376 km
Uranus
51,118 km
2,735,555,035 km
Neptune
49,528 km
4,459,631,485 km
29
FEATURE | ARCHAEOLOGY
Due to incredible new discoveries, accurate DNA

sequencing, and detailed climate analyses, scientists have
managed to paint a complete portrait of our closest
relative, the Neanderthal for the very first time. And they
might be more human than we ever suspected.
SCIENTISTS ANSWER
THE BIG QUESTIONS
VOLKER STEGER
What did they look like?

Who were their
neighbours?
How did they live?
Why did they go
extinct?
They buried their dead, spoke

a complex language, and ate
lots of greens. Now we know
the
truth
about THE
Neande
30
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
16
SYLVAIN ENTRESSANGLE & ELISABETH DAYNES/LOOK AT SCIENCES
PAGE
SPECIAL
erthal
By Rasmus Kragh Jakobsen
31 | 31
ALAMY/IMAGESELECT
Ice age shaped

the Neanderthal
In recent years, several hundred fossils have been unearthed,
providing us with an increasingly detailed impression of
Neanderthal physiology: they were a strong, stocky people,
well-adapted for biting cold.
t first he thought he'd found a bear,

but in fact it was a very strong
hominid that Latin teacher
Johann Carl Fuhlrott found, when he came
across a heap of old bones in the German
Neander Valley in 1856. Indeed, scientists
initially believed that the massive bones were
those of a bear, but the discovery soon proved
to be much more sensational. The fossils were
from an unknown hominid, the Neanderthal,
who lived more than 40,000 years ago.
Since then, bones have proven a
veritable gold mine to scientists. Thanks to
new techniques, geneticists can now extract
DNA from even small and very old bone
fragments. So these bones have not only
revealed the physiology of the Neanderthal,
they have also provided scientists with a
clear-cut idea of their abilities and ancestors.
Altogether, this knowledge has painted an
accurate picture of the Neanderthal and their
everyday life in Ice Age Europe.
NEANDERTHAL FOUND
IN 70 PLACES
Today, scientists have found the fossils of
more than 350 Neanderthal in 70 places
throughout the world. Their territory
Fossils of 350+ Neanderthals have been found

in Europe and Asia. This is the skull of a
3-year-old child from France.
PHILIPPE PLAILLY/LOOK AT SCIENCES
32
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
stretched from the Atlantic in the west to

the Altai Mountains of Siberia in the east.
Complete skeletons from France and
Croatia have provided us with substantial
knowledge about Neanderthal anatomy.
G e n e ra l ly, t h e b o n e s a re s t u rd y,
indicating very strong, compact people.
Modern man is designed to easily cross long
distances. Neanderthals were made for brief,
explosive power discharges.
Neanderthal genome sequencing has
revealed that, genetically, they parted from
modern humans 270-440 thousand years
ago, and that our common ancestor was a
tall, slim hominid from Africa named Homo
heidelbergensis. Whereas the Neanderthal
are the descendants of a branch that left
Africa, our branch remained in Africa. In Ice
Age Europe, the Neanderthals ancestors
experienced a rough, barren climate. In
slightly warmer Southern Europe, the
ancestors could survive the severe winters,
but over time, their bodies adjusted: the
Neanderthal became short and
compact with minimal heat loss
perfect for severe winters.
1. BIG EYES EXCELLENT EYESIGHT

The eye sockets of the Neanderthals
measured 6 cm from top to bottom, so their
eyesight was probably better than ours.
2. NOSE HEATED
COLD AIR
The nasal cavity was big and
wide, whereas ours is long and
narrow. The big nasal cavity may
have heated the icy air.
3
ELISABETH DAYNES/LOOK AT SCIENCES
3. BIG MUSCLES -
HEAVY BODY
Due to impressive muscle mass,
the Neanderthals weighed
25 % more than us on average,
although they were shorter.
4. INFLEXIBLE
SHOULDER - POOR
THROW
The shoulder joint was less
mobile than ours, and the
Neanderthals throwing skills
were not as good as ours.
Low, rather
long skull.
What did they

look like?
5
Low, receding
forehead .
1
2
5. EXCELLENT EYESIGHT -
BIG BRAINS
The brain was 1.45 l on average in comparison
with our modest 1.34 l. The size is attributable to
the fact that they had bigger eyes and used more
brain capacity to process visual impressions.
6
7
The rear of the teeth

were curved like the
blade of a shovel.
Receding chin.
6. SENSE OF BALANCE
FOR SHORT RUNS ONLY

The internal ear was different in
the balance area, as the rear canal
was located lower than ours,
indicating less agile mobility and that
the Neanderthal did not run a lot.
7. GOOD HEARING TALENT FOR LANGUAGE

The Neanderthal had the same sound
spectrum sensitivity as us, indicating
that they spoke. They had the same
mutations of an important language
gene as we do.
Sturdy knee
and elbow joints.
8. THE TEETH WERE
10
Wide pelvis.
SCOOP-SHAPED
The rear side of teeth were curved
like the blade of a shovel,
as observed in some modern Asians.
Sturdy, curved
thighbones.
The bones are
generally sturdy,
indicating great
strength.
IRA BLOCK/NGS
9. LIGHT SKIN
AND RED HAIR

Genetic studies have revealed that
some Neanderthals had red hair and
pale skin. But not all of them.
Stocky and very strong

The Neanderthal body was perfect for life in Ice Age
Europe. The short limbs minimised the bodys
heat loss, and the wide nasal cavity heated the cold air.
ELISABETH DAYNES/LOOK AT SCIENCES
11
10. IRON GRIP

Muscle attachments in
the hand reveal a very firm,
clamp-like handshake.
11. SHORT LIMBS
KEPT OUT THE COLD
The short fingers, toes, lower legs,
and forearms plus the powerful
chest and dense body build meant a
smaller surface area, so the body
was easier to keep warm.
33
Hominids
slept with
other hominids
Genetic sequencing has revealed
that different hominids mated with
each other. The family tree supports
the discoveries made so far. For
instance, the Denisovans of the Altai
Mountains had 0.5 % Neanderthal in
their genes.
P. PLAILLY, E. DAYNES/EURELIOS/LOOK AT SCIENCES
DENISOVANS
MODERN MAN
Oceania
Asia
Europe
Africa
NEANDERTHALS
Unknown Altai
0-2 %
> 0, Altai
5%
Vindija
0-6 %
Mezmaiskaya
Unknown
1.5 -2.1 %
0.5
-8
%
Unknown
hominid
The red arrows indicate the

percentage of genes from other
hominids in specific sites.
HOMO FLORESIENSIS
The
world
was full
of people
50,000 years ago, the Neanderthal
would come across both longlimbed, modern humans and dark
Denisovans in Europe and Asia,
whereas several types of pygmies
roamed the East. The world of the
Neanderthal was full of intelligent
hominids, who lived side by side.
RECONSTRUCTION ELISABETH DAYNES, PARIS
HOBBIT LIVED ON ISLANDS

Until 12,000 years ago, people nicknamed
"hobbits" by modern science, lived on the
Indonesian island of Flores. They made
stone tools and hunted dwarf elephants,
using spears and arrows.
Range: the Indonesian island of Flores
Height: 90-110 cm
Weight: 16-36 kg
Brain: 380-400 ml
Lived: 2 million12,000 years ago
P. PLAILLY & E. DAYNES/LOOK AT SCIENCES
34
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Who were their

neighbours?
We are all
Neanderthal
The sequencing of fossil genetic material has revealed a world in which a wealth of different
hominids lived side by side and even mated with each other, producing hybrid children.
ne late night in 1996, Svante Pbo

has just fallen asleep, when the
phone rings. Confused, the
Swedish geneticist picks up to hear the
message: It is not one of us. Suddenly,
Pbo is wide awake.
The call comes from Matthias Kring, a
PhD student from Svante Pbos lab. Just
this morning, he began to sequence the DNA
of a 40-50,000-year-old Neanderthal bone.
When Pbo arrives at the lab, he sees
sequences of DNA letters, which would
seem like random sequences of letters to
HOMO ERECTUS
a layman. But Matthias Kring is thrilled.

The sequence of letters does not match
any sequences of modern humans, and
Svante Pbo is immediately aware that
the dream has come true: The first
genetic material from an extinct hominid
has been properly sequenced.
SUCCESSFUL WORK
Ever since then, the continued successful
sequencing of fossil DNA and epoch-making
results have been produced en masse,
boosted by a combination of the genome
IWO ELERU
sequencing technological revolution and

improved capacity for isolating and
subsequently sequencing even tiny amounts
of DNA molecules.
In 2010, scientists discovered an
unknown hominid based on fossil DNA from a
small bone fragment. The hominid, who lived
at the same time as the Neanderthal, was
named the Denisovan - a dark and still rather
mysterious stranger who we need to learn
more about. And last year, Pbos team
sequenced the complete genetic material of
a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal.
HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS
HOMO NEANDERTHALENSIS
HUNTER LEFT AFRICA
NEW HOMINID INTRODUCED
NORTHERN ANCESTOR
EUROPEANS REACHED ASIA
Homo erectus was the first hominid,

whose proportions resembled ours.
These people are considered the first
hunters, who used sophisticated stone
tools to conquer nature and leave Africa.
Sequencing of our genes has

revealed that 35,000 years ago,
we mated with an unknown hominid
from Africa. A skull found in Nigeria
could be the result.
The common ancestor of the

Neanderthal and modern man
was the first to conquer regions with
a cold climate. He was familiar with
both fire and spears.
The compact, muscular Neanderthal

mainly lived in Europe, but also
conquered parts of Asia. They
wore jewellery and used
several sophisticated tools.
Range: Africa and Asia

Height: 145-185 cm
Weight: 40-75 kg
Brain: 550-1,100 ml
Lived: 1.9 million140,000 years ago
Range: Nigeria
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Brain: 1,400 ml
Lived: 700,00011,000 years ago
Range: Africa and Europe

Height: 150-175 cm
Weight: 50-70 kg
Brain: 1,100-1,400 ml
Range: Europe and Asia

Height: 165 cm
Weight: 70 kg
Brain: Approx. 1,550 ml
SYLVAIN ENTRESSANGLE & ELISABETH DAYNES/LOOK AT SCIENCES
PHILIPPE PLAILLY/LOOK AT SCIENCES
E.DAYNES/LOOK AT SCIENCES
P. PLAILLY/SPL/SCANPIX
35
Low, receding
forehead.
All the new molecular data from

hominid fossils have provided scientists
with new knowledge of the world of the
Neanderthals, in which several different
hominids lived side by side.
DNA REVEALS
HOMINID KINSHIP
The sequencing has shown that modern
man and the Neanderthal met again, long
after they parted genetically, 400,000
years ago, and that the two even mated.
Scientists compared the Neanderthal
genome to genetic material from modern
peoples, concluding that populations
outside Africa are more closely related to
the Neanderthal than Africans. The two
hominids must have mated on their way
out of Africa. Scientists can see that they
met 40-80,000 years ago where the
African continent ends.
Both the Neanderthals and modern
man even mated with a third hominid, the
Denisovan, who lived in Asia until some
30,000 years ago. New DNA sequencing
has revealed that the Denisovan includes
DENISOVAN
0.5 % Neanderthal DNA, while Aboriginal

Australians include 3-6 % Denisovan DNA.
This indicates that the Denisovan did not
only live in the close vicinity of the
Siberian cave, where the bone was found,
and scientists think that Eurasia was
inhabited by Neanderthal in the West and
Denisovans in the East.
Sequencing also reveals that the
Neanderthal included several different
peoples or societies, and that the
encounters with other hominids took
place between local groups.
This knowledge allows scientists to
look at the fossils with fresh eyes. For
instance, the last Neanderthal in Europe
have more features in common with
modern humans than older fossils,
indicating that the two hominids mated
several times during this period.
In Israel, archaeologists have found a
40-50,000-year-old fossil, which could be
a crossbreed. The person was
Neanderthal, but had several modern
man features such as a protruding chin
and a long, slim body structure.
RED DEER CAVE PEOPLE
DARK HOMINID LIVED IN ASIA
PYGMY RULED CHINA
Genetic material from a bone fragment

revealed the existence of an unknown
species, the Denisovan. The brownskinned, black-haired hominid was sophisticated, spreading to most of Asia.
A type of Chinese pygmies were

described in 2012. The bones
reveal a mixture of primitive
features from much older hominids and modern characteristics.
Range: Asia
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Brain: Unknown
Range: Southern China

Height: 120-150 cm
Weight: 25-35 kg
Brain: 1,000 ml
PETER SCHOUTEN/UNSW
36
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Receding chin
Compact body
HOMO SAPIENS
WE CONQUERED THE WORLD

Modern humans originated in Africa
200,000 years ago and subsequently
spread to all continents. Our long-limbed
species made a broad range of
sophisticated tools such as rope, fishing
nets, and delicate sewing needles.
Moreover, burials, carved figurines, and
beautiful cave paintings reveal our
advanced intellectual capacity.
Range: Worldwide
Height: 150-185 cm
Weight: 55-85 kg
Brain: 1,350 ml
Lived: 200,000 years ago-the present
Who were their

neighbours?
High, steep forehead
FRANK VINKEN/MPI
Homo sapiens DNA

Sequences of
Neanderthal DNA
Protruding
chin
Tall, slender body
Chromosome No. 22
21
20
19
18
17
1
5. KERATIN FOR SKIN,
16
HAIR,
AND NAILS
15
Several keratin genes are
14
Neanderthal, providing us with
13
an advantage in the shape of
12
for instance thicker skin.
11
10
7
2. METAB- 6. SKIN CELL
9
OLISM
PRODUCTION
8
Part
of
cell
metaAsians have a gene marked
7
bolism is controlled by
by Neanderthal, which
6
genes with Neanderthal
regulates the production
5
marks on them.
of epidermis cells.
4
3
2
1
x
1. BREAKDOWN OF
FAT IN BRAIN
Europeans have 38 genes
with Neanderthal marks.
They are involved in the
brains breakdown of fat.
3. AUTOIMMUNE
7. SKIN
4. STRONGER
8. UV PROTECTION
In Asians, 18 genes
protecting against UV
radiation carry Neanderthal
marks. In Southern China,
it is 49 % of the sequences.
DISEASES
Neanderthal marks on four
chromosomes may be the
cause of a series of autoimmune diseases such as lupus.
IMMUNE SYSTEM
The Neanderthals influenced
200 immune system genes,
giving us weapons against
new, unknown diseases.
PIGMENTATION
70 % of all Europeans have
Neanderthal sequences
in a gene that affects
epidermis pigmentation.
B. BOURGEOIS/SCIENCE & VIE 1160
The Neanderthal gave us thick skin

Our ancestors intimate encounters with other hominids can be observed in our genes
today. At least 1.5 % of the chromosome DNA of all non-Africans come from the Neanderthal,
whom we can probably thank for both a strong immune system and thicker skin.
KENNIS & KENNIS RECONSTRUCTIONS & K. WEBB/NHM
37
The Neanderthals lived in
ICE AGE
EUROPE
Woolly rhinos and packs
of wolves. That was what
the Neanderthals
encountered in freezing
cold Europe. Scientists
have found fossils of 350
Neanderthals in 70
places. The fossils bear
witness to a hominid who
forced by hunger and
cold evolved differently
in different places.
MANIMAL WORKS, ROTTERDAM
HALFSIBLINGS MATED,
PRODUCING CHILDREN
Where: Altai Mountains, Siberia

When: 50,000 years ago
he sequenced genetic material

of a Neanderthal from the Altai
Mountains of Siberia reveals that
the individuals parents could have
been half-siblings. The inbreeding
is probably due to the groups
of the region being small and
extremely isolated.
BENCE VIOLA/MPI
38
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
2
SIBER IA
1
FAMILY DEVOURED
BY PEERS
Where: El Sidrn, Spain

When: 45-50,000 years ago
panish scientists have found an

entire Neanderthal family,
who was killed and devoured by
their peers. The slaughtering may
have happened because the
Neanderthals starved after a cold
period, or a victory over another
group was ritually celebrated.
EARLY PEOPLES
LIVED LIKE US
Where: Mount Carmel, Israel

ossils from Israel have

revealed that some 100,000
years ago, modern man and the
Neanderthal used the same
tools and buried their dead.
So in spite of physical differences,
the behaviour of the
two species was similar.
WHAT
WHO
Homo sapiens discovery
Neanderthal discovery
DNA from fossils
MIKKEL JUUL JENSEN
Ice sheet
Tundra
Permafrost
Desert
Water
Steppe
Cold fauna
WHEN
YELLOW 30,000-45,000 years ago
RED 45,000-135,000 years ago
BLUE 135,000-250,000 years ago
Amud
Hayonim
Qafzeh
Tabun
Skhul
Kebara
Neander Valley
EUROPE
El Sidrn
Mezmaiskaya
6
FRANCE
Vindija
4
CROATIA
SPAIN
5
3
ISRAEL
MIDDLE EAST
AFRICA
4
DIFFERENT PLACES,
DIFFERENT LOOKS
Where: Krapina, Croatia

lmost 900 fossils from up

to 82 individuals have been
found in Krapina. The discoveries
reveal that the Neanderthal
appearance changed over time
and from place to place, as they
did not yet have the classic look
such as a projecting face.
CLASSIC APPEARANCE
BLURRED OVER TIME
Where: Amud, Israel

he Israeli Neanderthal have

more modern features.
They were quite tall and
featured a protruding chin.
They still had classic characteristics such as heavy brow ridges.
Our ancestors may have mated
with Neanderthals here.
MARKED FEATURES
DISAPPEARED
Where: Saint-Csaire, France

or the last Neanderthals in Europe, the classic features such

as heavy brow ridges are less
striking. This may be due
to crossbreeding with humans,
who came to the region at this point
in time.
WE MATED WITH
NEANDERTHALS
Where: The Middle East

eanderthals and modern

humans took turns at
conquering the same Middle East
caves and probably mated.
39
Caveman with emotions

For years, the Neanderthals have been labelled as backward cavemen. Now, scientists have changed
their minds about them: They boasted close family relations, ritual burials, and a rich intellectual life.
runting and unintelligent with a

monkey-like, stooping posture.
That is how Neanderthal were
portrayed for many years. But it seems this
impression is utterly wrong.
In recent years, a number of new
discoveries have disclosed that the
Neanderthal was by no means unintelligent,
he had a language, a culture, and
sophisticated technology - just like us.
THE ELDERLY WERE

TAKEN CARE OF
The perception of the Neanderthal as an
unintelligent creature stems from French
palaeontologist Marcellin Boule. In 1909,
he published an analysis of the first

complete Neanderthal skeleton found at
La Chapelle-aux-Saints in France.
Boule noted the skeletons crooked
spine, long, strong arms, and curved,
monkey-like thighs, concluding that the
Neanderthal was a stooping apeman with
long arms and a slow mind. He had an
artist illustrate the Neanderthal as a furry,
monkey-like creature with a big club. The
caveman clich had been born.
Today, scientists know that the
Neanderthal of La Chapelle-aux-Saints
was an elderly man, who was roundshouldered due to gout-inflicted vertebrae
injury. He was only able to survive because
others took care of him. Ironically, the

famous skeleton is evidence that the
Neanderthals possessed a quality which
has otherwise been considered unique to
modern humans: empathy.
THE FAMILY STUCK TOGETHER

The old man probably lived in a small
family group. Scientists have found
evidence in several places that the
Neanderthals had a close family structure.
In El Sidrn in Spain, scientists have
found the fossils of an entire Neanderthal
family. Based on the bones, the scientists
have identified 12 individuals three men,
three women, three teenagers, and
Skilled artisan played the flute

They played music, wore necklaces, and cooked their greens over a fire.
The Neanderthal used a broad range of different tools and instruments,
which were very much like the tools used by modern man.
DIET
Food was cooked over a fire. Apart from grilled
meat, the Neanderthals ate a wide variety of
plants, which they probably wrapped in leaves
and placed among live coals from the fire.
WARDROBE
Scientists have found ivory
rings and necklaces made of
perforated snail shells, sea
shells and teeth, which the
Neanderthal wore outside
their leather clothing. Scientists also believe that the
Neanderthal may have
painted themselves with
red and black minerals.
PLANTS
Roots
Grass seeds
Nuts
Fruit
Berries
Herbs
BIG GAME
Red deer
Reindeer
Wild horse
Mammoth
Woolly rhino
Steppe bison
SMALL ANIMALS
Insects
Larvae
Birds
Rabbits
Lizards
Turtles
ZOAO ZILHAO/PNAS
SYLVAIN ENTRESSANGLE, ELISABETH DAYNES/LOOK AT SCIENCES
40
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
SHUTTERSTOCK
How did
they live?
TOOL BOX
The Neanderthals used sophisticated tools
including fine scrapers, points, and knife
blades. The stone tools were used for a wide
range of purposes such as butchery, plant
processing, woodwork, and as spearheads.
TOOLS
Wooden spears, perhaps with stone points
Stone knives
Stones for sharpening tools
Stone points
SCANPIX
MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS
Scientists have found a 10-cmlong thighbone from a bear,
carved into a flute.
Dating back 55,000 years,
the flute is the oldest known
musical instrument, meaning
that Neanderthal played music.
MEDICINE CABINET
Medical plants such as camomile
and yarrow were frequently
consumed, probably due to
their effect as drugs.
SHUTTERSTOCK
UNIVERSITY OF TBINGEN
41
LA CHAPELLEAUX
SAINTS, FRANCE
The Neanderthal
buried their dead
EUROPE
It has been debated for years whether the

Neanderthals ritually buried their dead. Recent
studies of a tomb near La Chapelle-aux-Saints,
France, determine that Neanderthals had
funerals. The hole, in which the fossils were found,
was dug, and as it is located in a hard soil layer, the
digging must have taken hours to complete. The bones
had been carefully placed and had no damage from
scavengers, so the body must have been left alone
and covered immediately. This kind of ritualised
burial shows solicitude and abstract thinking.
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
AFR ICA
SHANIDAR, IRAQ
J. CONNELL/FLICKR
42
C. BEAUVAL/ARCHEOSPHERE/CNRS
Scientists have found a 60,000year-old tomb which contained

an elderly, gout-ridden, and
toothless man. He probably only
survived because other people
in the group took care of him.
SHUTTERSTOCK
A skeleton surrounded by flowers

bears witness of a ritual burial.
In other graves, scientists found
skeletons that had been treated
for bone fractures and wounds.
One man lived for at least 20
years with an amputated arm.
How did
they live?
three children. The genetic studies
demonstrated that the three men were
closely related like brothers, cousins, or
uncles whereas the women came from
other families. This seems to indicate that
the Neanderthal lived in small groups of
close relatives, who exchanged daughters
when they met.
Archaeologists have found

Neanderthal buried in
several places throughout
the world. In this case
La Chapelle-aux-Saints.
ALAMY/IMAGESELECT
HUNTERS COLLECTED PLANTS

The small family groups were nomads
living in hilly areas, where they could find
permanent water supplies and a wide
range of animals and plants.
The large quantities of animal bones
that scientists have found near fossils are
evidence that the Neanderthals were
hunters. In some places, the finds even
indicate a coordinated and sophisticated
type of hunting, in which beaters forced
a group of animals to move towards a
death trap, where hunters appeared from
all sides, killing the animals with spears.
However, new analyses have revealed
that meat was only part of the diet, whereas
plants were the primary food source.
Almost all the Neanderthal fossils found
over time include micro fossils from plants
preserved in tartar. Scientists believe that
the Neanderthals only hunted large game
approximately every second week. In their
everyday lives, they lived off edible plants,
insects, and small animals such as lizards,

rabbits, hares, birds, and turtles.
The social structure was probably like
that of hunter-gatherers. The women took
care of the children and collected plants,
whereas the men hunted big and small
animals locally.
HOMINIDS LIVED
SIMILAR LIVES
In many of the places in which modern
humans occupied the same caves as the
Neanderthal, scientists can see that the
two hominids lived in the exact same way.
Both used equally sophisticated tools, ate
the same food, dressed in the same way,
had the same type of rituals, and lived in
the same family groups.
The Neanderthals were at the same
level as modern man, and had they not
disappeared, they may have in time
d eve l o p e d t h e i r ow n a g r i c u l t u re ,
technology and more.
ASIA
TESHIKTASH,
UZBEKISTAN
The skeleton of an eight-year-old
boy was covered by six mountain
goat horns. The location of the
horns indicates a ritual - this
group of Neanderthal had an
understanding of death.
NHM/SPL/SCANPIX
Carefully placed
dead bodies, animal
horns, and flowers show
that dead Neanderthals
were ritually mourned.
43
Modern humans were

the first artists.
This is a 32,000year-old figurine.
Cut marks
Cut marks on a child's

skull demonstrate that
someone cut off the flesh.
KENNETH GARRETT
F. RAMIREZ ROZZI & M. VANHAEREN
THEORY 1
Deliberate genocide
In France, scientists found a Neanderthal child jaw with marks
indicating that the flesh was cut off. The jaw was found
among animal bones with similar cut marks, so the butcher
did not distinguish between animals and Neanderthals. The
butchers tools are part of a tool culture associated with
modern man. The theory of the Neanderthals going extinct in
a genocide is supported by other finds, of which the
murderers were definitely modern humans.
THEORY 2
Compact body used lots of energy
In cold periods, the Neanderthals were restricted by their
robust bodies, which required more energy than our bodies.
CLAUS LUNAU
The skull was low

and rather long
with a big brain.
A conical chest
with big lungs
designed for lots
of physical activity.
PROS:
The Neanderthal
goes extinct at
the same time as
modern humans arrive.
CONS:
Few archaeological sites
show evidence of fight,
murder, and cannibalism.
The climate killed

the Neanderthals
New analyses show that the climate
59-74,000 years ago and 37-44,000
years ago was extremely unstable,
swinging between freezing cold and
a relatively mild climate within a few
centuries. The Neanderthals
needed to adapt to flora and fauna
changes. This pressure isolated the
small family groups, which could no
longer support themselves.
PROS: The theory is supported by

both climate data and DNA studies.
9,200
kilojoules
per day
44
The rather short

arms and legs
were very
muscular.
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
18,000
kilojoules
per day
CONS: The Neanderthal had survived

in a rough ice age climate for hundreds of
thousands of years prior to this.
Why did they

go extinct ?
Three theories explain

Neanderthal 'extinction'
For more than 200,000 years, the Neanderthals thrived in a huge region ranging from Portugal
in the west to Siberia in the east. But 40,000 years ago, the species began to dwindle, and 12,000
years later, the last families died out at the southern point of Europe. Scientists do not know
exactly why, but several theories have been put forward.
THEORY 3
Modern humans
designed brand new
tools such as
sewing needles.
KENNETH GARRETT
Outcompeted by Homo sapiens

Modern human genetic material has
revealed that all non-Africans descend
from a small group who left Africa
75-100,000 years ago. This new hominid
- an effective hunter - defeated their
more ancient cousins everywhere.
In Europe, archaeologists have found
new tools such as sewing needles and
fishing nets as well as art in the form of
cave paintings and carved figurines. This
indicates a so far unknown intelligence,
making scientists describe Homo sapiens
as a creative superpower in a league of

its own compared to previous hominids.
Modern people gave up nomadic life,
settling down to develop a new social
structure, including trade across long
distances. This meant that they utilised
their resources more efficiently, allowing
the population to grow, and the growth
forced the Neanderthals
to leave their
usual hunting
grounds.
CORBIS/ALL OVER
PROS:
The theory is based on several different types of evidence in
fossils, DNA sequencing, and discoveries of tools and art.
CONS:
Between the arrival of the first modern humans and the emergence of art and advanced tools, there is a time gap of around
10,000 years. So, the theory is on the retreat, and today, scientists believe that other factors such as the climate were also important.
Scientists still do not know
if modern humans really did
eliminate the Neanderthal.
KENNIS & KENNIS RECONSTRUCTIONS & K. WEBB/NHM
45
FEATURE | SPACE TRAVEL
With its cargo of sophisticated measuring equipment, the

Curiosity rover struggles across Mars to explore rocks and river
deltas for signs of life. The rover has discovered that there were
once favourable conditions for life on Mars and that the planet
boasted foaming rivers of water. Scientists are more than content.
By Lone Djernis Olsen. Photos: NASA & ESA
MAR
46
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Here, a few weeks after

landing, Curiosity looks for
prehistoric water and life
on the Red Planet.
THE ROVERS FIVE

MAJOR DISCOVERIES
1. Evidence of flowing, fresh water
and elements that are vital for life.
2. Evidence of a several-m-deep, prehistoric river.

3. The atmosphere does not contain methane,
which could otherwise be a sign of life.
4. The radiation is no more intense than what the

International Space Station is subjected to.
5. The newly developed Skycrane, that lowered
Curiosity onto the surface, has proved that heavy

craft can be landed in this way in the future.
The Skycrane lander

lowers Curiosity
onto the surface.
Gale Crater
landing site
47| 47
Curiosity is a mobile lab
FACTS ABOUT CURIOSITY
Curiosity is an automatic research station crammed with equipment.

Its laser boils rock into vapour, which is analysed by an arsenal of
cameras and instruments. The results are sent back to Earth.
Laser and
camera
ChemCam
Cameras
(two)
MastCam
Navigational cameras
Weight: 899 kg, including

80 kg of instruments.
Dimensions: Length: 2.9 m.
Width: 2.7 m.
Top speed: 0.137 km/h.
Price: US$2.5 billion (delivered).
NavCams
NAVIGATE THROUGH TERRAIN)
Monitoring station
REMS
CONTINOUSLY MEASURES AIR HUMIDITY, PRESSURE,
TEMPERATURE, WIND SPEED, AND RADIATION)
analysis
5 Sample
instrument
SAM
6 Mineral
detector
CheMin
7
Hazard
cameras
Radiation
detector
RAD
CURIOSITYS ROUTE
HazCams
RECEIVED ON EARTH:
6 AUGUST 2012
MARTIAN DAYS: 0-29
(MONITOR ANY
HAZARDS IN TERRAIN)
Landing
Gale
Crater
27-29
13
Distance
covered:
100 m
X-ray
spectrometer
APXS
48
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
on
4 Camera
robotic arm
MAHLI
Distance covered
Planned route
Glenelg
asadena, California, on 6 August

2012. Happy cheers spread when the
message is announced: Curiosity,
NASAs latest and most advanced Martian
rover, has landed safely on the surface of
the Red Planet. For a few minutes, the
mission control is dominated by happy
faces, high fives, and hugs, but soon the
staff goes back to work.
Prior to the announcement, the mission
h a d b e e n t h ro u g h a n 8 m o n t h ,
563,000,000-km strenous journey. Curiosity
experienced violent vibration as it was
launched. Subsequently, it was subjected to
the cold and radiation of interplanetary
space. And finally, heat and more vibration
during landing. Would the rover even work?
Curiositys trip down through the Martian
atmosphere and onto the surface has been
referred to as the seven minutes of terror.
Though the atmosphere is 100+ times
thinner than Earths, Curiosity needed a solid
heat shield to protect it against the heat
produced as air resistance slowed the craft
down. The next critical step was the
unfolding of the parachute, and finally, a few
metres above the surface, the unproven
Skycrane system had to activate braking
rockets, lower the rover using wires, and
subsequently get out of the way and fall
down at a safe distance from the rover. A lot
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

engineers cheer after Curiositys
successful landing on Mars.
of things could go wrong, so even the
calmest engineer wriggled in his seat,
breaking a sweat.
However, the journey was not the main
purpose. The real challenge, the exploration
of Mars, does not begin, until Curiosity has
landed safely. The rovers most important
task is to find signs of life, but en route, there
will be lots of other challenges, such as
analysing rock and dust and looking for
evidence of where and how water flowed.
SATELLITE FOUND
LANDING SITE
The first thing scientists had to find was the
exact location in which Curiosity landed. The
landing can take place anywhere in an
elliptical area of 25 x 20 km. The area has
been carefully chosen based on images from
the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is
orbiting the Red Planet, taking detailed
photos of the surface. The landing site must
be safe and well suited for scientific studies.
BREAKING NEWS FROM MARS

RECEIVED ON EARTH:
APPROX. 20 AUGUST 2012
MARTIAN DAY: 13
RECEIVED ON EARTH:
FIRST HALF OF SEPTEMBER 2012
MARTIAN DAYS: 27-29
Rock vapour
surprises scientists
Torrents of
water flowed
Curiositys first feat is firing its laser at a rock

and analysing vapours from the rock. The
measuring is only a test of the instrument, but scientists are taken
aback at the accuracy of the data,
as the results reach the mission
Laser holes
control on Earth via radio signals.
The rover finds a prehistoric river.

Rounded pebbles are a clear sign that
they were carried along by water. The
water in the river flowed at a speed of
approx. 1 m/s for many years. The discovery determines that there was
once lots of flowing water on Mars.
INSTRUMENT: ChemCam
Emits 50-75 impulses lasting 5 nanoseconds,
making a minor part of the rock evaporate.
Takes photos of the make-up of the
evaporated rock, revealing minerals.
INSTRUMENT: MastCam
Shoots 1,600 x 1,200 pixel photos
and video with up to 10 images/second.
Can focus on objects at a distance
of 2.1 metres-infinitely.
Round pebbles
embedded in
rock reveal that
raging rivers once
flowed on Mars.
2
49
Three probes assist Curiosity

Several probes orbiting Mars help Curiosity find out whether
there is or was life on Mars. The probes also collect information
about the conditions on Mars for the purpose of manned missions.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES:
t Study temperature, humidity, dust in atmosphere.
t Take detailed photos of the surface and find minerals.
t Radar investigation of the upper 1 km of the crust
particularly in search of frozen water.
MOST IMPORTANT RESULT:
t Finding landing site for Curiosity and other rovers.
Scientists have chosen an area of the Gale

Crater, which meets two main requirements:
It is relatively flat, involving no large rocks and
steep slopes, and it includes interesting and
freely accessible rocks. Finally, Mount Sharp
is located close by.
Once the exact landing site in the Gale
Crater has been identified a place named
Bradbury by the team (after the SF author)
it is time for the engineers responsible for
the launch, flight, and landing to clear out
and leave the mission control to those
responsible for the rover mission.
The landing also marks the time when
the mission control crew alters its daily
rhythm to Martian time. A Martian day, also
known as a sol, is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and

35 seconds, and as Curiosity operates in this
time zone, so must the mission control
staff. Martian time constantly shifts a little
compared to Earth time, so all mission
control windows have been shielded against
daylight, and people come, go, sleep, and eat
at odd hours.
The engineers immediately set about
starting up and checking all instruments for
errors, one by one. Two weeks after the
landing, the engineers are ready to send
Curiosity on its first mission. Nothing manmade has ever moved about the rock and
dust that Curiosity is about to explore. It is a
unique opportunity.
250 MILLION KM AWAY

Curiosity is located some 250 million km
away from mission control, and even the
worlds fastest method of communication,
radio waves, take 14 minutes to get there.
Consequently, the engineers cannot control
Curiosity directly. Instead, they plan a driving
sequence based on what they can see in the
images which the rover has sent back.
The sequence is converted into
computer code and sent to Curiosity via one
of the probes orbiting Mars, mostly Mars
Odyssey (see above). The rover does as it is
told and sends images back from its new
location. On a good day, Curiosity will cover
100 m, but on many days and at first on all
RECEIVED ON EARTH: LATE SEPTEMBER 2012

MARTIAN DAYS: 45-48
Rare discovery resembles

volcanic rock from Earth
61
Landing
60-70
45-48
Glenelg
Total distance
covered:
400 m
Distance covered
Planned route
50
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Curiosity finds a rock with the same

make-up as a known but rare volcanic rock
type from Earth. The rock is the first of its
kind found on Mars. On Earth, it is created in volcanoes. Perhaps the rock
was created in a volcano in the
Martian past, revealing details
about the planets history.
INSTRUMENT: APXS
Bombards the rock with alpha particles,
making it emit special X-radiation.
The radiation can reveal the rock type.
The type is compared to other Martian rock.
3
The rock made up of
volcanic material is
named after late NASA
engineer Jake Matijevic.
Mars
Odyssey
t Maps out minerals and water ice.
Measures radiation levels.
t Found large quantities of water below the surface near the poles.
days the trips are much shorter.

The top speed on a level surface
is 0.137 km/h. At this speed, it
will take 6-12 months to reach
Curiositys final destination: the
5.5-km-tall Mount Sharp located
at the centre of the Gale Crater, 8 km on a
straight line from the landing site. The
mountain was chosen because some of the
probes orbiting Mars have observed signs of
clay minerals on Mount Sharp. The clay
minerals are interesting, as on Earth, they
are formed where life may originate and
thrive. Scientists would like Curiosity to
crawl up the foothills and study the mineral
layers one by one.
The distance to Mount Sharp
means that scientists must
make a central choice: They
could aim for Mount
Sharp from the start
and live with the fact
Mars Express
t Photographs and maps out minerals.
t Studies atmosphere and permafrost.
t Found ice near the poles (enough to
cover Mars with an 11-km-deep ocean).
that the journey will take 6-12 months.

During this period, they will be able to study
the rock that the rover passes by on its way
and which is not necessarily of any particular
interest. Or they could choose to visit a place
by the name of Glenelg first, only 400 m
from the landing site. Glenelg may hold great
scientific discoveries. If the scientists choose
to visit Glenelg, the journey to Mount Sharp
will be longer. On the other hand, the
chances of finding something interesting
faster are improved. Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter images have demonstrated that the
rover will encounter three types of terrain.
The first is rocky ground, which is
well suited for drilling.
The second is
lots of small
SCIENTISTS GET
UNEXPECTED GIFT
Less than two months after the landing
and before the rover reaches Glenelg
Curiosity sends the first spectacular
images back, portraying the remains of an
ancient river bed, where knee-high water
probably flowed at a considerable speed
for a long period of time. A genuine
prehistoric river on Mars!
The images confirm that the landing site
was well-chosen, but the scientists still do not
choose to use Curiositys many scientific
instruments at this point. Though there may
have been life in the river once, Curiosity may
not be able to find evidence of it now, several
billion years later. The life that may have been
on Mars when the river flowed, is microscopic,
monocellular organisms like the ones that
dominated Earth during the first two billion
years of its existence. This type of organisms
only leave very little evidence, which is
RECEIVED ON EARTH: MID-OCTOBER 2012
RECEIVED
ON EARTH:
MID OCTOBER
2012
MARTIAN DAY: 61
MARTIAN DAYS: 60-70
Dust contains
lots of water
Scoop
collects
soil sample
Using its 2-m-long robotic arm,
Curiosity collects soil from the
surface of Mars. Large stones are
filtered out, and the soil is transferred to other instruments. The
samples are analysed by the X-ray
spectrometer (APXS) and with
the MAHLI camera. The dust
resembles volcanic dust from
Hawaii that has been ground
by the elements over time.
craters. The fact that the

craters still exist indicates that
the surface is either very old
dating back from a time when
many meteors fell on Mars or
that the surface is very hard and not eroded.
Both are interesting to study. The third type
of terrain is the type of surface that Curiosity
landed on. The scientists choose to pay
Glenelg a visit.
The scoop at the end of the robotic arm collects a soil

sample that is analysed by the rover instruments.
INSTRUMENT: MAHLI
The camera sits at the end of the robotic arm.
Takes 1,600 x 1,200 pixel photos with a
resolution of 14.5 micrometres per pixel.
Can take photos in both light and darkness.
Curiosity discovers that Martian dust

contains 2 % water. When the dust is
heated to 100 degrees, it releases
vapour consisting of water,
which is easily
accessible. This bodes
Dust containing
well for drinking water
2 % water
extraction for missions.
INSTRUMENT: SAM
Heats soil in an oven to analyse
leaking gasses and looks for signs of life.
Measures oxygen and carbon isotopes in
CO2 and methane from the atmosphere.
5
|
51
very difficult to find. In order for Curiosity to

engineers have scheduled long legs, but
find the microscopic signs, they must not only
Curiositys metal wheels turn out to wear down
have survived for a few billion years, they must
faster than expected. The best driving terrain
also be located so close to the surface that
is hard sand with a few pebbles, which are
Curiosity can get to them. This means that
forced down into the sand by the weight of the
they must have survived the devastating
rover, making the sand more stable. The worst
radiation on the surface of
terrain involves lots of
Mars. Only in very specific
sharp rocks which wear the
places can scientists hope
wheels down. In
to find such evidence of
cooperation with the
ancient, microscopic life.
probes orbiting Mars, the
And the dry river bed, as
engineers try to schedule a
Curiosity's
impressive as it is, is not one.
route that passes through
metal wheels
the most suitable terrain.
turn out to
SHARP ROCKS
After slightly more
wear down
WEAR DOWN
than 500 days and
faster than
WHEELS
approximately 5 km, the
More than three months
team makes another
expected. It's a
after the landing, Curiosity
choice: From its orbit
rare setback.
reaches its first destination,
around the planet, the
Glenelg, and all the
Mars Reconnaissance
instruments are set to work. Curiosity is the
Orbiter has found an alternative route
first Martian rover, which is equipped to drill
passing through a soft terrain, which will
into rock and collect samples for analysis. At
have the least effect on the vulnerable
Glenelg, the drill and other instruments are
wheels. The catch of this route is that it
activated for the first time, and the samples
passes right through a big, soft sand dune,
indicate that the Martian past was much
which the team names Dingo Gap. This type
more wet and fit for life than the present.
of dune is deeply respected by the scientists,
The scientists are overjoyed, and the decision
as one of Curiositys predecessors, the Spirit
to visit Glenelg before the long journey
rover, ended its life in one in 2010 after six
towards Mount Sharp has paid off.
years on Mars. It simply got stuck in the sand
After a thorough investigation of Glenelg,
dune and remains stranded there. Spirits
the rover sets out for Mount Sharp. The
twin, Opportunity, was also stuck in a
RECEIVED ON EARTH:
MID-FEBRUARY 2013
MARTIAN DAY: 183
Total distance
covered:
183
5.5 km
Landing
Glenelg
350
250-300
Dingo Gap
Distance covered
548
52
sand dune for weeks back in 2004, at an

early point of its mission.
The engineers decide to take a closer
look at Dingo Gap. Curiosity approaches the
dune, only to turn back, taking photos of its
tracks, so the engineers can study the
texture of the sand and the depth of the
impressions. Finally, after a week or so, the
team decides to cross Dingo Gap. Curiosity is
on its own, fighting the sand, and the
engineers hold their breath. The next images
received are luckily of the terrain on the
other side of Dingo Gap. Curiosity made the
trip across the dune and continues towards
the mountain.
After three months, the scientists stop
living on Martian time, returning to their
universities all over the US and Europe.
The scientists still follow Curiositys
progress from back home, holding video
link meetings. Only engineers remain to
control Curiositys driving. For the first time
in the history of Martian research, the
scientists enter a terrain, in which they
have great expectations of finding
evidence of prehistoric life. Perhaps the
mountain will be able to solve the mystery
of the origin of life.
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Drill sample
contains lifes
building blocks
Curiosity finds sulphur,
nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen,
phosphorus, and carbon in a
sample drilled out of the rock by
the rover by a dry river bed. All
elements are among the main
ingredients of living organisms.
The find is important, as it shows
that Mars was once inhabitable
by life as we know it. It is the first
time ever that scientists drilled
into the rock of another planet.
The drill sitting at the end of

the robotic arm can make
holes with a 1.6 cm diameter
and a depth of up to 5 cm.
Drill hole
INSTRUMENT: CheMin
Drill dust is poured into the CheMin,
and an X-ray is aimed at the dust.
The way in which the ray is reflected determines the minerals contained in the dust.
Future rovers will

drill even deeper
The next generation of rovers will bring a drill that
will penetrate 2 m into the ground, where radiation
can't penetrate, so if microorganisms exist on Mars
today, they may live beneath the surface.
ExoMars Rover 2018

INSTRUMENT: Mobile and stationary vehicle
PLANNED LAUNCH: 2018
ExoMars will look for signs of life both on
the surface and in samples from a drill that
can drill up to 2 m into the ground. The
Exomars rover is developed by ESA.
Insight
INSTRUMENT: Stationary measuring station
PLANNED LAUNCH: 2016
The mission will land a stationary measuring
station equipped with a seismometer and a
heat sensor on the surface of Mars to explore
the interior of the planet. The results will
give scientists insight into the geological
processes which created Mars, and show
whether the planet is still geologically active.
Vulkansk sten
RECEIVED ON EARTH:
MID/LATE APRIL 2013
MARTIAN DAYS: 250-300
RECEIVED ON EARTH:
EARLY AUGUST 2013
MARTIAN DAY: 350
RECEIVED ON EARTH:
MID-FEBRUARY 2014
MARTIAN DAY: 548
Good news for astronauts:

less radiation than feared
Martian atmosphere
contains no methane
Curiosity moves towards

its final destination, 5-km-high
Mount Sharp. Most days are
spent driving in order to reach
the mountain.
A detector measures how much radiation

the surface contains. It turns out to be less
than feared, i.e. 0.64 mSv per day. During
the mission, astronauts will be subjected
to 1.84 mSv per day. The maximum ESA
astronaut dose is 1 Sv during his career.
During a solar eruption in the direction of
Mars, astronauts lives could be in danger.
INSTRUMENT: RAD
Was activated during the flight to Mars to
study the radiation level inside the craft.
The detector measures radiation on the
surface for the benefit of future missions.
Analyses of the atmosphere show that it

does not contain methane. On
Earth, methane is usually
produced by bacteria. The
missing methane may
indicate that there is no
life on Mars, but some
bacteria do not produce it.
INSTRUMENT: SAM
Mass spectrometer identifies atoms.
Gas chromatograph heats samples, so they
evaporate. Gasses are separated and analysed.
Laser spectrometer looks for methane, etc.
Mount Sharp
5
53
POWER PLANTS
CLEAR THE AIR
Power plants can avoid pollution by
capturing CO2 from their combustion and
injecting it into the ground. And if they also use
environmentally friendly biofuel, they can even
remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
By Henrik Bendix. Art: Claus Lunau.
ver the course of this century, the

greenhouse effect will probably
make global temperatures rise by a
few degrees. Huge amounts of ice will melt
at the poles, and ocean water levels will rise.
The carbon dioxide greenhouse gas,
also known as CO2, is the big villain of the
climate change faced by the world. The
gas is the result of the burning of fossil
fuels such as coal and oil, which consist of
biologic material that once absorbed CO2
from the atmosphere to grow. When the
fuels are extracted from the ground and
video
Watch CO2 be sent
deep into the ground
http://youtu.be/GglSLuWP5cM
54
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
burned to generate energy, the carbon

dioxide is released back into the
atmosphere, where the greenhouse gas
retains solar energy. It functions as a
blanket around our world, making it more
difficult for heat to escape into space.
Fossil fuels are responsible for 80 % of
the worlds energy, but it is indeed possible to
burn them without polluting the atmosphere,
if power plants capture the CO2 resulting
from combustion. Subsequently, the gas can
be compressed into a liquid state and
injected deep into the ground. In other
words, the carbon returns to and is stored in
the place, where it came from. There, the
carbon dioxide can remain for any period of
time just like oil remains in oil fields, if it is
not pumped. The technology is known as
CCS: Carbon Capture and Storage. Utilizing
existing methods, 90 % of the CO2 in the flue
gasses resulting from power plant
combustion can be captured.
CCS can also be used to suck existing CO2
out of the atmosphere and reverse the trend
of global heating. This would require power
plants to use biofuel. The burning of biomass
such as straw, wood, or special energy crops
are basically CO2 neutral, as the quantity of
released by the combustion
CO 2
steps to
clean air
1. Power plants use biofuel,

which has absorbed CO2.
2.
CO2 is captured at the

power plant before, during, or
after burning.
3. The greenhouse gas is

pumped into and stored deep
in the ground.
corresponds to the one absorbed by plants
as they grew. If power plants collect and
store this CO 2 in the ground, they will
actually remove some of the greenhouse
gas from the atmosphere.
MAKING TEMPERATURES FALL

Biofuel makes CCS a technology which can
seriously contribute to saving the
environment. Scientists from the Chalmers
University of Technology in Sweden have
calculated that it is possible to stop global
warming, if power plants utilize biofuel and
CCS. In the scientists scenario,
temperatures will have increased by a few
degrees in 2100 as compared to
temperatures around 1800, but
subsequently, the situation will
change, and temperatures will have
fallen by 0.5 degree in 2150. In other
words, man-induced global warming
can be limited to a temperature rise
of 1.5 degrees over a period of 350
years, if more energy is generated by
FEATURE | ENVIRONMENT
1. FUEL
The burning of biomass is CO2 neutral,
as plants absorb CO2 from the
atmosphere to grow. By
using biofuel, power
plants avoid
pollution.
1. CO is released
2
into the atmosphere

due to traffic, energy
generation, etc.
CO2
Atmosphere
Polluted
output flue gas
2. Plants absorb
CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis and convert it

into oxygen and plant
material.
Biofuel
3. When power
plants burn biomass

instead of fossil fuel,
they avoid releasing
more CO2.
BIOFUEL AND STORAGE REMOVE CO2 FROM THE ATMOSPHERE

and the atmosphere could
even be decontaminated.
In Illinois, USA, you will find
one of the only projects in
the world utilising this
mechanism. The Decatur
project converts corn into
bioethanol, which can be
used as eco-friendly fuel in
cars, and the 750,000
tonnes of CO2 produced so
far have been injected into
the ground. In a few years,
the quantity will be
1 million tonnes annually.
THINKSTOCK
In photosynthesis, plants
absorb CO2 from the
atmosphere, converting
greenhouse gas and water
into into nutrients and
oxygen in the process. As
the plant material either rots
in nature or is used as
biofuel in a power plant, the
gas is released into the
atmosphere again, but if the
CO2 from the burning were
captured and stored in the
ground for good, it could be
removed from the circuit,
DANIEL BYERS/ISGS
55
burning biomass, capturing the

and from the Norwegian natural gas fields of
greenhouse gas, and injecting it deep into
Sleipner and Snhvit is pumped into salt
the ground for permanent storage.
water reservoirs deep in the ground or
The CCS technology is not yet very widely
beneath the sea floor. You will find the most
used, as considerable costs are involved in
major CCS projects in the US, where CO2 from
artificial fertiliser factories and natural gas
capturing CO2 , carrying the gas to a storage
facility by ship, tank truck, or
processing plants is
pipeline, and finally pumping it A rise of
pumped into oil fields.
into the ground. As long as
There, the gas makes
CO 2 pollution is cheap,
the oil flow more easily,
companies are not
so more of it can be
encouraged to dispose of the
extracted from fields.
greenhouse
g a s . by 2150 is what
Several
new
Nevertheless, a few projects global warming
projects are also being
already exist throughout the
developed, such as in
world, which utilise the can be reduced to,
the Dutch city of
method to clear the air of utilizing CO storage
Rotterdam, where a
2
carbon dioxide.
new thermal power
station is built. From 2015, CO2 resulting
TONNES OF GAS
from the burning of coal and biomass at the
IN THE GROUND
facility will be captured, compressed, and
Today, approximately 70,000 tonnes of CO2
injected into a depleted gas field beneath
are injected into the ground daily for
the North Sea floor. The process can relieve
permanent storage by 12 huge plants
the atmosphere of 1,100,000 tonnes of
throughout the world. CO2 resulting from
greenhouse gas per year, or the equivalent
natural gas production in In Salah, Algeria,
of the pollution from 230,000 cars.
1.5C
GEOLOGISTS DEVELOP
TECHNOLOGY
In spite of the promising prospects, CCS is
still a rather new technology requiring
much more research, before it can be
utiliaed on a large scale.
Many scientists are busy trying to find
out how to make CCS cheaper and more
efficient, so it can be utilized to a greater
ex t e n t . M o re ove r, ge o l o g i s t s a re
investigating, where and how to store CO2
in the ground in the best possible way.
They wish to make sure that they find the
very best locations for storing the liquid
carbon dioxide, as it must not be allowed
to escape into neither the atmosphere nor
the ground water, and the pumping must
not produce tension in the ground, which
could cause earthquakes.
Geologists are not 100% sure how
carbon dioxide will behave in the ground, and
consequently, all CCS projects are monitored
carefully, so results from the real world can
be compared with those from scientific labs
and computer models. One monitoring
OYVIND HAGEN/STATOIL
CO2 stored
beneath the
sea floor
The Norwegian Sleipner natural gas
field, which is located in the North Sea,
has been pumping CO2 into the sea floor
since 1996. So far, 15 million tonnes of
CO2 have been stored in a porous
sandstone layer full of salt water.
The natural gas from Sleipner involves
some 9 % of CO2, but when the gas is sold,
it cannot hold any more than 2.5 %. So,
the CO2 is separated, before the gas leaves
Sleipner. The Norwegian CO2 tax of NOK
370 per tonne, which is imposed on the
oil and gas industry, makes sure that the
unwanted CO2 is not just released to the
detriment of the environment, but stored
beneath the sea floor.
Sleipner is the CO2 storage facility
that has been subjected to the most
complete studies, and so far, the
indications are that the gas behaves just
like scientists expected. There is a minor
risk of leaks from the reservoir, where
the CO2 is slowly dissolved by salt water.
56
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
For 20 years, millions of tonnes of CO2

from the Norwegian Sleipner oil field
have been injected into the ground
beneath the sea floor.
2. CAPTURE
In order not to release CO2 from the
burning of fuel into the atmosphere,
power plants can capture the greenhouse gas in three different ways.
A. The gas can be
separated from the fuel

before burning by
gasifying the material.
B. The biofuel can be
C. A chemical
burned with pure oxygen, so the output flue

gas is almost only CO2.
process can remove CO2

from the output flue gas in
a plant after combustion.
CO2 CAN BE CAPTURED IN THREE WAYS
Gasification: The fuel is converted into

gas, which splits up into hydrogen and
CO2. This used in the power plant.
3. The fuel is gasified.
4. Chemically, the gas is

altered into CO2 and H2.
Oxyfuel: The fuel is burned with pure oxygen, so the output flue gas is almost only
CO2, which can be captured relatively easily.
1. Pure oxygen is sent

into the gasifier.
CO2
6. Hydrogen is
directed to power
station gas turbine.
3. Water is evaporated
to power plant turbine.
4. Water is evaporated 3. The fuel is burned.

to power plant turbine.
5. The output flue
gas is purified.
5. CO2 is condensed
and compressed.
2. Fuel is
introduced into
the gasifier.
H2
2. Fuel is
introduced for
combustion.
CO2
6. CO2 is condensed
and compressed.
O2
1. Oxygen is sent into the
combustion chamber.
Flue gas purification: CO2 is

removed from the flue gas by
binding to ammonia-like amines.
2. The fuel is burned.
4. CO2 in the output
flue gas is chemically
separated.
1. Fuel is
introduced for
combustion.
CO2
5. CO2 is condensed
and compressed.
57
Leaks can occur

One risk of storing CO2 in the ground is that
activity such as earthquakes could make the
reservoirs leak, so the green-house gas seeps up
and into the air. Experience from natural
reservoirs demonstrates that escaped CO2 could
harm humans, animals, and the environment, as
the gas is toxic in large quantities. So far, leaks do
not seem to be a real problem, and geologists
are trying to find the best reservoirs for the
greenhouse gas.
method consists in measuring small

drinking water anyway. Carbon deposits,
changes in local gravity, which could reveal
which are not worthwhile extracting, could
the extent of CO 2 , and seismological
also be used as storage facilities.
measurements can tell scientists, if the
No matter what, the CO 2 must be
injected at least
carbon dioxide is causing
800 m into the
tension in the ground,
Scientists have
ground, as down
which could result in
calculated that the
there,
the
small earthquakes.
ground can hold a total of
pressure is so high
Moreover, the carbon
that the gas will
dioxide content of the
remain liquid and
air
above
the
compressed.
underground reservoirs
1,000
cubic
is measured to be able
billion tonnes of CO2
metres of CO2 at
to find out, whether the
the surface only
gas is starting to leak.
takes up three cubic metres down there at a
CAN BE STORED IN
pressure of approximately 80 bars. And it is
ROCK AND OIL FIELDS
just as important that the porous rock, in
Scientists are already convinced that the CO2
which the gas is stored, is covered by a
must be pumped into porous and permeable
robust layer of clay, chalk, or salt, that can
deposits, into which the liquid carbon dioxide
prevent the CO2 from moving towards the
surface again just like a natural seal.
can seep. An obvious place in which to store
the gas is depleted oil or natural gas fields,
LOTS OF PROJECTS
that used to contain liquid fossil fuels and
IN THE PIPELINE
where there is now room for liquid CO 2.
The ground can hold many years of CO2
Underground salt water reservoirs can also
emissions. Scientists have calculated that it
be used, as the carbon dioxide is dissolved in
can store a total of 11,000 billion tonnes of
the salt water, which cannot be used for
11,000
58
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
CO2 the majority in deep-seated salt water

reservoirs. In comparison, some 35 billion
tonnes of CO2 will be emitted this year. The
International Energy Agency aims at at
least 30 big CCS projects in 2020, which
could spare the environment from some 50
million tonnes of CO2 annually. In 2050, CO2
capture should be so common that seven
billion tonnes could be sent into the ground
every year.
So far, there is no indication that CO2
storage is causing problems for either the
environment nor humans by for instance
leaking from the underground reservoirs.
But should this happen, experience from
natural reservoirs demonstrates that it
need not be a disaster.
In the Italian city of Ciampino, volcanic
activity means that 7 tonnes of CO2 are
released into the atmosphere daily from
natural reservoirs. People live 30 m from the
leak, but if they avoid sleeping in basements
and air their homes, there is no health hazard.
So although capture and geological CO2
storage do not solve global climate
problems, the technology seems able to
curb their extent, buying time for developing
eco-friendly energy technologies.
RENAUD VISAGE/SCANPIX
Leaks from a natural

CO2 reservoir in
California, USA, have
killed trees and plants.
3. STORAGE
Once the CO2 has been captured, it must be
directed no less than 800 m into the ground
in a liquid, compressed state. Several geological formations can be used for storage.
A. Via pipelines or by tank truck,
the CO2 can be carried to depleted

oil and gas fields, where it is stored
in the empty wells.
Pipeline to
oil or gas fields
B. The CO2 can be

pumped into underground
rock formations, where it
seeps into and is captured
by small pores. Over millennia, it will combine
with rock and be converted
into minerals.
C. Salt water reservoirs
beneath the ground or the

sea floor can also function
as storage. In the reservoir,
the greenhouse gas will be
dissolved in the salt water,
which cannot be used as
drinking water.
Ground
CO2
Porous rock
Salt water reservoir
CO2
CO2 MAKES OIL FLOW
ong before the worlds CO2 emission problems became really

severe, the greenhouse gas was also injected into the ground. In
the 1970s, the US oil industry discovered that CO2 can be used to
release oil from small cavities in porous rock. The method allows
companies to extract more oil from a field and functions by the
greenhouse gas being pumped into the oil field, where it mixes with
the oil. Subsequently, the oil and gas are pumped up together, and
the gas is separated and reused in the field. The vast majority of CO2
used to extract oil comes from natural reservoirs, where the gas is
pumped up from the ground, only to be pumped down again in a
different place. If the gas were captured from power plant
combustion instead and pumped into oil fields, some pollution would
be removed. Quite a few projects have already been introduced, in
which CO2 from factories is used to extract more oil from fields
instead of being released into the atmosphere as pollution.
Oil for consumption

CO2 for reuse
2. Oil and CO are

2
1. CO is pumped into
pumped up from the

field. The CO2 is separated and reused.
CO2
Oil and CO2
the oil field and mixed

with oil, which flows
more easily.
CO2 is mixed with
oil in the field.
FEATURE | EPIDEMIOLOGY
MANUEL VELASCO/GETTY IMAGES
Fragrance kept infection away

A plague doctors long overcoat and mask with a bird-like beak
has become a symbol of the horror of the plague. Before bacteria and virus were discovered, rotten air was believed to spread
disease. So, the beak of the mask was full of plants with pleasant
fragrances to protect the doctor from infection.
60
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
The return
of old killers
Millions of people fell victim to the worst epidemics in history and were buried
along with bacterial and viral genetic fingerprints. Using a new technique, scientists
are now wresting the secret from old bones, sequencing the DNA of the plague,
cholera, and leprosy, so we can be prepared for when the old killers strike again.
By Rasmus Kragh Jakobsen
61
Doctors sequence
6 severe killers
AP/POLFOTO
Many of the dreaded diseases of the past no longer exist in the

west but they will strike again, if given the chance.
The plague turned Paul Gaylords hands black

from gangrene and covered his body in buboes.
Cat infected American

with bubonic plague
One day in 2012, US welder Paul Gaylords cat
came home with a mouse in its mouth. As
Gaylord tried to remove the mouse, the cat bit
him. Two days later, he was hospitalised to an
intensive care unit and diagnosed with
bubonic plague. His condition was so bad that
doctors placed him in an induced coma for 27
days. When he woke up again against all odds,
his body was covered in buboes, and his hands
and feet were black from gangrene. Paul Gaylord survived, but lost fingers and toes. The cat
later proved to have the
plague.
om rats again
fr
d
te
c
a
tr
n
o
c
e
Can b
me epidemics,
ue triggered extre
ry, the plag

ack Death raged
Three time in histo
00s, when the Bl
13
e
th
in
e
on
re
by a few thouthe most seve
e is only contracted
as
se
di
e
th
y,
da
To
Scientists have
in Europe.
fected by rodents.
in
e
ar
o
e
wh
le,
op
sand pe
r the epidemics. Th
eria responsible fo
ct
ba
her,
e
ot
th
d
ch
ce
ea
en
of
sequ
ndently
es occurred indepe
on
re
ve
y
se
t
wh
os
t
m
Bu
o
.
tw
tbreak
of a new plague ou
increasing the risk
infectious than
e
or
m
h
uc
m
st
the pa
was the plague of
mes could allow
on? The old geno
ic in
the modern versi
aps nip an epidem
pe
the alarm and rh
d
.
un
ain
so
ag
to
s
ts
ion
tis
at
scien
rdous mut
ue develops haza
the bud, if the plag
rsinia pestis.
BACTERIUM: Ye
years.
AGE: 1,500-20,000
ph nodes.
ver and swollen lym
SYMPTOMS: Fe
k and die.
ac
bl
e
nose may becom
Fingers, toes, and
.
ia
on
m
ning and pneu
Risk of blood poiso
reak.
s right after outb
CURE: Antibiotic
-2,000/year.
illion. Today 1,000
VICTIMS: 100 m
F. & C. DZIUBAK/ARDEA.COM
62
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
The plague is caused

by a soil bacterium
infecting cats and
humans via rodents
and their fleas.
he plague was a disaster of such

severe proportions that it is difficult
to imagine today. In five years, from
1347 to 1352, one third of Europes
population succumbed to the infection, and
according to contemporary accounts, the
survivors hardly had time to bury the dead,
who scientists now exhume.
Improved gene technology allows
scientists to extract DNA from bacteria or
virus in tens of thousands-year-old bone
fossils. A small army of scientists are
sequencing the rogues gallery of the most
dreaded diseases in history: tuberculosis,
cholera, Spanish Flu, leprosy, syphilis and
not least the plague. From historical sources,
we know that these diseases spread death
and suffering, but they cannot tell us which
S
AG E
Y IM
ET T
LD/G
ERA
MI H
MIA
Lots of liquid is
vital for cholera
victims.
Is gaining ground again
living
Antibiotics, vaccination, and improved
the Western
of
out
(TB)
sis
rculo
tube
standards drove
se is
disea
the
y,
toda
but
II,
War
d
Worl
World after
ds
worl
gaining ground again. One third of the
5 % will
population is infected, but only some
l
fossi
ng
enci
sequ
develop the disease. By
out
e
figur
to
g
tryin
are
genomes, scientists
ng
how the ancient disease evolved, pavi
ts.
men
treat
and
ines
vacc
new
for
way
the
BAC TERIUM: Mycobacterium tuberculo
AGE: 3-6 million years.
SYMPTOMS: Coughing,
possibly blood spitting. Night
sweats, fever, weight loss.
Treated with a cocktail of antibiotics.
VICTIMS:
2+ billion infected.
1.3 million die annually.
Seven epidem
ics
After the earthqu

ake in Haiti in 20
10, the island
state was hit by
the most severe
cholera outbreak in moder
n history, claim
ing 8,000+ lives
Since the 1800s,
.
the disease, whi
ch is contracted via drinking
water, has had se
ven epidemics. Scientists ju
st sequenced th
e first historic
cholera genom
e in a US gut sam
ple from 1849.
The genome indi
cates that the m
odern El Tor
strain is milder
than its predeces
sor.
sis.
Tuberculosis is common
in poor countries
such as Vietnam.
C. DOAN/GETTY IMAGES
BACTERIUM: Vi
brio cholerae.
AGE: 5,000 year
s at the most.
SYMPTOMS: Se
vere
vomiting and di
arrhoea. At
worst, the loss of
fluid could cause
death within a
few hours. Treate
d with aqueous
solution
injected into bl
ood vessel to re
place the fluid.
VICTIMS: Som
e 40 million since
the
1800s. Today, 10
0,000+ die annu
ally.
Until recently, we could only

guess about the bacteria that
caused the major epidemics.
bacteria or viruses were responsible for past
epidemics. Only the disease DNA inside
centuries-old skeletons can reveal the
guilty and answer scientists urgent
question: How did the diseases originate,
why were they so lethal, and not least
what is the risk of them striking again?
650-YEAR-OLD
TEETH HOLD ANSWER
The victims of the Black Death of the
1300s developed bulging buboes in their
armpits and groins. The symptoms point out
one obvious main suspect the Yersinia
pestis plague bacterium, which still infects a
few thousand people a year, primarily in
Central Asia, the Far East, and the US.
Previously, some scientists raised doubts
about this explanation, suggesting that for

instance anthrax, Ebola, or an unknown
bacterium caused the epidemic. But in 2011,
a group of scientists headed by two fossil
DNA experts, Hendrik Poinar and Johannes
Krause, found the answer. In a 650-year-old
cemetery in London, they found plague
bacterium DNA in victims teeth.
The discovery did not only provide the
Black Death with a scientific name.
Scientists were also able to study, in what
way the ancient bacterium differed from
modern plague bacteria. The bacteriums
total genetic formula of some 4.6 million
DNA letters only differed in 97 ways, and
these very few changes may explain why
the plague of the 1300s was so lethal as
compared to the modern version and was
transmitted directly between people,

which happens very rarely in connection
with the modern version.
According to scientists, there is reason to
fear a new epidemic. The Black Death was
just one of three global plague epidemics,
and by means of skeletons from a small
cemetery in the city of Aschheim in Southern
Germany, Hendrik Poinar this year managed
to sequence the genome of the plague
bacterium from the first epidemic, which
raged in the 500-700s AD. The surprising
conclusion is that it was different from the
bacterium responsible for the epidemic of
the 1300s. So, the two plague strains must
have originated independently of each other.
Originally, the plague stems from a
harmless soil bacterium, that has found its
63
ALBERTA SYP
HILIS
CAMPAIGN
the US
Still exists ine almost ceased to exist in Euros.pe
diseas
poor countrie
The crippling
ill common in
st
is
and
it
t
bu
s,
ed annually,
in the 1500
ople are infect
pe
as
0
w
25
e
0as
15
se
S,
di
at the
In the U
established th
Fosts
h.
is
ut
nt
So
ie
e
sc
,
th
in 2011
hunted in
os
ill
ad
m
ar
er
ct
om
the ba ium
contracted fr
ng shows that
ci
en
earqu
se
A
N
so the disapp
sil leprosy D
er 700 years,
ov
d
utam
ge
a
an
to
ch
e
is not du
has hardly
.
e from Europe
ed
as
at
se
ol
di
is
e
e
th
er
ance of
e infected w
th
at
th
ct
fa
e
tion, but to th
m leprae.
: Mycobacteriu
M
IU
ER
T
C
A
B
6,000 years.
AGE: At least
dules in
Permanent no
S:
M
TO
P
M
Y
S
ss
d on hands. Lo
skin, face, an
t
A
.
se
, and no
of fingers, toes
.
ed
ck
ta
are at
worst, organs
tibiotics.
an
ith
w
d
Treate
5,000 infectVIC TIMS: 22
fatality.
ed/year. Low
Puzzling origin
In the Western World, antibiotics have turned this
previously much dreaded venereal disease into a
fixable problem, if it is treated at an early stage.
According to some scientists, syphilis was the
only disease brought to Europe after the
discovery of America around 1500, but they still
disagree as to its origin. Scientists hope to find
the answer in American mummies and skeletons.
MIAMI HERALD/GETTY IMAGES
BACTERIUM: Treponema pallidum.

AGE: Unknown. At least 600 yrs.
SYMPTOMS: A sex organ sore
and subsequently skin rash. After 5-20
years, possibly brain and nervous system
injury, causing dementia or paralysis.
Antibiotics treatment.
VICTIMS: An estimated total of five
million in Europe. Today, 12 million are
infected annually, and 100,000+ die.
The infected develop skin

nodules, losing nose and
fingers over time.
way into rodents and from those

into humans via fleas. As it already
happened twice, a new, dangerous
plague bacterium could emerge
again, according to scientists.
Like the plague, leprosy is
a dreaded disease, which is
almost nonexistent today.
If untreated, the disease
will disfigure and often
slowly consume victims
noses, fingers, and toes,
which will finally fall off.
Leprosy still exists in
some 90 countries and
affects a few hundred
people a year. We
consider the disease
A tooth in the skull

was ripe with
leprosy DNA.
BEN KRAUSEKYORA
64
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
an old one, as it suddenly disappeared from

most of Europe in the 1500s. The reason for
its disappearance had been a mystery, which
Johannes Krause decided to solve.
TUBERCULOSIS
REPLACED LEPROSY
In a tooth of a 700-year-old skull from a
cemetery for leprosy victims in Odense,
Denmark, Johannes Krause last year
surprisingly found large amounts of bacterial
D N A . T h e d i sc ove r y a l l owe d t h e
reconstruction of the bacteriums genetic
material, which proved to be largely identical
w i t h m o d e r n l e p ro sy b a c t e r i a s .
Consequently, scientists can almost
positively conclude that the disease did not
disappear due to a mutation of the
bacterium. Instead, the isolation of victims
must have stopped the transmission from
human to human. But scientists also point
out another, more surprising explanation.
DORLING KINDERSLEY / THINKSTOCK
Could spark a new pand

emic
An unusually lethal strain

of flu virus, Spanish Flu,
claimed 50-100 million live
s 1918-1920. In 2005, the
killers genome was sequen
ced based on DNA from a
well-preserved Alaskan cor
pse.
Scientists have identified
the
handful of mutations that
made
the virus so lethal, and the
y are
carefully monitoring wheth
er they
appear in new types of bird
flu.
Smallpox is one of the diseases that Europeans

may have brought to America and Australia.
VIRUS: H1N1 flu.

AGE: Oldest known
epidemic in the 1500s.
Chickens are destroyed in

connection with a bird flu
outbreak.
SYMPTOMS: Severe fever,

ALBERTA SYPHILIS CAMPAIGN
muscle and joint pain, cou
ghing.
Complications in the shape
of bronchitis and
pneumonia. No efficient tre
atment.
VIC TIMS: 500 million infe
cted. 50-100 million dead
Bones that are hundreds of

years old still hold
DNA from bacteria.
JOHANNES KRAUSE/UNIVERSITY OF TBINGEN
Interaction with other diseases may have

contributed to eradicating leprosy. The
tuberculosis bacterium is related to leprosy,
and it is possible that one disease confers
immunity to the other. Tuberculosis spread
fast in Europe in the 1600s.
If scientists can identify the factors
driving the epidemics back and forth, the
weak points of the diseases may be
exploited to prevent new outbreaks. And
those who survived the killers of the past are
just as interesting as the victims. One of the
projects, which Hendrik Poinar would like to
carry into effect, is a comparison of
the genes of humans living before
and after the Black Death.
Perhaps scien tists will be
able to identify special gene
variants in the survivors,
which could also be
important weapons against
modern killers.
Unknown diseases
killed natives
The infection outpaced the sword, spreading
like wildfire from village to village, when
European conquerors subjugated indigenous
Americans in the 1500s. Some 90 % of the
people are believed to have been the victims
of diseases brought by the foreigners.
Scientists do not know which diseases.
Smallpox, flu, and typhus have been
suggested, but the question cannot
be answered completely until
fossil DNA is extracted from
bacteria or viruses in native
skeletons. That would
also provide scientists
with a detailed
knowledge of what
exactly happens,
when a new and so
far unknown disease
suddenly finds its way
a human population.
65
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MA/SCI32
FEATURE | ECOLOGY
68
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
In the
Wet
One of the jewels in Australia's crown of
national parks, the Daintree is unique and
precious. You owe it to yourself to visit.
Words and photography by Damon Wilder
s I rise slowly from the forest floor

towards a blue hole in the dense
ceiling of leaves, a brief stab of
fear spikes into my reptilian hindbrain.
Adrenalin surges, if only fleetingly. Im in a
1.5 x 1.5 metre cage suspended from the
end of a crane that would seem more at
home on an urban construction site - but
here, it gives me unprecedented access to
the rainforest canopy. Thinking of this, my
nervousness is replaced by awe as I pass
through the canopy, where Im at last
exposed to an unrivalled view across the
lush green vista of the Daintree National
Park. The only break in this sea of leaves is
the distant sparkling blue waters off the
far north Queensland coastline and the
Great Barrier Reef beyond.
A DREAMING PLACE
The Daintree is Australias largest expanse of
untouched tropical rainforest and includes
diverse landscapes of dense forest, sparse
mountain ranges and pristine white beaches.
A binding theme within the area is water, and
myriad streams flow from the hills. Some
converge to form rivers that feed into the
mangrove lined estuaries, others merge just
short of the coast to form vast swamps.
The forest is believed to be over 180
million years old and represents the last
remaining stretch of a much larger tropical
rainforest that once covered vast areas of
the Australian continent. It is home to an
impressive list of endemic flora and fauna.
Over 3000 plant, 107 mammal, 368 bird and
164 reptile and amphibian species make the
The canopy crane (right) is a unique research

tool that gives scientists access to every level of
the rainforest. The gondola can be raised to 40
metres and the cranes arc covers a total
diameter of 110 metres. The facility is a hive of
activity for researchers from James Cook
University and is instrumental in studies into the
effects of climate change on ecosystems.
69| 69
One of the most impressive sights in the

Daintree are the stands of fan palms
(Licuala ramsayi) that grow up to 15
metres tall. These palm stands are
regularly frequented by cassowaries and
other endangered species like Bennetts
tree-kangaroos and striped possums.
The Daintree
Cairns
such as the cassowary are regularly seen in

the forest and along the tree-lined road to
Cape Tribulation. The regions extraordinarily
rich biodiversity and its vast age earned the
Daintree a UNESCO World Heritage listing in
1988. Yet remarkably, the area only became
a national park in 1981.
WET/DRY CYCLE
Getting there
The Daintree National Park is a winding 100km
drive north of Cairns. A car ferry operates across
the Daintree River and is the only access to the
northern part of the national park.
70
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
This far north, conversations about the

weather are more likely to focus on wet
versus dry rather than the four seasons we
know down Sydney way. Up to 1200 mm of
rain falls in the area in just 120 days each year.
Entering the trees, you really are transported
back in time as this ancient forest envelops
you and only thin patches of sunlight manage
to filter through the thick canopy to the floor
below. The going is not easy if you decide to
stray from the path. The ground is sodden
even in the dry season, and the undergrowth
is thick and treacherous with serrated
pandanus leaves, spiny lawyer vines and the
hooked tendrils of the wait-a-while palms
blocking your path in every direction. Who
knows what you'll find, on your own visit.
Vast quantities of water flow

from the hills forming
swamps in depressions near
the coast. These landscapes
look and feel ancient.
Saltwater crocodiles are an apex predator and they

tend not to discriminate when it comes to snatching a
meal. As beautiful as the beaches may be around the
Daintree, they are also home to the worlds largest and most aggressive - reptile. Stay out of the surf.
Calamus australis, the wait-a-while

palm lives up to its name. If you get
snared on one of these, theres
little option but to, well, wait a while
for help, lest you shred your
clothing - or your skin attempting to break free.
Strangler figs. These fascinating plants start their

lives as epiphytes from a single fig seed deposited
via the digestive tract of birds and fruit eating
mammals. The fig eventually forms a lattice around
the host tree. With time the fig will literally strangle
its host, which rots away, leaving a bizarrely skeletallooking fig tree in its place.
71
Tree lobster not observed since 1920:
GIANT INSECT
RESURRECTED
This stick insect or phasmid, also known
as the tree lobster, was thought extinct
until the big insect popped up on a
deserted, impassable, Pacific rock spire.
The effort to save the endangered
species has begun.
Lord Howe
Island
23
km
72
Balls Pyramid
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
There is 23 km of foaming
Pacific Ocean between
Lord Howe Island and the
rocky spire of Balls Pyramid, but the almost extinct,
wingless tree lobster still
managed to escape the
rats on Lord Howe Island,
and make its way here,
where it survives.
K. SCHAFER/ALAMY/ALL OVER
Pyramidal island
sheltered phasmid
CLAUS LUNAU
ALAN HENDERSON/MUSEUM VICTORIA
By Peter Eberhardt
Balls Pyramid
he waves beat relentlessly against

the foot of the majestic, impassable
Balls Pyramid, as the scientists in the
rocking boat try to go ashore. The steep
slopes of the island rise out of the ocean,
making their enterprise almost impossible.
After several attempts, two entomologists
finally manage to gain a foothold on the
rugged, 560-m-high, crescent-shaped rock.
The year is 2001, and Australian scientists
David Priddel and Nicholas Carlile have set out
to find the so-called tree lobster a stick
insect not observed since 1920. Rumours
saying that the insect may still exist have
FEATURE | ENTOMOLOGY
Grows up to
15cm
Fast
mover
SCALE
2:1
Declared extinct in
1986
Practices
monogamy
Lives for
25g
2 years
- with the Latin name Dryococelus australis

- was declared extinct in 1986 by the
International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN). The declaration came
after decades during which no
one had observed the big insect.
ROHAN CLEAVE/MELBOURNE ZOO
brought the two scientists to

Balls Pyramid, where they
laboriously struggle their way up
the rock slopes. 100 m above the
ocean, they suddenly find lumps of
faeces under the shrub, revealing that a
big insect lives on the island. But the
owner of the faeces is nowhere to be seen.
After dark, the scientists return, equipped
with torches, to look for proof that the tree
lobster survives. And they are lucky. Over 20
adult individuals of the powerful insect move
about on and around the shrub. The
discovery is sensational, as the tree lobster,
Weighs
EATEN BY RATS
Originally, the tree lobster comes
from popular tourist destination Lord Howe
island, 23 km north-west of Balls Pyramid. In
the 1800s, Lord Howe fishermen used tree
lobsters as bait, and back then, the 14 km2
Pacific island was the only place in which
Hanging from low branches in the shrub, the

female tree lobster dumps her eggs on the ground.
73| 73
v i de o
BREEDING PROGRAMME
SAVES INSECT
EGGS
Based on two tree lobsters, the Melbourne Zoo has bred

more than 500 individuals and saved the species from
extinction. Today, the females have produced a total of
20,000+ small, brown eggs that just need to hatch.
Watch t
h
birth of e wondrous
a tree lo
bster
The tree
lobst
battle to
er g
break ou hts a long, tough
t of its n
arrow eg
g.
ROHAN CLEAVE/MELBOURNE ZOO
When hatched,
the tree lobster is
green and measures a
few cm.
The eggs hatch

after
six to nine
months.
HATCHING
If there is a lack of males, the females

can lay eggs by virgin birth to save
the species, but the trick only produces
females that are exact clones of the mother.
http://yo
utu.be/Eg
3dcYJ2oI4
The eggs
resemble
tiny, brown
peas with
a lid.
Nymph
sheds its
exoskeleton,
going from
green to maroon
to black.
NEWBORN
Several missing
animals found
Meet the member of the
Lazarus taxon, referring to
Lazarus, whom Jesus raised
from the dead.
ANCIENT PREDATORY FISH FOUND
ADULT
Rohan Cleave of the Melbourne Zoo has learned a lot about tree lobsters in the past few years. For
instance, they are active during the night unlike other stick insects.
When scientists find the tree lobster in 2001,

they wonder how it managed to reach the
pointed rock spire 23 km from Lord Howe.
The insect has no wings, and it is relatively
unlikely that it travelled on the ocean.
Scientists are inclined to believe that birds
carried the tree lobsters to Balls Pyramid,
believing they were twigs to be used for
nests. No matter how the tree lobster ended
up on the deserted rocky island, it survived
against all odds, and in 2003, employees of
the Melbourne Zoo took two tree lobsters to
mainland Australia to initiate a large-scale
breeding programme.
The two tree lobsters, named Adam and
Eve, were brought to the Melbourne Zoo,
where entomologists received the new
celebrities. However, Eve was taken severely
ill and carefully nursed for a month. The
MISSING RAT WADDLES ON

The Laotian rock rat disappeared 11 million
years ago, but in 2006, a living individual
was captured. The size of a squirrel, the
animal lives in limestone caves. Its hind
legs are splayed out to the sides,
producing a waddling gait.
RETURN OF
THE TREE LOBSTER
In Melbourne, the tree lobsters are still
breeding, and some 20,000 eggs have been
sent to other zoos. According to plan, the
tree lobster should return to its original
habitat, but today that would mean certain
death. Around 130,000 rats still roam Lord
Howe Island, searching for food. A
comprehensive project will seek to wipe out
the greedy rodents without harming the
birds and reptiles of the island. The 400
residents are already putting down rat
poison, and soon, the island will be
bombarded with poison from the air, as its
other animals have been taken to special,
safe enclosures and cages. The $10 million
project is expected to start in 2017.
A small colony of tree lobsters were taken to
the island in 2009. From their cages, they will
be able to observe the rat extermination, and
in a few years, lots of Adams and Eves
descendants will hopefully return to a life in
the wild without natural enemies on Lord
Howe Island.
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
BIRDS SAVE THE

SPECIES BY ACCIDENT
entomologists had no experience with

nursing tree lobsters, but they managed to
keep the female alive. Subsequently, the two
insects took an interest in each other, and the
couple produced a total of 30 fertile eggs,
and more generations were soon on their
way. Today, the tree lobster is still considered
one of the rarest insects in the world with a
population of only 500 individuals.
CLUMSY CHICKEN GOT A SECOND CHANCE

The small New Zealand takahe was believed
to be extinct until rediscovered in 1948. The
bird features small, useless wings, making it
easy prey. Today, it lives in sanctuaries on
small islands with no predators.
SHUTTERSTOCK
the species had ever been observed. The

population was healthy, and the up to
15-cm-long tree lobster was still going
strong. But that changed in 1918, when the
SS Makambo ran aground. Rats left the
wreck for the shore, and the rodents bred at
lightning speed. The growing rat population
quickly developed a taste for tree lobsters,
and just two years later, the stick insect was
gone - presumed extinct. The only sign of life
for four decades was reportedly a dead tree
lobster, which was said to have been
observed in 1964 on Balls Pyramid.
P. SCOONES/GETTY IMAGES
JANE SATCHELL/ZOOS VICTORIA
The coelacanth was considered extinct for

65 million years, but in 1938, a specimen
was caught off South Africa. The up to
two-metre-long, sturdy fish is believed to
be an important link between lungfish
and four-legged mammals.
75
FEATURE | ENERGY
YOUR BODY IS A
POWER PLANT
By Rolf Haugaard Nielsen
A nanogenerator converts
body energy into power.
The tiny power plant can
utilise body motions to
charge all types of portable
electronics, when you are far
away from a power point.
ust as you need to make an urgent

phone call, check your e-mails, or use
the GPS navigator to find your
destination, your mobile phone runs out of
power. Today, you must wait patiently, until
you are back home again and able to use
your charger. But a new solution to the
problem is on the horizon. The human body
constantly makes energy, as our feet affect
the insole of our shoes and our arms and
legs move, when we walk, and as our blood
flows through our blood vessels.
Nanotechnology scientists from the
Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta,

USA, use this to develop a new method,
which can harvest the energy and convert it
into power for charging all the electronic
devices that we bring with us every day.
DISCOVERED BY ACCIDENT
Eight years ago, nanotechnology
scientist Zhong Lin Wang began to develop
his vision of utilising up-and-coming
nanotechnology to make tiny nano-power
plants that could tap all the small energy
sources of our bodies and utilise them to
generate power, when we are on the go.
First, Zhong Lin Wang experimented with
tiny, upright nanocables consisting of two
different materials. When the nanocable is
bent by pressure, electrons flow between
the two materials, so one half of the
nanocable receives the electrons and
becomes negatively charged, whereas the
other half loses them and becomes positively
charged. When the two halves are connected
by a cable, an electric current of electrons
flows through the cable from the negatively

charged material to the positively charged
material, neutralising the voltage difference.
The principle works smoothly, but though
Zhong Lin Wang and his employees built
generators with entire forests of nanocables,
the power gene-ration was not sufficient to
charge the battery of a mobile phone.
But one day, the scientists were lucky, as
a student by the name of Feng-Ru Fan
covered one of the nanogenerators in plastic
to protect the surface. Much to his surprise,
he discovered that the plastic coated
nanogenerator produced much higher
voltages and much more power than he had
expected. After months of studies, the
scientists found out why. The nanogenerator
did not only produce power as a result of the
pressure caused, when the nanotubes were
bent, but also by means of the static
electricity generated in connection with the
friction between the plastic coat and the
plastic that the generator nanotubes were
fixed to. The scientists have taken
FOOT IN
THE AIR
FOOT ON
THE GROUND
A nanogenerator in a shoe insole can

produce power, utilising the pressure
of steps. The tiny power plant is a
sandwich of two types of plastic, the
contact between which generates power.
Lots of nanotubes and holes boost
the contact area and the quantity of
power generated for subsequent use.
76
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
External cable
Nanotubes
Step-by-step
power generation
Plastic
Plastic
When the foot touches the ground, the two

types of plastic are forced against each other,
and electrons flow from the bottom to the top layer,
making the top negatively and the bottom positively
charged. The friction also generates static electricity.
When the foot leaves the ground, the two

differently charged plastic types are separated,
producing an electric voltage field, and via two electrodes, even more electrons flow from the bottom to
the top plastic layer through an external cable.
Mobile phones, tablets, and

GPS navigators are among
the electric devices that a
nanogenerator in a shoe insole
will be able to charge, by
means of body motions.
APPLE
advantage of this fact by developing a new

generation of the tiny nano-power plants
that can generate sufficient power to keep
major electric devices operational.
STEPS GENERATE POWER

One example is a nanogenerator built inside
a shoe insole. The generator involves two
plastic materials, one of which tends to lose
electrons, whereas the other tends to
absorb them. When the user takes a step
and places his foot on the ground, the
two materials are forced against
each other, and electrons flow
between them, so the contact
produces a surplus of electrons
in one material and a deficit in
the other. Moreover, the friction
between the two materials
generates static electricity in
both materials.
When the foot leaves the
ground, the two differently
charged surfaces are separated,
producing an electric voltage field
between them. The voltage field
sees to it that the plastic material
that tends to lose electrons makes
FOOT BACK
ON THE GROUND
Power
When the foot is back on the ground, the two types of plastic are
forced against each other again. The voltage field disappears,
and electrons flow in the opposite direction through the cable
the generator is back to square one. The power can be used by
connecting the external cable to the unit needing to be charged.
R. KENNARD/IMAGE SOURCE
77 | 77
Breathing
in and out
Chest
motion
Chest 0.17 W
Arm
motions
BALLYSCANLON/GETTY IMAGES
Body motions
generate power
Nanogenerators can convert the energy
from almost any body motion into
electricity. The tiny power plants are
connected to electric devices via a cable
and can be used to charge anything from
mobile phones to blood sugar meters.
78
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Leg
motions
Arms 0.51 W
By means of a nanogenerator, the motions
of the arms can be converted into 0.51 W
of electricity: enough to keep small electric
devices operational.
Legs 11.39 W
Via a nanogenerator, the energy from leg
motions can be converted into 11.39 W
of electrical energy: enough to charge a
mobile phone or a tablet.
LEONARD LESSIN
A nanogenerator can convert the

breathing out motion of the chest to
0.17 W of electrical energy, wheras
breathing in can generate 0.14 W.
The generated power could be used
for a pacemaker and remove the need for
surgery to replace the pacemaker battery.
SHUTTERSTOCK
even more electrons flow to the other

plastic material. As the next step is taken,
and the materials are forced against each
other again, the voltage field disappears,
and a flow of electrons is reversed. All the
accumulated electricity will be released.
The processes are repeated over and over
again, as we walk, and the power flows via a
cable to a charger for devices such as
mobile phones or tablets.
In order for the nanogenerator to produce
as much power as possible, the surface of
the one plastic material is equipped with tiny
nanotubes, the other with holes into which
the nanotubes fit. This produces a bigger
contact area, increasing the flow of
electrons, when the two are in contact, and
the amount of static electricity caused by
the friction between the two types of plastic.
The new nanogenerator can produce 5 V
and 128 mW per cm3. This means that a
small sandwich of nanogenerators, which
can fit into a shoe insole can produce enough
power to charge a mobile phone.
The Georgia scientists have also
developed nanogenerators that can be
integrated into shirts to utilise the motions of
the fabric to generate power for small
Kabinet
City noise turned into power
devices. And they have created a bigger

backpack version, which can generate
enough power to charge a tablet or a laptop.
The motion of the backpack against the
body during walking supplies the nanopower plant with energy.
NANOENERGY CAN
CHANGE THE WORLD
Nanogenerators can also power sensors for forest

fire detection using differences in temperature or
chemical reactions to produce electricity.
Membrane
An acoustic nanogenerator turns the process

from a loudspeaker in reverse, so noise becomes
power. Sound waves from traffic noise make the generator
membrane vibrate. The vibrations are amplified by the
cabinet and converted into power.
When the tiny power plants are ready for use,

scientists expect the demand to be huge.
More than three billion people own a mobile
phone today, and the demand for constant
access to power will increase, as more and
more portable electronic devices form part
of our everyday lives.
However, the potential of nanopower
plants reaches far beyond charging portable

electronics. Scientists from the Georgia
Institute of Technology have also been
working on nanogenerators that can utilise
temperature differences to generate power.
In nature, these can produce power for
sensor networks that can watch out for
forest fires, contaminant emissions, or the
like. Other nanogenerators utilise traffic
vibrations in roads and sound waves from a
noisy city to generate electricity. Mounted on
city structures and windows, they can
generate electricity on a large scale and
promote a change-over to green energy.
According to the US scientists, the tiny
power plants could revolutionise global
power generation in the next five years.
Bloodstream 0.16 W
Radiosender
When the blood flows through the blood
vessels, a nanogenerator can convert the
motion into 0.16 W of electrictiy. This can
provide power for implanted medical sensors
such as a glucose sensor, which diabetics
need to keep their blood sugar level stable.
The glucose sensor is inserted into a blood
vessel wall. The nano-power plant is implanted
in the muscle tissue outside the blood vessel,
from where the generator can produce
power from blood and tissue motions.
Glucose
sensor
Sensor
Nanogenerator
faneord
A blood sugar meter in a blood vessel

can be powered by a nanogenerator.
79
TRIVIA
PUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE
TO THE TEST
1. Which scientist famously

claimed he got all his best
ideas while shaving?
2. Who was the Lucasian
Professor of Mathematics at
Cambridge - an academic
position also held by Isaac
Newton and Charles Babbage from 1979 to 2009?
3. The two biggest volcanic
eruptions in the last 200 years
- Krakatoa (1883) and Tambora
(1815) - happened in which
modern-day country?
6. Cytherean and Venerean are

both possible terms for a person
who comes from which of the
Solar Systems rocky planets?
4. Why is the University of New

South Wales (UNSW) solar car
racing team called Sunswift?
7. The word LASER is actually an

acronym . What does it stand for?
5. What is the maximum safe

level of carbon dioxide in air,
for humans to breathe?
8. By what measure is the Blue

Whale the largest animal ever to
have lived? (ie length, weight etc)
9. The name of which group of

Pacic islands literally means
many islands in Greek?
10. By a bizarre co-incidence, the
palm cockatoo, a native of tropical
Queensland (pictured above), has
a natural greeting call that sounds
like which English word?
ANSWERS ON p82!
Trivia Countdown (use fewer clues, get a higher score!)

5 POINTS
1. BIOLOGY
Name this
fish
2. HISTORY
Name this
decade
3. NATURE
Name this
weather
phenomenon
80
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
4 POINTS
3 POINTS
2 POINTS
1 POINT
After going through

so-called
smoltification, the
young version of
this famous fish is
called a smolt.
Popular in
restaurants, the
Atlantic subspecies has the
scientific name
Salmo salar.
Older male fish

develop a
characteristic
bend of the lower
jaw, which is called
a hook.
This fish begins its

life in rivers and
streams, and are a
favourite food of
bears, who snatch
them from rapids.
Its pinkish meat is a

popular food. The
majority of the
edible fish of the
species are bred in
fish farms.
King Alexander I of
Yugoslavia is
murdered in this
decade during a
state visit to
Marseille, France.
The Kodachrome
colour film is
invented, excellent
colour reproduction
and sharpness
making it popular.
The Spanish civil

war is fought,
bringing Fascist
General Franco to
power, where he
remained until 1975.
The decade is famous

for a long depression,
beginning with a
massive Wall Street
stock market crash
in New York.
Hitler rises to power

in Germany in this
decade, and it ends
with the outbreak
of World War II.
As early as the 13th

century, Persian
astronomer Qutb alDin published a
correct explanation
this phenomenon.
In Greek mythology,
the goddess Iris
personifies the
phenomenon. Iris is
also the messenger
of the gods.
There are often two

at a time. The primary one is the innermost and much
brighter than the
secondary one.
The phenomenon is
caused by the
refraction of light
in water droplets. It
is expressed as a
colour spectrum.
Folklore has it that

if you manage to
find your way to the
end of one, you
might discover a
pot of gold.
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BIODIVERSITY
COMMON NAME:
Ulysses butterfly
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Papilio ulysses
SIZE: 14cm (wingspan)
FOUND: Northern Qld, PNG,
Solomon Islands
DIET: Pink flowered dogwood, citrus,
kerosene wood
STATUS: Not endangered
DAMON WILDER
THESE BEAUTIFUL COLOURS ARE

JUST A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
aking your wings bright blue is a

costly exercise for an organism.
You have to manufacture
specific proteins that absorb all
visible light except blue - and that can mean
you need a very particular diet.
Or you could cheat, like the Ulysses
butterfly (Papilio ulysses). This resident of
northern Queensland (and symbol for
Tourism Queensland) doesnt actually have
blue wings. No, really - the wings are
instead covered with hundreds of
thousands of tiny scales, which bounce
light. No matter which way you look at the
top of the wings, the only colour that
comes back to your eyes is blue (in the blue
patches, anyway). This phenomenon is
called structural colouration, and its an

effective and efficient way for small
organisms to display brilliant colours.
The Ulysses butterfly uses blue to
attract males. The insects desire for blue
things is so strong, males will often flutter
up to random blue objects, thinking they
might be a potential mate.
Cleverly, the butterflys underside is a
patterned brownish grey. So if the Ulysses
ever wants to hide in rainforest shadow, it
simply folds its wings together.
This is a decent-sized butterfly, with a
wingspan of 14 cm, and can be found not
only in Queensland, but also PNG, the
Moluccas, and the Solomon Islands.
Nothing says youre in the tropics more
WHY ARE BLUE

ANIMALS SO RARE?
Most animals prefer to blend in with their
surroundings, which in most biomes are
greens, greys and browns. Mammals,
generally, have poor colour vision, so
developing colours like blue isnt efficient
(male baboons and mandrills are notable
exceptions with their blue faces and
bottoms). While there are many blue fish
and other sea creatures, up here on land
an organism only really invests in blue
pigment if it has something to say. Like
the blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates
azureus). Its so poisonous, it needs to
signpost the fact. Dont eat me. Have you
ever seen a blue frog before? Yeah? How
about a frog THIS blue? Theres a reason
Im blue. Poison. Bad poison.
than a brilliantly coloured butterfly, but its

strange to think a mere insect is fooling your
eyes into seeing a colour that, technically,
isnt even there. Damon Wilder
Trivia answers: 1. Albert Einstein 2. Stephen Hawking 3. Indonesia 4. Sunswift has the letters UNSW in it. 5. 3% 6. Venus 7. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation 8. Weight (170 tonnes)
9. Polynesia 10. Hello! Trivia Countdown: Name this fish: Salmon Name this decade: 1930s Name this weather phenomenon: Rainbow
82
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
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STORING CARBON

Can it work? Can burying

How you can power

THE SOLAR SYSTEMS

The universality of science and the importance of inquisitive

Visit eshop.ramint.gov.au and be inspired today!

1300 652 020

Issue #32 (2nd October 2014)

for the Neanderthal communities to survive.

Things we learned in this issue

SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED AUSTRALIAN EDITION

PUBLISHED 2ND OCTOBER 2014

If youre still worried about Pluto

GLOBAL EXTREMES: TRISTAN DA CUNHA

The most remote

to the closest neighbour. That's the concept of

TRISTAN DA CUNHA IS A DOT IN THE OCEAN

Seven families: All

ed, and the entire

a ship with supplies and mail

Animals and plants:

By Bjrn Bojesen. Photo: Getty Images, Alamy/Imageselect, NASA, CERN

OTHER REMOTE RECORDS

The 5 other islands

3. Nightingale Island 2.6 km

5. Stoltenhoff Island 0.14 km

* No residents, but the weather station is manned by around 6 people.

The most remote

The most remote

The most remote

The most remote

The UK stationed Corporal

1, which has moved

LATEST NEWS AND DISCOVERIES

Editor: Rasmus Palludan

One of the worlds most sophisticated deep sea

ESA, CLAUS LUNAU

TECHNOLOGY 693 km above Earth, you will

The Wristify wrist band decreases or

The Sentinel-1A has

Calving ice, Antarctica

Level differences, Antarctica

WRIST BAND ADJUSTS

of them are capable of collecting data from

Studies of the woman

Radar sees in the dark

2. The Sentinel-1A transfers

3. The GEO satellites

OPhotographing sea ice by the

Monitoring city infrastructure.

WORKMEN FIND TOMB

Attached to a finger ring, it

times heavier than Earth - thats the mass of

Customised plastic skull replaces growing natural skull.

thick, but the womans measured 5 cm. So

Skull replaced in surgery

Robots do the cooking

Name a crater on Mars

At a price of US$5.00, anyone can