This week, we visited the How To Fix Our Broken Planet exhibit at the Natural History Museum, London, to discuss how whale earwax is spilling the ocean’s secrets. RFK Jr has claimed that we will “know” the cause of autism by September, a statement that science says is very unlikely, the world’s oldest analog computer may actually be a piece of junk, and a candidate new planet exhibits a never-before-seen perpendicular orbit around binary stars. Finally, we ask what lies beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics.
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After 100 Years Of Searching, A Live Colossal Squid Has Been Filmed For First Time
Behold: a live colossal squid in all its glory. After a century of searching, the extremely elusive cephalopod has been caught on camera alive in its natural habitat for the first time (and, for once, not inside the belly of a whale or washed up dead on a beach). Read the full story here
An Exoplanet Discovered With “Hints” Of Biology? This Is What You Need To Know
You may have seen exoplanet K2-18b in the news recently, thanks to newly published research that is destined to be discussed for a long while. K2-18b is believed to be a sub-Neptune world with a radius 2.6 times that of Earth, and in orbit around the habitable zone of a red dwarf 124 light-years from us. The big news, however, is that astronomers are claiming that this is the “strongest hints yet” of biological activity beyond the Solar System. So, have we found “life” beyond Earth and how do we even determine that? Read the full story here
RFK Jr Claims We Will “Know” The Cause Of Autism By September. Science Says That’s Very Unlikely
Back in March, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), now helmed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, announced a major study into the debunked “link” between vaccines and autism. Now, Kennedy has claimed that a definitive cause of increasing autism diagnoses will be announced this September. But that’s not how scientific investigations work. Read the full story here
The Legendary Antikythera Mechanism May Have Been A Piece Of Junk
The world’s oldest analog computer may be no more than a 2,000-year-old lemon, according to the findings of an as-yet un-peer-reviewed study. Discovered at the site of an ancient shipwreck, the world-famous Antikythera Mechanism is lauded as one of the technological marvels of the Greco-Roman world, yet it turns out that the gadget might not actually have worked. Read the full story here
New Planet In Strange Perpendicular Orbit Around Binary Stars Is Straight Out Of Science Fiction
In 2018, astronomers discovered a brown dwarf binary system. Brown dwarfs are often found in binaries, but this one was only the second eclipsing binary system discovered with both members being brown dwarfs. But there is something odd about the motion of this rare pair, and further analysis has brought forth a very unusual candidate. Researchers believe that pair 2M1510 is orbited by a planet in a “polar”, or perpendicular, orbit. This is the first time we’ve seen strong evidence for a stellar pair being orbited by a polar planet. Read the full story here
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Feature of the week:
“All Theories Have Limitations!”: What Lies Beyond The Standard Model Of Particle Physics?
The Standard Model Of Particle Physics is one of the most revolutionary theories humans have ever created. From the behavior of fundamental particles to electromagnetism, the field that gives everything mass to nuclear decay, the Standard Model has got you covered. But we know that there’s a fair bit of reality that goes beyond it, so in this exclusive interview and video, we speak to scientists at CERN about what comes next. Read the full story here
More content:
Have you seen our e-magazine, CURIOUS? Issue 33 April 2025 is available now. This month we asked, “Do Animals Make Art?” – check it out for exclusive interviews, book excerpts, long reads, and more.
PLUS, the We Have Questions podcast – an audio version of our coveted CURIOUS e-magazine column – continues. In episode 8, we ask, “What Happens To Eyes During The Mummification Process?”
Season 4 of IFLScience’s The Big Questions podcast has concluded. To revisit all of season four’s episodes, click here.
Source Link: A Live Colossal Squid Has Been Filmed For First Time, An Exoplanet Discovered With “Hints” Of Biology, And Much More This Week