This week, a new discovery suggests Neanderthals may have mastered fire 270,000 years ago, for the first time, a baby conceived using a breakthrough IVF alternative has been born, and some teabags might be releasing millions of microplastics that could enter intestinal cells. Finally, we explore the biggest waterfall on Earth, which is surprisingly unimpressive […]
What Are Morning Glory Clouds?
Yes, morning glory clouds are a thing and no, it’s probably not what you are thinking. In this case, morning glory refers to a rare but striking cloud formation found in northeastern Australia, near the Gulf of Carpentaria. Imagine remarkably long tubes of cotton-like clouds that stretch for hundreds of miles, appearing either solitarily or […]
Scientists Resurrect A 1,000-Year-Old Biblical Tree From Ancient Seed Found In Judean Cave
Scientists have resurrected a strange seed that was discovered in a cave in the Judean desert during the 1980s. According to radiocarbon dating, the seed was over 1,000 years old when it was found, and its DNA links it to a genus of tree that, although lost today, was mentioned in the Bible. Named “Sheba”, the unknown […]
Is Photographic Memory A Real Thing?
Wouldn’t it be great to look at a page of text, or a map, and immediately remember every detail? Many famous people – from Leonardo da Vinci to former US President Bill Clinton – have claimed to have some level of photographic memory. But is true photographic memory actually a real thing? Or are some […]
First Severe Human Infection Of Bird Flu Virus In The US Shows Signs Of Mutation
A patient in Louisiana became severely ill after contracting Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in a statement on Thursday. This is the first serious case of bird flu affecting a human reported in the US since the outbreak began. An analysis of the virus revealed […]
Angel Falls In Venezuela Is The World’s Tallest Uninterrupted Waterfall
In the Pixar film ‘Up’, old man Carl teams up with a boy scout in a quest to move his wife’s clubhouse to Paradise Falls, a spectacular waterfall in Venezuela. Venezuela’s Angel Falls is the real-life inspiration for the fictional paradise and with a drop of 807 meters high (2,648 feet), it just so […]
Do Other Planets Have Pole Stars?
Imagine an astronaut lost on another world when their communication systems fail. In most cases, they won’t be able to use a compass for directions, since that depends on magnetic fields. In this event, the traveler may need to find their way home by the stars, but how easy will that be? In particular, will […]
Do Ancient Navigation Methods Still Stand Up?
On May 1, 1976, a traditional Polynesian canoe called Hōkūleʻa left Honolua Bay in Hawai’i and began the 3,800-kilometer (2,400-mile) journey to Tahiti. However, unlike all other modern expeditions, this voyage was to be completed without compasses, maps, satellite navigation, or any other wayfinding tools, relying instead on traditional knowledge about the stars, swells, and […]
Next Year Will See Two Satellites Combine To Create An Artificial Solar Eclipse For First Time
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 satellite pair are in orbit, but commissioning so one can create solar eclipses for the other is still incomplete. However, three weeks after launch most of the planet is in the dark about how the mission is going. When the JWST launched in 2021 it was in a blaze […]
2024 Will End With A Black Moon, A Rare Event You’ve Never Seen
This year will see (kind of) another rare astronomical event taking place across the night sky. On December 30-31, we will have a rare Black Moon to see out 2024. What is a Black Moon? You’ve probably heard of a Blue Moon; it’s a far more well known phenomenon that is different from a Black […]
What Are The Moqui Marbles? These Millions-Year-Old Spheres Are Literally The Stuff Of Legend
The sandy landscapes of southern Utah are home to a bizarre geological phenomenon. Brown-black balls ranging in size from a pea to a grapefruit litter the deserts of the Beehive State (and other parts of the southwestern United States), congregating in large formations that have stumped scientists for decades. These strange shapes, known by various […]
We May Finally Understand Why Stonehenge Was Built
Researchers believe they may have solved the riddle of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone, suggesting that the enigmatic megalith was constructed as part of an attempt to protect the identity of Neolithic Britain during a period of increasing immigration from Europe. By building the monument using colossal stones from hundreds of kilometers away, the creators of the […]
Can AI Score As High As A Human On A Test For “General Intelligence”?
AI has smashed records on a program designed to test “general intelligence”, achieving a score on a level with those of the average person. Historically, researchers have looked to the Turing Test to measure machine intelligence. To pass, a machine must convince a human that it too is a person. By some accounts, technology has […]
Bird Flu Kills 20 Big Cats At Sanctuary In Washington State
Bird flu has killed 20 big cats at the Wild Felid Advocacy Center in Washington state. The devastation has claimed half of the animals in the sanctuary’s care. Otherwise known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), bird flu is an infection caused by the Type A H5N1 virus that typically circulates among wild birds, but […]
In World First, 5G Connects Directly To Low Earth Orbit Satellite In Game-Changer For Global Coverage
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Telesat have achieved a world-first by connecting a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite to the ground using 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) technology. This marks a significant step towards establishing space-based communications that are as easy as using a smartphone. The development could revolutionize how emergency responses coordinate, provide better […]
Do Dolphins’ Teeth Help Them Hear Underwater?
While the average person has 32 teeth, some species of dolphin possess as many as 240. Why so many? Not all species are quite so lucky – Risso’s dolphins only have four to 14 in their lower jaw. However, scientists have suspected dolphins’ teeth are for more than just munching for some time. Now, new […]
Rare 1,700-Year-Old Oil Lamp With Temple Symbols Found In Jerusalem
Archaeologists have unearthed an incredible ceramic oil lamp from the Late Roman period. Although this isn’t a genie-containing situation, it is decorated with depictions of the Temple menorah, incense shovel, and lulav (date palm branch) used in Jewish religious rituals. The lamp was recovered as part of a dig at a site near the Mount […]
Meet The World’s Fastest Animal In A Dive
Cheetahs may hold the reputation for being the world’s fastest animal – and with a running speed of up to 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), the feline is indeed the quickest animal on land. But that pales in comparison to the impressive diving speeds of the peregrine falcon, which, according to the […]
Parker Solar Probe Phones Home! Spacecraft Survives Record-Breaking Closest Pass To The Sun
Parker Solar Probe has survived achieving the record-breaking closest pass to the Sun by a human-made spacecraft ever – and phoned home even earlier than expected, confirming it survived “touching the Sun” and reaching the pinnacle of its mission. The already record-breaking probe – the fastest human-made object in the cosmos – carried out its […]
Ancient Peruvian Teenagers Likely Strangled As Sacrifice To Elite Relatives
Archaeologists have revealed evidence of a never-before-seen sacrifice of family members belonging to the ancient Andean Moche culture, revealing new insights into their social world, customs, burial practices, and the role of kinship. The Moche culture – who lived along Peru’s North Coast between 300 and 950 CE – is known to have created sophisticated […]
