(Phys.org) —It was a big week for discovery as a Star Trek-like invisible shield was found thousands of miles above Earth—it's in the Van Allen radiation belt and appears to protect the planet below from "killer electrons." Meanwhile, a 23,000-year-old limestone "Venus was dug up in France. The exceptional find is believed to have been carved sometime during the Paleolithic-era and is notable for the realistic rendering of its female features. Yet another team finally discovered the meaning of a handbook that had mystified researchers for 35 years, as an ancient Egyptian codex was finally deciphered. Turns out, it's full of spells and invocations, and cures for common illnesses. Also, another team discovered and was able to analyze a small amount of perovskite found in a meteorite which has finally allowed the world's most abundant mineral to be named: Bridgmanite—it's believed to make up 70 percent of the Earth's lower mantle, but couldn't be officially named until it was analyzed firsthand. And researchers performing an autopsy on a 40,000 year old mammoth discovered blood that brings mammoth cloning closer to reality—they believe there is enough blood to extract a reasonable amount of DNA.
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