Museum of Science
@museumofscience.bsky.social
4.7K followers 92 following 900 posts
Inspiring a lifelong love of science in everyone - in museums, classrooms and online. We believe in a world where science belongs to everyone.
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As these comet remnants collide with Earth’s atmosphere at nearly 150,000 mph, friction causes them to heat up and streak across the sky. Scientists call the Orionids one of the most beautiful showers of the year, and the moonless night means ideal conditions for stargazing.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Debris from Halley’s Comet lights up the sky with the Orionid meteor shower! 🌌🧪

This meteor shower will be active from Sept. 26 to Nov. 22, and will peak on October 21. These are actually fragments from Halley’s Comet, which orbits the Sun every 76 years.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Ada Lovelace used mathematics to design the world’s first algorithm intended for a machine. This was done decades before computers were even built!

Who is a woman in STEM that inspires you? 👩‍🔬🧪

#AdaLovelace #WomeninSTEM #Science
museumofscience.bsky.social
Your brain can make you see things that aren’t there…

This is called pareidolia. It’s the reason you see faces in clouds, outlets, or even shadows in the dark. Evolution wired us to detect faces fast—even when they don’t exist.

Ever caught your brain playing tricks on you like that? 👀🧠
museumofscience.bsky.social
By studying the molecules behind these effects, scientists hope to develop future treatments that slow or even reverse aging on a cellular level.
museumofscience.bsky.social
The treatment significantly boosted collagen production, improved cell survival, and reversed multiple hallmarks of cellular aging. This marks the first time these results have been seen in human tissue models.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Can young blood reverse aging? 🩸🧬🧪

In a recent breakthrough, researchers combined plasma serum and bone marrow from young donors to treat aging human skin cells in the lab.

#HumanBody #Science #Research #Blood #Aging
museumofscience.bsky.social
Earth’s climate is shaped by a delicate balance of
energy from the Sun, atmospheric chemistry, and
ocean currents. Human activity adds another
layer, influencing this constantly changing system.

Drop your favorite fun fact in the comments! 🌎
museumofscience.bsky.social
Rats have even learned to associate humans with resources like warmth, shelter, and some protection from most natural predators.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Why do rats love cities? 🐀🧪

Brown rats, like Chugga and Choo Choo, have evolved remarkable skills that make them perfectly suited for urban environments. Their intelligence, strong memory, and ability to solve problems help them locate food, avoid danger, and navigate complex spaces.
Why Do Rats Love Cities?
YouTube video by Museum of Science
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museumofscience.bsky.social
What's your favorite memory from the Museum of Science? ❤️🧪
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According to Stephen Hawking’s groundbreaking theory, black holes can slowly lose mass by emitting radiation, meaning even the darkest objects in the universe might not last forever. 🧪

#SpaceWeek #BlackHole #FunFact #Science
museumofscience.bsky.social
While the bacteria grew more slowly, it still survived, proving that life doesn’t need all 64 codons to function.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Life typically uses 64 of these codons to build proteins, but scientists wanted to see if bacteria could do with fewer. They engineered a strain of bacteria that uses only 57 codons, a simplified version of the genetic code.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Could scientists make artificial life using simpler DNA language? 🧪🧬🧫

The genetic code is like a language made of four letters: A, T, C, and G. They are arranged into 3-letter “words” called “codons”.
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Old books sometimes get a strange "vanilla" smell... 🤔👃

That scent comes from the breakdown of paper and ink — releasing hundreds of volatile organic compounds, including vanillin, aldehydes, and acids.

So that cozy library smell? It’s literally the odor of books slowly decaying...📚
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This involves inhaling for 4 seconds, holding your breath for 4 seconds, exhaling for 4 seconds, and holding again for another 4 seconds. These practices engage the brain's prefrontal cortex and help calm the amygdala.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Scientific studies indicate that techniques such as box breathing, can lower cortisol levels, slow heart rate, and reduce symptoms of anxiety.

How are you taking care of yourself today? 🧠❤️
museumofscience.bsky.social
These hybrids reveal how rising temperatures are accelerating unexpected evolutionary outcomes. This is a signal that ecosystems are being pushed beyond their limits. Scientists are now racing to study how these hybrid species might adapt, survive, or reshape food webs entirely.
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Warming temperatures aren’t just melting ice, they’re merging ecosystems. 🪶🐳🧪

As habitats shift, species that evolved thousands to millions of years apart are coming into contact again, creating wild hybrid offspring like the “pizzly bear” and the newly spotted “grue jay”.
museumofscience.bsky.social
Scientists can sometimes smell it when they carefully drill into preserved remains during DNA extraction.
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In mummified tissues, sugars and proteins slowly react over centuries, producing new compounds that darken the skin and release those familiar toasty aromas. It's chemistry at work on a biological timescale.
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Why do ancient mummies smell like warm bread? 🍞🧪

Nobel Prize–winning scientist Svante Pääbo shares that the scent comes from the Maillard reaction. This is the same chemical reaction responsible for the browning of bread, seared meat, and roasted coffee.

Watch the full video here:
Why Mummies Smell Like Bread
YouTube video by Museum of Science
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