WEIRD STUFF

Microplastics increase the risk of a heart attack

Scientists at the University of Campania in Italy discovered that small pieces of plastic were present in more than half of patients undergoing procedures to clear a major artery in the neck.

The discovery has caused concern that plastic pollution could have a devastating impact by raising the risk of strokes, heart attacks and early death.

Those whose blood vessels contained microplastics were almost five times more likely to suffer from the health problems over the following 34 months.

Dr Raffaele Marfella, first author of the study, said: "Our data will dramatically impact cardiovascular health if confirmed, because we are defenceless against plastic pollution.

"The only defence we have available today is prevention, by reducing plastic production."

He added: "People must become aware of the risks we are taking with our lifestyle. I hope that the alarm message from our study will raise the consciousness of citizens, especially governments, to finally become aware of the importance of the health of our planet."

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Stone Age man practised body piercing

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of body piercings in skeletons from 11,000 years ago.

A team from Ankara University have unearthed over 100 ornaments in the graves of individuals at the Boncuklu Tarla site in Turkey, in what is thought to be the earliest evidence of body perforation.

The ornaments were found next to the ears and chins, strongly suggesting that they were worn in piercings.

However, analysis has shown that only adults wore the piercings, implying that the ancient tradition could have been a coming-of-age ritual.

Dr Emma Baysal, co-author of the research, said: "It shows that traditions that are still very much part of our lives today were already developed at the important transitional time when people first started to settle in permanent villages in Western Asia more than 10,000 years ago."

She added: "They had very complex ornamentation practices involving beads, bracelets and pendants, including a very highly developed symbolic world which was all expressed through the medium of the human body."

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Scientists trying to solve crimes in space

Experts have described "astroforensics" as the final frontier of forensic science and think that space rangers will be required to enforce the law as humans head further into the solar system.

Boffins claim that the lack of gravity presents "novel challenges" in understanding evidence such as the formation of blood stains.

The University of Hull's Professor Graham Williams and Staffordshire University's Zack Kowalske created fake blood stain samples on a test flight but found they form differently in zero gravity because of the way blood drops fall.

The pair said: "(We) would be more than happy to operate the galaxy's first extraterrestrial forensic science laboratory.

"Space presents a unique and harsh environment for forensic investigations.

"Altered gravity, cosmic radiation, extremes in temperature and the need for oxygen provide a few examples of the variables faced by future explorers."

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Pilots nod off, lose flight path

Two pilots fell asleep on a flight over Indonesia. The worrying incident happened on a Batik Air internal flight on January 25 as both co-pilots -- a 28-year-old man and a 32-year-old man -- dozed off for approximately 28 minutes.

A preliminary report from Indonesia's Transportation Safety Committee revealed that the pair found that the plane was "not on the correct flight path" when they woke up.

According to the report, both pilots were sleeping for around 241 miles but were able to land the aircraft -- which was carrying 153 passengers -- safely in Jakarta.

Indonesia's civil aviation director Maria Kristi Endah Murni has "strongly reprimanded" Batik Air over the incident.

She said: "We will carry out an investigation and review of the night flight operation in Indonesia related with fatigue risk management for Batik Air and all flight operators."