What really goes on in a teenage boy's head
It's deeper than you might think.
In today's lead story, we go deep into the minds of teenage boys, analyzing 25 regions of their brains. But first, since this is Inverse Daily Mars Week, a quick history lesson on the Red Planet. With Perseverance landing soon, it will have big robotic shoes to fill. Martian rovers have a history of making headlines, perhaps none more so than Opportunity.
Landing on Mars in 2004, Opportunity was able to wheel around the planet until 2018. Considering that the mission was originally supposed to last for 90 days, that's one big elongation. After years of finding extramartian meteorites and exploring impact craters, it took a planet-wide dust storm to finally bring Opportunity's adventure to an end. Let's hope Perseverance can be just as successful.
Our question of the week is also Mars-based. Let's say you have a ticket to Mars. What's one thing you would have to bring to the Red Planet? Be it sentimental or practical, we want to hear about it.
Respond in our Google form, and we'll post our favorite answers next week!
This is an adapted version of the Inverse Daily newsletter for February 17, 2021. Subscribe for free and earn rewards for reading every day in your inbox.
CSI: Ancient Egypt — Modern technology reveals a brutal death from long ago
The brutal death of Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa II, “the Brave” who ruled over Southern Egypt in the 17th century, has long been a mystery for scientists. Now, for the first time since 1960, researchers have turned to this mummy with modern medical technology in the form of a CT scan to uncover more details about the king's final hours.
Instead of being a victim of a bedside attack, researchers now believe that Seqenenre fought to the death at the front line with his troops against foreign invaders. These new details help scientists better understand an event that sparked a unification of Egypt.
What they're saying: “Seqenenre's death motivated his successors to continue the fight to unify Egypt and start the New Kingdom.” — Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Cairo University who specializes in paleoradiology and first author on the study.
Life was tough back then, even for pharaohs →
More like this:
Paw patrol — Why do cats hunt? New study reveals 2 ways to stop them
If your cat spends time outdoors, there’s a good chance they’ve brought you at least one macabre gift: a shredded bird, a mauled bunny, or perhaps one half of some other unfortunate creature.
These “presents” aren't just gross; studies show that when cats kill birds and small mammals, it harms biodiversity.
A new study could help cat owners stop their kitties from hunting so much, but unfortunately for the squeamish among you, the answer this research suggests may still turn your stomach.
What they're saying: “By playing with cats and changing their diets, owners can reduce their impact on wildlife without restricting their freedom.” — Robbie McDonald, a professor at the University of Exeter and co-author of the study.
The cutest killer instinct you've ever seen →
More like this:
Ice, ice, baby— Strange creatures accidentally discovered beneath Antarctica's ice shelves
“Life, uh, finds a way,” states Ian Malcolm, the beloved chaos theory expert in Jurassic Park.
Malcolm's line has long since been turned into a bonafide meme. But beneath the snark lies a simple truth: You often find life thriving where you least expect it.
A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science finds life in Antarctica that breaks all the rules of previously established science. The research provides the first recorded evidence of “sessile” or immobile marine life on the seafloor far beneath the floating Antarctic ice shelf.
What they're saying: “To answer our questions, we will have to find a way of getting up close with these animals and their environment.” —Dr. Huw Griffiths of the British Antarctic Survey
The tip of the iceberg truly is the tip of the iceberg →
More like this:
Coming soon ...
There's more to Inverse than this humble newsletter. Shocking, we know. But if you want to keep up with the cutting edge, Inverse Daily strongly endorses subscribing to Musk Reads, our newsletter looking at the world of SpaceX, Tesla, The Boring Company, and all the rest of the ways Elon Musk is changing tech and society. Musk Reads also looks at the industries forming around these companies, including the competition.
In an upcoming Musk Reads+, our paid edition of the newsletter, Musk Reads author Mike Brown has an interview that takes you inside Tesla. As Mike tells it:
An electric car’s most expensive component is the battery. But while the car sits in the garage motionless, this pricey piece of energy storage is left unused. Doug Alfaro, a former Tesla regional manager who helped establish the firm’s network of high-powered Superchargers, may have the answer. He’s now general manager of Wallbox in North America, which has developed a bi-directional charger called Quasar.
In an Inverse interview, Alfaro explains how the electric car’s battery can work with renewable sources like solar and wind to provide consistent clean energy even when the Sun’s not shining. Don’t miss the full interview, only in Musk Reads+.
Can I get a witness? — WandaVision Episode 7 theory: Jimmy Woo’s witness is this old MCU villain
WandaVision is without a doubt Disney+'s best Marvel original. It's also the only Disney+ Marvel original, but the point still stands. The show is a spectacular mixture of world-building and deep emotion.
With its sitcom fantasy world, it's asking a lot of questions. Who created the Westview bubble? Is Wanda completely in control of it? Are multiverses involved? Fans are asking all these questions, but this theory answers the one the fandom seems to have forgotten about — who is Jimmy Woo's missing witness?
Randall Park's affable FBI agent has quickly become a fan favorite, and before the next episode hits, Inverse is digging into all things Woo.
What they're saying: “You can feel it too, can’t you? Nobody’s supposed to go in.” —Jimmy Woo
The whereabouts of Jimmy Woo's witnesses →
More like this:
Teenage wasteland — Study reveals a crucial way hormones in puberty alter men's brains
Adolescence can be an emotional whirlwind fueled by hormones run riot. The turbulent years between the ages of 12 and 18, collectively known as puberty (or should it be purgatory...), are a rollercoaster of new and extreme feelings and experiences — a time some prefer to forget, but which ultimately forms us into the adults we become.
This period of neurodevelopment is critical, yet relatively little is known about how this turbulent time shapes brain function in adulthood. But a growing body of research suggests hormones in puberty may fundamentally alter our perception in adulthood — including our powers of social perception.
A study published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience reveals a connection between testosterone levels in puberty to the ability to perceive faces in adult men. Specifically, the study involves men aged around 19, and considers how their brains respond to other people's faces — a key point of social interaction.
What they're saying: “Testosterone is not a bad, aggressive hormone of aggression. It has different sides.” —David Terburg, an assistant professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, to Inverse.
The complex lives of teenage boys →
More like this:
- Young dogs might be more similar to human teenagers than we think: new research
- Teenagers are a mystery, but machine learning could help crack the code
Thank you for reading! Follow me on Twitter if you want, where I tweet too much.
