Mistletoe has a dark past

Hello, friends!

Looks like this is going to be the last week of talks for the year before we break for Christmas, but I’ll be back next week with a small stocking filler. Before we jump in:

💃🏽 It’s my party: A few pieces I’ve been working on this year went live last week, including 12 more science-themed brainteasers for New Scientist and an essay for Psyche about how a late autism diagnosis can present an identity crisis.

There’s also this piece for Ingenia about how palaeontologists, engineers and art conservators worked together – for three years – to create a freestanding bronze replica of the Natural History Museum’s Dippy.

Self-promo over, let’s go!

🍿 online talks and events 🐧

All times are GMT.

Monday 16 December

The role of peatlands as natural climate solutions, hybrid lecture by the Geological Society, 18.00, free: Ecosystem resilience lecturer Dr Scott J. Davidson explores the variety of peatlands – wetlands that store impressive amounts of carbon – that are found around the world, and how to protect them as part of our fight against climate change.

Tuesday 17 December

Look up! Working together to bring astronomy to people across the UK, hybrid talk by the Royal Astronomical Society, 13.00 and 18.00, free: Science communicator Dr Jenny Shipway discusses three different national projects she’s coordinated to encourage people to look up, and perhaps spark a life-long love of astronomy. She’ll also provide a preview of events for next February’s National Astronomy Week, when “we’ll be chasing the Moon across the sky”.

The magic and mysteries of mistletoe, online event by the University of Oxford, 18.00, free: PhD student Ollie Spacey talks us through the biology of mistletoe, including how this hardy plant interacts with its host trees and what this can tell us about parasitism. (More on that below.)

NASA Science Live: Parker Solar Probe nears historical close encounter with the Sun, online event by NASA, 20.00, free: On 24 December the fastest-moving human-made object, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, will make its closest dive through the Sun’s corona (upper atmosphere). Tune in on Tuesday to send your questions about the mission to NASA experts.

Thursday 19 December

Christmas special: chemistry of a candle, hybrid event by the Royal Institution, 18.00, from £3.61: This one looks a little bit special. The Ri’s Demo team and Innovator in Residence David Ricketts will reimagine Michael Faraday’s 1861 Christmas Lecture, ‘A chemical history of the candle’, combining the historical feel of the institution with modern science concepts and, of course, new demonstrations. Expect the night to go off with a bang.

🔭 in a sky near you… 🌖

Mars joins the Moon: On Wednesday, Mars will rise in the northeast just before 7pm, with an almost-full Moon following about half an hour afterwards. They’ll hang three or four fingers apart (at arm’s length) for the rest of the night, before setting late the following morning.

Also, solstice alert: In the UK, the winter solstice – precisely when the North Pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun – will happen on Saturday at about 9.20am, after which the days will start to become longer. I’ll be marking the longest night of the year by getting straight into my pyjamas and eating yule log.

👀 closer to Earth 🌱

Mistletoe has seen some stuff: Granted, it’s not one you’re likely to see in the wild at the moment (unless you live near an orchard), but given the time of year, you might have a sprig of it indoors so let’s learn a little something about it.

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on the branches of other trees. How it gets there has an interesting, erm, back story.

Its berries are full of a super-sticky substance called viscin, which retains its adhesive power even after passing through the birds that eat them. This means that rather than falling to the ground, the birds’ droppings – packed with the mistletoe’s seeds – stick to tree branches. The viscin also sticks to the birds’ beaks, which they’ll wipe off on other branches, sticking the seeds firmly to the trees.

💫 we need answers

Last week I asked:

These are the scientific names of animals that share their common names with publishing houses, along with the intended audiences for the books they publish.

So, Aptenodytes forsteri is the binomial for the emperor penguin (Penguin – books for everyone), Fratercula arctica is the Atlantic puffin (Puffin – books for children and young teens), Coccinella septempunctata is the seven-spot ladybird (Ladybird – books for young children), and Pelecanus onocrotalus is the great white pelican (Pelican – non-fiction).

🤔 until next week…

You may need to give the brain a quick shake and set an egg timer before solving this one: An extinct equid, an insect larva, and the young of a spiny monotreme, each with a weakness for wordplay, meet to play a game. What’s the game?

Answer comes next week. See you then! x