Life on Mercury: Salt, Glaciers, and Caves

Today, you’ll learn about a breakthrough in our understanding of how the brain creates long-term memories, the effect of chronic childhood ear infections on the development of language, and how salt may have helped shape the planet Mercury.  

Long-Term Memories 

• “Neurons aren’t the only cells that make memories in the brain, rodent study reveals.” by Emily Cooke. 2023.  
• “Brain Microvascular Pericytes in Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.” by Maiko T. Uemura, et al. 2020.  
• “All you need to know about neurons.” by Tim Newman. 2023.  

Ear Infections 

• “Chronic childhood ear infections delay language development.” by Eric Hamilton. 2024.  
• “Ear Infections in Children.” NIH. 2022.  
• “Early otitis media puts children at risk for later auditory and language deficits.” by Susan Nittrouer & Joanna H. Lowenstein. 2024. 

Mercury Salt 

• “Salt may have carved out Mercury’s terrains, including glacierlike features.” by Shi En Kim. 2024.  
• “The Chaotic Terrains of Mercury Reveal a History of Planetary Volatile Retention and Loss in the Innermost Solar System.” by J. Alexis P. Rodrigues, et al. 2020.  
• “Mercury’s stunning landscape mapped.” by Christopher Crockett. 2016.  
• “Mercury Facts.” NASA. n.d.  

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