12 Aug 2026
At Kimmeridge Bay on the Jurassic Coast, the rocks have a bit of a pattern to them. And there’s a good reason for that! It’s a record of changes in Earth’s climate that were driven by something happening far beyond Dorset: the changing geometry of Earth’s orbit around the Sun… Because Earth’s orbit changes over time in cycles! Welcome to Milancovich cycles!
This is far from the only rock unit that shows this, and in fact the Blue Lias around Lyme Regis is also pretty famous for this, but I found this cool paper that really investigated it so it was an interesting spot to talk about it.
Enjoy!
📍 Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, UK
Main paper used:
Weedon, G.P., Coe, A.L. & Gallois, R.W. (2004), Cyclostratigraphy, orbital tuning and inferred productivity for the type Kimmeridge Clay (Late Jurassic), Southern England, Journal of the Geological Society, 161, 655–666.
Update: after some comments asking if Milancovich Cycles explain current warming…. No. Unfortunately not. Technically we should actually be cooling. Full explanation here by NASA: https://science.nasa.gov/science-rese…
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Chapters:
00:00 cold sleep?
01:03 the best hibernator
02:17 the deepest hibernator
03:49 it’s not sleep
05:26 medical applications
06:08 strokes/heart attacks
08:38 diabetes
09:02 cancer
09:18 longevity
09:58 dementia
10:21 space travel
11:13 radiation
13:36 razors for sale
14:33 space problems
17:12 ancient circuitry
18:36 the hidden switch
22:36 the pitt study
25:22 squirrelstronauts
Can humans hibernate? This episode investigates the science of human hibernation, induced torpor and suspended animation — from the brain circuits that regulate metabolism and body temperature to experiments exploring how doctors might safely induce a hibernation-like state in humans.
Drawing on research into Arctic ground squirrels, edible dormice, bears, hamsters, mice and rats, we examine how natural hibernation suppresses metabolism, heart rate, breathing and body temperature; how neurons in the hypothalamus and preoptic area may act as a “torpor switch”; and how scientists induce synthetic torpor in animals. Researchers Nick Clark, Sinisa Hrvatin, Domenico Tupone, Ryan Sprenger and Kate Flickinger guide us through the evidence, including ultrasound-induced torpor, thermoregulatory inversion and University of Pittsburgh human experiments using dexmedetomidine and surface cooling.
Then we ask what human torpor might actually be good for: buying time after a heart attack or stroke, reducing ischemia-reperfusion injury, preserving donor organs, and informing research on diabetes, cancer, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, aging and longevity. We also investigate human hibernation for deep-space travel: whether torpor could reduce food and oxygen needs on a Mars mission and protect astronauts from space radiation, muscle atrophy, bone loss, blood clots, microgravity and psychological strain. Finally, we look at NASA’s proposed STASH hibernation laboratory, which could send Arctic ground squirrels to the International Space Station … and ask how close human hibernation really is.
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By Jessica Stewart on October 10, 2022
Photo: JohanSwanepoel/Depositphotos
Ever since he played Captain Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, William Shatner’s name has been synonymous with space. So, it wasn’t a surprise to hear that the 91-year-old old actor was among those aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space shuttle when it made its second flight in October 2021. At the time, Shatner described the journey as “the most profound experience I can imagine.” But in his new book, Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, Shatner goes into more detail about his time in space. What he has to say might surprise you.
An excerpt of the book published by Variety reveals that the Canadian actor’s visit to space did not impact him quite how he thought it would. His trip made him—then 90 years old—the oldest living person to travel into space, and, initially, he was quite nervous. Understandably, Shatner was cognizant that things could go wrong, stating that, “I couldn’t get the Hindenburg out of my head.”
But, he pushed through his fears and settled in for the journey. Shatner recalls his first moments of experiencing weightlessness and how others on the trip immediately started enjoying its effects. But for Shatner, something else was more important. “I wanted, needed to get to the window as quickly as possible to see what was out there,” he writes in the book, which was released on October 4.
Shatner’s love for the universe runs deep and he has long been fascinated by its mysteries. But as he turned his head to look out into space, an unexpected sensation washed over him. “When I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold…all I saw was death,” he recalls.
Left: William Shatner as Captain Kirk from in Star Trek. (Photo: NBC Television via Wikipedia) | Right: William Shatner in 2020. (Photo: Super Festivals via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
“I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing. I turned toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her.”
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