Science X Newsletter Week 24

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 24:

	Researchers find IQ scores dropping since the 1970s A pair of researchers with the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway has found that IQ test scores have been slowly dropping over the past several decades. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Bernt Bratsberg and Ole Rogeberg describe their study and the results they found. They also offer some possible explanations for their findings.
	Astronomers see distant eruption as black hole destroys star For the first time, astronomers have directly imaged the formation and expansion of a fast-moving jet of material ejected when the powerful gravity of a supermassive black hole ripped apart a star that wandered too close to the cosmic monster.
	Lentils significantly reduce blood glucose levels, study reveals Replacing potatoes or rice with pulses can lower your blood glucose levels by more than 20 per cent, according to a first-ever University of Guelph study.
	Mexico jaguar population grows 20% in eight years Mexico's population of wild jaguars has grown 20 percent in the past eight years, according to a study released Thursday, a bit of good news for an iconic species whose numbers have been declining.
	New type of photosynthesis discovered The discovery changes our understanding of the basic mechanism of photosynthesis and should rewrite the textbooks.
	Researchers ask Americans 'What does God look like?' A team of psychologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have used a new technique to construct what a large sample of 511 American Christians think God looks like.
	Scientists make first 'on demand' entanglement link Researchers at QuTech in Delft have succeeded in generating quantum entanglement between two quantum chips faster than the entanglement is lost. Via a novel smart entanglement protocol and careful protection of the entanglement, the scientists led by Prof. Ronald Hanson are the first in the world to deliver such a quantum link on demand. This opens the door to connect multiple quantum nodes and create the very first quantum network in the world. Their results are published in Nature.
	New form of matter may lie just beyond the periodic table Currently, the heaviest element on the periodic table is oganesson, which has an atomic mass of 294 and was officially named in 2016. Like every element on the periodic table, nearly all of oganesson's mass comes from protons and neutrons (types of baryons) that are themselves made of three quarks each. A crucial feature of all known baryonic matter is that its quarks are bound together so tightly by the strong force that they are inseparable. As particles made of bound quarks (such as protons and neutrons) are called hadrons, scientists refer to the ground state of baryonic matter as "hadronic matter."
	Speculative wormhole echoes could revolutionize astrophysics The scientific collaborations LIGO and Virgo have detected gravitational waves from the fusion of two black holes, inaugurating a new era in the study of the cosmos. But what if those ripples of space-time were not produced by black holes, but by other exotic objects? A team of European physicists suggest an alternative—wormholes that can be traversed to appear in another universe.
	Hunger can lead to anger, but it's more complicated than a drop in blood sugar, study says What makes someone go from simply being hungry to full-on "hangry"? More than just a simple drop in blood sugar, this combination of hunger and anger may be a complicated emotional response involving an interplay of biology, personality and environmental cues, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
	Many animals are shifting from day to night to avoid people Lions and tigers and bears are increasingly becoming night owls because of us, a new study says.
	The seed that could bring clean water to millions According to the United Nations, 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services, the majority of whom live in developing nations.
	Psychedelic drugs promote neural plasticity in rats and flies Psychedelic drugs may have mind-altering powers in the physical sense, too. A new study, published June 12 in the journal Cell Reports, found psychedelics, specifically DOI, DMT, and LSD, can change brain cells in rats and flies, making neurons more likely to branch out and connect with one another. The work supports the theory that psychedelics could help to fight depression, anxiety, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
	'Shocking' die-off of Africa's oldest baobabs: study Some of Africa's oldest and biggest baobab trees—a few dating all the way back to the ancient Greeks—have abruptly died, wholly or in part, in the past decade, researchers said Monday.
	Mindfulness meditation and relaxation response have different effects on brain function A variety of meditation-based programs have been developed in recent years to reduce stress and medical symptoms and to promote wellness. One lingering question is to what extent these programs are similar or different. In a study published in the June issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers, in collaboration with members of the two leading mind-body stress reduction programs, reports the results of their study documenting the different effects these mind-body practices have in the brain.
	Ingesting honey after swallowing button battery reduces injury and improves outcomes A team of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists has demonstrated that eating honey after swallowing a button battery has the potential to reduce serious injuries in small children. Based on findings in laboratory animals, the research suggests that this common household product may significantly reduce morbidity and mortality from highly caustic batteries.
US court confirms danger posed by 'sound cannons' A New York appeals court on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling that two police officers' use of a "sound cannon" was an unconstitutional abuse of force.
	Archaeologists uncover remains of a horrifying Iron Age battle in Denmark We might not know exactly what happened on this battlefield in Denmark, 2,000 years ago. But one thing is certain: It was violent.
	Criticism from parents affects how children's brains respond to emotional information Children of highly critical parents show less attention to emotional facial expressions, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University at New York.
	Nanodiamonds responsible for mysterious source of microwaves across the Milky Way For decades, astronomers have puzzled over the exact source of a peculiar type of faint microwave light emanating from a number of regions across the Milky Way. Known as anomalous microwave emission (AME), this light comes from energy released by rapidly spinning nanoparticles—bits of matter so small that they defy detection by ordinary microscopes. (The period on an average printed page is approximately 500,000 nanometers across.)

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