Issue 35 (June 2025) of CURIOUS is out now, bringing you science highlights for the month plus deep dives into intriguing topics, interviews, exclusives, diary dates, and explanations for some of Earth’s most perplexing natural phenomena and landscapes. Read Issue 35 of our digital magazine now by clicking below! Use the arrows to navigate or […]
If They Take Fluoride Out Of The Water, What Could Happen To Americans’ Teeth?
Water fluoridation has arguably never been a hotter topic in US political and scientific circles. Since first being introduced in Michigan in 1945, the addition of fluoride to public drinking water has been celebrated as a big win for oral health, but has also attracted fierce criticism. Now, with moves being made to ban fluoridation, […]
Paraglider Accidentally Flies Into The “Death Zone” 8,500 Meters Up – And Survives
A Chinese paraglider is thankful to be back on solid ground after unintentionally soaring to an altitude referred to as the “death zone“. Peng Yujiang, 55, was testing out some new equipment on the ground, with no intention of flying, when a strong updraft unexpectedly swept him skywards to a height of more than 8,500 […]
World’s Oldest Fingerprint, Bioacoustics Could Give Us “A Peek Into The Language Of Wolves”, And Much More This Week
This week, scientists have proposed infecting another world with life to see what happens, we’re starting to understand the ancient Incas’ mysterious string “writing” system, and a patient who received an infected injection nearly 50 years ago has only now suffered the effects of a severe prion disease. Finally, we ask, if the human brain […]
Please Stop Jamming Coins Into The Rocky Cracks Of Legendary Giant’s Causeway
Tourists have recently developed a troubling tradition of jamming coins into the rocks at Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. While seemingly harmless, this practice is detracting from the site’s natural beauty and physically damaging the ancient geological formation. These are the chief findings from a report by the British Geological Survey that found forcing coins […]
We’re A Step Closer To Knowing Who Made The Earliest Known Stone Tools
The Oldowan stones are believed to be the oldest known examples of stone tool industry in the world. Their development around 2-3 million years ago represents a significant moment in our evolutionary history as it demonstrates the first evidence of cultural behaviour. But while the stone tools themselves are well known among archaeologists and other […]
These Little Birds Are All But Extinct – But There Is Still Time To Save Them
Woolly mammoths, Tasmanian tigers, not-really-dire wolves – increasingly, genomics has revealed itself as a major potential player in the quest to revive long-extinct species. But here’s a question: what if we could use it to help avoid the loss of entire species in the first place? Wouldn’t that be, you know, better? According to a […]
The Three Types Of Female Orgasm
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Elon Musk Has Announced His Bombastic Plan To Get Humans To Mars
SpaceX has had an interesting week. A few days ago, the ninth test of Starship ended up with the vehicle burning in the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. Yesterday, the company shared a presentation by founder and CEO Elon Musk on their plan for uncrewed and human Mars exploration and settlement. Calling the timeline ambitious […]
China Unveils World’s Largest Offshore Wind Turbine With Hub Height Of 185 Meters
China is continuing to push the boundaries of wind energy technology. In a major milestone last year, the China Dongfang Electric Corporation finished making the world’s largest offshore wind turbine, an engineering giant capable of powering an entire town. With a hub height of 185 meters (606 feet) – equivalent to a 63-story skyscraper – […]
Oldest Fingerprint, AI Decoding Wolf Language, And Injecting Life On Other Worlds?
This week on Break It Down: The oldest fingerprint in the world might be left by a Neanderthal hoping to complete a face, scientists propose seeding life on Enceladus to see what would happen, we’re starting to understand more about the Incas’ mysterious string writing system, bioacoustics research could pave the way for us to […]
“There Are Glimmers Of Hope”: Search For One Of The World’s Most Endangered Pigeons Just Scored A Big Win
Have you ever heard of the tooth-billed pigeon? Also known as manumea, or the “little dodo” (as one of its closest living relatives), it’s so rare it’s considered a “lost” species. One that hasn’t been photographed since 2013, but hope is not lost. Scientists were able to successfully detect a bird in the wild, and […]
Earth Has A 1-In-100,000 Chance Of Being Ejected From The Solar System Due To A Passing Star
In about 5 billion years, the Sun will run out of hydrogen at its core. This will make it swell up into a red giant, as it begins to fuse helium instead. In the process, we can say goodbye to Mercury for sure, Venus most likely, and probably even Earth. But this assumes that nothing […]
“Necrobotics” Turns Dead Spider Corpses Into Biohybrid Robots
Dead spiders tend to curl up in a rather creepy clawed position, but beyond looking a little ominous, it seems their lifeless bodies may have useful applications in robotics. Scientists from Rice University have harnessed the unusual locomotion mechanism of wolf spiders to create a type of robotics they’ve coined “necrobotics”. That’s right. Scientists are […]
Why Even Traveling Close To The Speed Of Light Is So Hard
Wherever you stand on the practicality of settling Mars, it’s really quite a small ambition compared to dreams of settling other star systems. There are a great many engineering, and arguably social, problems to solve to create a base on another planet within the Solar System, but when it comes to interstellar travel the barriers […]
Peer Into The Universe’s Distant Past Thanks To JWST’s Longest-Exposure Photo Yet
This is the universe like you have never seen before. Thanks to the extraordinary sharpness of JWST, many hours of work, and the warping of spacetime by a massive galaxy cluster, we have some of the oldest starlight that has ever been seen in the universe. The image took nine snapshots and 120 hours of […]
First Evidence For Chubby Cheeks In Dinosaurs Challenges Our Understanding Of How They Chewed
When we think of dinosaurs, images of bones and lean, reptile-like beasts come to mind, but a new study may have just revealed a softer side to dinosaurs: chubby cheeks. Technically known as soft buccal tissue, it’s being described as an “unexpected” find, changing what we know about how their lower jaw connected to the […]
The 2021 “Heat Dome” Killed Her Mother. Now, She’s Suing The Oil Companies Responsible
It was June of 2021, and the Pacific Northwest was melting. Caught in a freak “heat dome”, temperatures in the normally mild region were soaring to unprecedented highs. The mercury hit triple figures in Fahrenheit for four straight weeks; in Canada, temperatures got to 49.6°C (121.3°F); it was so hot, in fact, that experts at […]
Two Of The Most Destructive Termites Got It On, Sparking Hybrid Threat In Florida
Two of the world’s most destructive invasive termites are spreading in the United States, but not only that – they’re also hybridizing. Individually, the Formosan subterranean termite and the Asian subterranean termite are capable of wreaking environmental and structural havoc, but together? A potentially disastrous storm could be brewing. In a new study, researchers from […]
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: A Story Of Anxiety And Hysteria In America’s Heartland
Like many places in the US in the summer of 1944, the minds of people in the quiet Illinois city of Mattoon were probably occupied by news of the war. The Allied forces had recently invaded southern France, and Paris itself had been liberated only days ago. So, the night of August 31st was likely […]
