Why Rudolph has a red nose decoded
Scientists have unravelled the mystery behind the glowing red nose of Rudolph, the lead reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. Scientists say Rudolph’s nose shines so brightly because it is richly supplied with red blood cells which help to protect it from freezing and to regulate brain temperature.
This superior “nasal microcirculation” is essential for pulling Santa’s sleigh under extreme temperatures, the Daily Mail reported. Tiny blood cells known as micro-vessels in the nose are vital for delivering oxygen, controlling inflammation, and regulating temperature, the scientists claim. Norwegian and Dutch researchers knew how important this regulation is for flying reindeer, especially as they take to the skies from their frozen home near the North Pole.
They set out to test whether Rudolph’s famous red nose was due to “a highly dense and rich nasal microcirculation” compared with human noses.
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NASA’s Grail gravity probes crash on Moon
Washington: Nasa’s Ebb and Flow gravity mapping satellites have ended their successful mission to the Moon, climaxing with a well-orchestrated crash onto a crater’s rim.
The lunar surface where they crashed will be named after Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, who passed away earlier this year, Nasa said in a statement.
Ebb and Flow, the two spacecraft comprising Nasa’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission were, on last Friday, commanded to descend into a lower orbit that would result in an impact on a mountain near the Moon’s north pole.
The location of the Sally K. Ride Impact Site is on the southern face of an approximately 2.5 kilometre tall mountain near a crater named Goldschmidt. — PTI
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