The surprising chemicals used to embalm Egyptian mummies

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Today we discover the ingredients used to prepare ancient Egyptian mummies, hear what it will take to put a solar power station in space and learn how to write a popular science bestseller.

Egyptian mummification chemicals revealed

Pots from a 2,500-year-old embalming workshop have revealed the ingredients used to prepare ancient Egyptian mummies. Chemical analysis identified local plant extracts, animal fats and beeswax, as well as resins from plants grown as far away as southeast Asia. It’s the first time that pots with labels have been found, which will enable researchers to connect the ingredients with historical texts describing the embalming process. The discovery is “absolutely amazing,” says archaeologist Salima Ikram. “Who would have thought that they were getting stuff that might be coming from India?”

Pivot point for COVID ‘global emergency’

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that COVID-19 will probably stop being a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ soon because high levels of immunity are beginning to limit the virus’s impact and reach — but we’re not there just yet. Many researchers agree with the WHO’s assessment to keep the emergency status in place for now, because it stops governments from moving on to other things. Others think that because SARS-CoV-2 has already spread to every corner of the globe, the pandemic has moved well beyond the original definition of an emergency. Contrary to reports, the WHO never officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic — it merely said in March 2020 that the term “‘characteriszed the situation’”.

Solar, wind helped EU stay away from coal

In 2022, wind and solar supplied more of the European Union’s electricity than any other power source for the first time ever, reports the think tank Ember. Other sources of low-carbon energy took hits: hydroelectric was hobbled by historic droughts, and an unexpectedly high number of French nuclear reactors had to be taken offline for maintenance. Meanwhile, mild weather and public efforts to reduce energy use kept demand lower than in 2021. The end result: Europe did not return to coal in a big way to replace gas supplies withheld by Russia. “Any fears of a coal rebound are now dead,” says Dave Jones, Ember's head of data insights.

Can a solar farm be built in space?

The first orbiting solar power station could be operational by 2040. Until then, huge technical hurdles remain. The arrays would need to be more than one square kilometre in size, and would have to be assembled in space — an incredibly complex engineering challenge. Arguably the biggest problem: beaming the power generated in space back to Earth. The most promising option is to convert energy into microwaves that will be captured by receiving stations that are even larger than the solar-panel arrays.

Tips for recruiting research participants

Two things are required to get close to research participants, says social scientist Anna Lena Bercht: physical access and mental access, which means people opening up about what they think and feel. During her work in China and Norway, she took public transport to create opportunities to bump into people. She offers other tips, including using small talk to counteract the asymmetrical power relationship between the researcher and the researched. Most importantly, Bercht says, show respect and be humble. “Having a modest view of yourself is essential to communicate at eye level with people.”

How I wrote a popular science bestseller

“I was really underprepared. I thought I had time in my schedule, but I still had to do my academic work,” says psychologist Chantel Prat about writing The Neuroscience of You. She credits her book’s success in part to the expert guidance from her agent and other scientists who had written books. It’s important to not compare your book with others, Prat says. “If you’ve found your lane, occupy that space and enjoy it.”