The arrival of iguanas in the South Pacific can only be explained, a team of biologists have argued, if they caught a lift on a natural raft from the Americas. That’s a journey of 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles), even if there was no backsliding or getting caught in ocean gyres – a fifth of the […]
A New Way To Detect Pacific Earthquakes Using Deep-Sea Cables Shows Groundbreaking Results
Big earthquakes remain unpredictable and often devastating, but new technology is paving the way for a groundbreaking way to monitor seismic tremors beneath the Pacific Ocean. ADVERTISEMENT Scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK and the Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL) in New Zealand have transformed a section of the telecommunications cable on […]
Alien Plant With World’s Longest-Living Leaves Can Survive For Over 1,000 Years
In the hyperarid desert bridging Angola and Namibia lives a plant known by the Afrikaans tweeblaarkannidood, meaning “two leaves that cannot die”. It’s a fitting title for Welwitschia mirabilis, an alien-like plant whose astonishing biology and extreme longevity has been studied extensively. The upper estimates for maximum age stretch as far as 3,000 years, not […]
Watch The Sky Turn Red With A Total Solar Eclipse Seen From The Moon’s Surface
Blue Ghost has eyed-up all the must-see sights on the Moon. After capturing some dazzling footage of a total solar eclipse from the lunar surface, the private lander also caught imagery of a beautiful lunar sunset, marking a beautiful end to its historic mission. ADVERTISEMENT Blue Ghost, a spacecraft operated by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace […]
Humans Have Had Language For At Least 135,000 Years
The genetic hardware that gave rise to humanity’s unique language capabilities first emerged at least 135,000 years ago, when all Homo sapiens still lived in one unbroken tribe. As this original group later split into a multitude of regional populations, the shared capacity for verbal and symbolic communication may have facilitated the development of modern […]
Pill That Cures Ebola In Monkeys Ignites Hopes For A Human Treatment
Monkeys infected with the deadly Ebola virus have been successfully cured by a 10-day regimen of pills, leading scientists to hope the treatment could be adapted for use in humans. The drug, obeldesivir, offers a substantial advantage over the two other FDA-approved treatments for Ebola as they have to be delivered via an IV drip, […]
“Once In A Century” Math Proof Threads The Needle On A Decades-Old Conjecture
If pure math can teach us anything, it’s this: occasionally, your special interest might just change the world. ADVERTISEMENT For Joshua Zahl and Hong Wang, that special interest was the Kakeya conjecture. “I read a book in undergrad called A Panorama of Harmonic Analysis,” says Zahl, an associate professor in the University of British Columbia’s […]
Supernovae Blamed For 2 Of Earth’s Mass Extinctions, The Devonian And Ordovician
Two of Earth’s five confirmed mass extinction events could have been caused by nearby supernova explosions stripping the planet’s ozone layer, a new study argues. Although the explanation has been proposed before, this work provides more rigorous evidence that the idea is plausible. ADVERTISEMENT The rate of animal and plant extinction has jumped well above […]
JWST Observations Hint We Might Be Inside A Black Hole, A New Synthetic Cannabinoid Could Pack A Painkilling Punch, And Much More This Week
This week, scientists have put a human “language gene” into mice and found it has a profound impact on the rodents’ ability to squeak, research has found that reading science articles (like these ones) can help you stay mentally strong, and in a global mission to explore Earth’s oceans, over 850 new marine species have […]
Is Caffeine Bad For You?
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What Could Happen To Your Body If You Cut Down On Ultra-Processed Foods?
Ultra-processed food: it’s one of the health buzzwords of the 2020s. Lots of us are becoming more aware of the foods and ingredients that we’re putting into our bodies, and the slew of books, papers, podcasts, and TV documentaries on the topic of so-called UPFs has attracted huge attention. It’s true that a large proportion […]
New Name Suggested For One Of The World’s Largest And Rarest Critically Endangered Species
One-horned rhinoceroses are the subject of a new study of the differences in appearance, behavior, and evolutionary history of the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the Sundaic rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) – and in doing so, has renamed one of the world’s rarest mammals. ADVERTISEMENT The Sundaic rhino, also called the Javan rhino, is one of […]
Scanning A 165-Million-Year-Old Octopus Fossil Revealed Surprising Features In Proteroctopus
Finding detailed fossils of soft-bodied organisms is exceptionally rare, making each discovery a unique opportunity to fill in gaps in both the fossil record and our understanding of evolution. That’s why the 1982 description of Proteroctopus ribeti – a 165-million-year-old fossil cephalopod – was such a big day for octopus science. Over the decades that […]
90-Million-Year-Old Pollen Fossils Reveal Origins Of Asian Tropics’ Staggering Biodiversity
Two newly discovered prehistoric pollen fossils have become the stars of a new study that explores the origins of the biodiversity seen in one of the most species-rich places on Earth – the Asian tropical rainforests. Spanning 8,000 kilometers (4,971 miles) with over 20,000 islands that are home to 50,000 plant species and 7,000 vertebrate […]
Fans Of Stinky Plants, Rejoice! “Old Socks” Flower Blooms In UK First
Every now and then, Kew Gardens is transformed as one of its leafy residents unfurls a great flower and fills the air with an unimaginable stench. Last year we enjoyed the remarkable bloom of Titan arum, a rare flowering event that happens only every seven years or so and smells like corpses. Now, the air […]
A Computer Has Achieved “Quantum Supremacy” On Real-World Problem For First Time, Company Claims
Quantum computing company D-Wave has claimed to have achieved “quantum supremacy” by solving a “useful, real-world problem” more efficiently with their quantum computer than a traditional one for the first time. However, not everyone is convinced by this declaration. ADVERTISEMENT Outlining their work in a new study, the North American tech company argues their quantum […]
How Much Water Could The Grand Canyon Hold?
Once upon a time, the Grand Canyon was forged by the rushing waters of the Colorado River over millions upon millions of years. The river still snakes through the canyon, but its beauty now lies in the jaw-dropping vastness and breathtaking openness of the landscape. What if, though, we were to imagine a Grand Canyon […]
Iron Shackles At Ancient Egyptian Gold Mine Reveal Brutal Working Conditions
The ancient Egyptians sure loved gold, and it seems they saw human suffering as a small price to pay for the precious metal. New discoveries at a 2,300-year-old gold mine reveal that some workers may have been forced to extract the material with heavy iron shackles around their ankles, highlighting the cruelty and callousness upon […]
In 2013, A Florida Man’s Bedroom Was Swallowed By A Sinkhole. He’s Never Been Found.
Back in March 2013, an unusual and tragic story emerged about a man who was swallowed by a sinkhole in Florida. No trace of the person was ever found. ADVERTISEMENT Jeff Bush, 37, was asleep when a sinkhole opened up beneath his home in Seffner, Florida. The hole – about 6 meters (20 feet) across […]
Does The Moon Have A Pole Star And Is It The Same As Earth’s?
The total lunar eclipse drew millions of people’s attention to the Moon. Soon, perhaps, there will be astronauts there long enough to experience an eclipse there. Astronomy on the Moon will have both similarities and important differences to Earth. So how do pole stars fit into that, and what are the implications for navigation? ADVERTISEMENT […]
