This week in science and technology news we’re covering at The Debrief: For decades, physicists have argued about Richard Feynman’s Sprinkler Problem, involving the question of how a reverse sprinkler would operate. Now we may finally know the answer… elsewhere, new studies reveal how breathwork may trigger psychedelic-like states, emotional breakthroughs, and psychological insights without drugs. Meanwhile, a stone sphere unearthed at an archaeological site in Azerbaijan is reportedly unlike anything previously documented in the South Caucasus.
Also, in an exclusive feature, University of Toronto bioethicist KM Bowman, Ph.D., writes for The Debrief about his firsthand experience with uncontacted indigenous tribes: “Through the haze stood a man. Barely clothed, carrying what appeared to be a weapon of some form, he remained motionless for only a few seconds before silently disappearing back into the forest.” In his essay, Bowman shares his experience and asks whether governments can protect “the uncontacted.”
Finally, here’s a look at more stories The Debrief is tracking right now…
- Lost for 1800 Years, a Mysterious Altar Linked to an Ancient Roman Cult Resurfaces as Drought Drains Europe’s Rivers
- A New Discovery at Göbekli Tepe Could Reshape Our Understanding of One of the Ancient World’s Most Perplexing Sites
- The Massive Asteroid Apophis Will Pass Closer to Earth Than Some Satellites in 2029—Planetary Defense Researchers are Getting Ready
- Scientists Used Lasers and Citizen Scientists to Find a “Lost World” of Giant Trees
- Bumblebees Are Turning Up Dead on Sidewalks This Summer, and Heat Isn’t the Only Culprit
- Your Brain Has an Air Traffic Controller—Here’s How It Keeps Information Moving
- James Webb Space Telescope Discovery Reveals Hidden Stars Massively Expanding Early Galaxies
- Experiments Show Color-Enriched White Light Can Affect Whether a Room Feels Hot or Cold
- A Universal Quantum Behavior Achieved for the First Time Confirms the Distance Between Novel Quantum States
- Something Struck the Moon—and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Just Found the Crater
- Mystery Russian “Space Hazard” Warning Forces U.S. Air Force Flight to Turn Back from Antarctica
- The Death of a Supercontinent May Have Formed the Grand Canyon Close to a Billion Years Earlier than Once Thought, New Study Reveals
- Newly Discovered Object is So Close to the Milky Way’s Central Black Hole it’s Experiencing Warped Spacetime
- Major Study Finds Hidden Order in the Psychedelic Brain That Challenges What We Thought About Psilocybin
- Scientists Just Analyzed More Than 100 UAP Videos Released by the Pentagon’s ‘PURSUE’ Program—This is What They Learned