This week in science news, scientists found out why a species of bat has an unusually large penis, found a "missing" blob of water in the Atlantic Ocean, and discovered an enormous haul of centuries-old coins in Japan.
The unsurprising discovery of water in the Atlantic Ocean was our top story. That may be a glib way of putting it, but the discovery of an enormous body of water that stretches from the tip of Brazil to the Gulf of Guinea, close to West Africa, provides an explanation for a puzzle that scientists have been attempting to solve since 1942.
Scientists have discovered a seamount off the coast of Guatemala that is twice the size of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the world, under the water as well. Additionally, scientists discovered that a mysterious layer that ejects crystals may have originated from a water leak in the Earth's mantle.
Speaking of all things aquatic, this week the animal kingdom revealed some surprises from beneath the waves, such as rare footage of small mola swimming together off the Pacific coast of Canada, enormous mammoth jaws that were retrieved from a Florida riverbed, and great white sharks that congregate in the twilight zone.
Even though this week's news wasn't exclusively about water (there were reports that aftershocks from 19th-century earthquakes are still occurring and that our star has a "sunspot archipelago"), we'll end this soggy section with this electric flying passenger ship, which has the potential to "revolutionize how we travel on water."
Globally, new archeological discoveries have been made. The first was the incredible cache of over 100,000 coins discovered in Japan that may have been buried by warriors ages ago. Then we sailed to Punt, a mysterious port city that scientists now believe to be in contemporary Eritrea, Africa, based on DNA found in a baboon mummy. Additionally, DNA research showed that 5,200 years ago, Indigenous people from what is now Mexico moved to California, probably bringing their languages with them.
A "cosmic vine" of twenty connected galaxies stretching across the early universe, as well as a cosmic "peanut" and "fluff ball" that are two of the four oldest galaxies known to science, were discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope, making it the biggest space news of the week once again. It has also been reported that the "devil comet" no longer has its characteristic horns, making it seem less terrifying.
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we can focus on the upcoming holidays, which means that some of us will probably sip on some red wine. However, why do some people experience the dreaded "red wine headache?"
Finally, the "disproportionately large" penis of male serotine bats is a rather unique feature; it is seven times longer and wider than the vaginas of females. That can make mating understandably challenging; we'll let the specialists elaborate.