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Human Life in the Womb

1. At just 4 days after fertilization… What? That zygote doesn’t look human? Well, scientifically, it is! It’s growing, so it must be alive. It has human parents, so it must be human. In fact, since fertilization, that zygote has possessed a predetermined sex (it’s a girl!) and her own unique set of human DNA. Her DNA will guide her body’s development over the next nine months (and its entire lifetime!). Remember, don’t judge or discriminate against other human beings just because they don’t look like us!

2. At just 5-6 weeks of gestation…Despite being only a quarter of an inch long, her nose, mouth, and ears are already taking shape! Her heart is beating about 100 times a minute (almost twice as fast as yours) and blood is beginning to circulate through her body. Brain waves have been detectable for at least 2-3 weeks already!

3. At just 7 weeks gestation…Most of that growth is concentrated in the head as new brain cells are generated at the rate of 100 per minute. Your baby’s mouth and tongue are forming as arm and leg buds sprout, and those little kidneys are getting ready to do their job (pee production and excretion).

4. At about 10 weeks…All of her major body functions are up and running: the kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver are all working. Her tiny arms and legs can already start to flex. Most abortions in the United States take place around this time. If she’s lucky, her mom will love her enough to let her live.

5. At 12 weeks…Her muscles are beginning to bulk up, so she’s busily stretching and kicking. If you put your hand on your tummy, she’ll likely wiggle in response because her reflexes are starting to develop, although you won’t feel it yet.

6. At 16 weeks gestation…This week, the baby is going through a growth spurt. Soon she’ll be growing locks of hair on her head and she’s already started growing toenails. Every day, her heart pumps about 25 quarts of blood through her body.

7. Sucking her thumb at about 18-20 weeks gestation…Right about now, she has her own unique set of fingerprints.

8. Around 6-7 months gestation…The baby can now respond to external sounds by moving and increasing the pulse. A mother may notice jerking motions if the baby hiccups!

9. At around 8 months gestation…This baby can hear and is beginning to recognize her mother’s voice. Her skin is pink and she already is beginning to get that cute, chunky appearance that newborns have. That extra fat is very important, because it allows the baby to regulate her temperature after birth.

Rare Fossils of Ancient Trilobites

Trilobites appeared in ancient oceans well before life emerged on land. These marine arthropods existed for almost 300 million years, and over 20,000 species have been described so far. In this video, Museum Curator Neil Landman and Field Associates Andy Secher and Martin Shugar discuss trilobites, their unique features, and how fossils are collected and prepared while highlighting a new Museum exhibit that features 15 rare and beautiful trilobite fossils from the Museum’s collection.

Ancient trilobite fossils are now on display in the Museum’s Grand Gallery. The exhibit is made possible thanks to Martin Shugar, M.D., and Andy Secher.

This Insect Has Gears In Its Legs

The image above is an extreme close-up of a common British insect called a planthopper. You’re looking at it from below, at the point where its two hind legs connect to its body. In the middle, you can clearly see that the top of each leg has a row of small teeth, which interlock together. As the planthopper jumps, the teeth ensure that its legs rotate together and extend at the same time.

Ancient Maya Grave Yields Dozens of Mutilated Bodies

An excavation at the site of an ancient Maya city in Mexico has yielded a gruesome find: the remains of dismembered, decapitated bodies. The discovery provides new archaeological evidence for the violent scenes depicted in Maya art, the researchers say.

Nicolaus Seefeld, an archaeologist at the University of Bonn in Germany, stumbled across the 1,400-year-old mass grave as part of his work on the water system in the city of Uxul. The remains of 24 people were found in an approximately 344-square-foot (32 square meters) artificial cave that served as a water storage reservoir.

ECHO Horn Antenna

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, the Horn reflector antenna, shown here in June of 1962, at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey was built in 1959 for pioneering work in communication satellites for the NASA ECHO I.

The antenna was 50 feet in length and the entire structure weighed about 18 tons. It was comprised of aluminum with a steel base. It was used to detect radio waves that bounced off Project ECHO balloon satellites. The horn was later modified to work with the Telstar Communication Satellite frequencies as a receiver for broadcast signals from the satellite.

Saturn/Moon/Venus conjunction. (9/9/2013 - Perth, Western Australia) To astronomers, conjunction is just a fancy word for saying ‘together’ or ‘in a line’.