Snow is beautiful, but also powerful and destructive – and, if we’re honest, a bit confusing. For something made entirely of water, it can come in many forms: light and fluffy, sticky and heavy, shaped like a perfect snowflake, or falling in needle-like flecks. Its consistency changes a lot, but so does its color, which […]
New Nimbus COVID Variant Present In The UK, Infections Could Spread This Summer
While memories of masks and enforced lockdowns may be fading for many, COVID-19 frequently rears its ugly head to make an appearance in world headlines. British newspapers are now warning that the percentage of known COVID-19 cases attributed to the new Nimbus strain has increased in the UK over the past month , and may […]
Scientists Have Finally Measured How Fast Quantum Entanglement Happens
Last year, a team of scientists working at TU Wein University measured the speed of quantum entanglement in action for the first time, pouring cold water on the idea that the process occurs instantaneously. Quantum physics is the study of the frankly downright bizarre world of atoms and subatomic particles, such as neutrons, photons, and […]
Why Earth’s Magnetic Pole Reversals Are So Fascinating
A rare geological event occurs every 300,000 years or so: the Earth’s magnetic poles flip. The magnetic poles are the two ends of the magnetosphere, which surrounds the Earth like a giant, invisible force field. This celestial shield protects the planet by fending off solar wind, particle radiation and cosmic rays – particles which, if […]
World First Artificial Solar Eclipse Created, The “Closest Thing” To HIV Vaccine Gets FDA Approval, And Much More This Week
This week, a site in Colorado may have been used as the “largest lekking arena in the world” by dancing dinosaurs, a child from the world’s oldest burial was a Neanderthal-Homo sapiens hybrid, and scientists have at last identified the first Denisovan skull, despite it hiding in plain sight since 1933. Finally, on the 50th […]
“Remarkable” Pattern Discovered Behind Prime Numbers, Math’s Most Unpredictable Objects
In the third century BCE, a clever Greek chap by the name of Eratosthenes came up with a novel new piece of mathematics: a “sieve”, by which one could painstakingly trawl through every integer in order and discard any with more than two factors, leaving only the primes behind. It was smart for the time […]
People Are Only Just Learning What The World’s Most Expensive Cheese Is Made Of
The world’s most expensive cheese costs more than some people’s monthly rent. By some accounts, picking up a pound of Pule in 2016 would have left you $1,700 out of pocket – accounting for inflation, that is somewhere in the region of $2,300 in today’s dollar. Other estimates put the cheese at a still eye-watering […]
The Physics Behind Iron: Why It’s The Most Stable Element
All the elements in the periodic table exist in multiple forms, known as isotopes. These isotopes are classified as stable or unstable, with the unstable isotopes undergoing radioactive decay or fission to become something else. There are, however, hundreds of known stable isotopes that have never been seen to undergo decay, so you might think […]
What Is The Reason Some People Keep Waking Up At 3am Every Night?
The world is full of terrifying things, jellyfish and hair loss, just to name two. And while 3 am isn’t exactly the ideal time to start panicking about them, that’s when many of us find ourselves wide awake, wondering if we’d really have to pee on ourselves after a jellyfish sting. Or is that just […]
Michigan Bear Finally Free After 2 Years With Plastic Lid Stuck Around Its Neck
After getting a plastic lid stuck around its neck as a cub two years ago, a young black bear in Michigan is finally free of his unwanted accessory, after state wildlife biologists successfully removed it. According to a statement from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the bear first caught the attention of biologists […]
Pangolins, The World’s Most Trafficked Mammal, May Soon Get Federal Protection In The US
Pangolins, the most trafficked mammals on the planet, could soon be protected under the US Endangered Species Act. These enchanting creatures aren’t native to the US, but the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has recently proposed that seven species of pangolin in Asia and Africa should receive federal protection as a tool to solve the […]
Sharks Have No Bones, So How Do They Get So Big?
At up to 18 meters (60 feet) long, the whale shark is the largest fish in the ocean. That’s quite a size, especially considering that it, along with all other sharks, has no bones. So, how do these behemoths get so big? Sharks don’t have bones Instead of bone, shark skeletons are made up of […]
2025 Is Shaping Up To Be A Whirlwind Year For Tornadoes In The US
Buckle up and batten down the hatches: we’re almost halfway through 2025, and it’s already a whirlwind year for tornadoes. This season is highlighting a shift in US tornado trends, with more activity brewing in the East and rising danger across the board. At least 1,200 tornadoes were reported between January 1 and June 20, […]
Unexpected Nova Just Appeared In The Night Sky – And You Can See It With The Naked Eye
For the last year or so, astronomers and sky lovers have been waiting for the explosion of T Coronae Borealis. The system is a notorious recurring nova, which is expected to go any moment now, but still has not. So, while astronomy can be a cruel mistress, making us wait, it can also be a […]
Watch As Maori Octopus Decides Eating A Ray Is A Good Idea
What goes on beneath the waves is a mystery to many people. While scientists can work out whale behavior, discover new species, and even store messages in bubbles, sometimes the casual observer can also learn something. Recently, a diver witnessed a remarkable interaction between an octopus and a ray in which only one came out […]
There Is Life Hiding In The Earth’s Deep Biosphere, But Not As You Know It
Where does life on Earth end? You’d think it must be at the crust, right? Oh-ho-hoo, dear reader, think again. Allow me to introduce you to a little something called the deep biosphere. The crust is Earth’s outermost shell, and it can be as thin as 5 kilometers (3 miles) at the bottom of the […]
Two Sandhill Cranes Have Adopted A Canada Gosling, And It’s Ridiculously Adorable
Families can come in all sorts of different shapes, sizes, and even species, as it turns out. That’s certainly the case in Madison, Wisconsin, where a pair of sandhill cranes with a leggy young chick of their own have also adopted a fluffy little Canada gosling. If that sounds pretty darn adorable, we can confirm […]
Hybrid Pythons Are Taking Over The Florida Everglades With “Hybrid Vigor”
Interspecies breeding is creating a slippery problem in Florida’s conflict with invasive pythons. A few years ago, scientists discovered that a significant number of the giant snakes stalking the Everglades are hybrids created as a result of breeding between two different species: Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) and Indian pythons (P. molurus). Remarkably, these hybrids appear […]
Mysterious, Powerful Radio Pulse Traced Back To NASA Satellite That’s Been Dead Since 1967
The dead speak! Humanity has heard a mysterious signal, but the origin is not a broadcast from Star Wars’ Emperor Palpatine – it is from another seemingly defunct object. The NASA Relay 2 satellite, which worked for several years in the 1960s, appears to have sent a radio pulse back to Earth. Is the satellite […]
This Is The Best (And Worst) Sleep Position
What’s your preferred sleeping position? Do you lie on your side like a fetus, sleep on your back like a log or corpse, or do you lie on your stomach like you’ve fallen from a great height? You might think your preferred sleeping position is a trivial quirk, but scientists believe some positions are better […]
