Scientists have proposed an unlikely solution to water scarcity in one of the driest places on the planet: fog. By harvesting moisture from the air, they argue, we could provide vulnerable communities in Chile’s Atacama desert with much-needed water. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The Atacama is the driest nonpolar desert – but not the driest […]
“Living Link To Velociraptor” Birds Are Surprisingly Intelligent
A new study measuring the cognitive skills of paleognaths – the small-brained, generally flightless, and more stereotypically dinosaur-like class of birds that includes ostriches, emus, and rheas – has yielded a surprising result: they’re not as “dumb” as we give them credit for. In fact, given the right motivation, they’re enthusiastic problem solvers – and […]
Private Spacecraft On Awesome Mission Sends Back Footage Of The Far Side Of The Moon
A private spacecraft on a pretty badass mission has sent back footage of the far side of the Moon, on its way to land in the Mare Crisium region of our satellite on March 2. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Blue Ghost, a spacecraft funded by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and operated by […]
New mRNA Vaccine Against World’s Biggest Infectious Killer Shows Promise
A new mRNA vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) is showing favorable results in preclinical trials. With only one currently approved vaccine for TB – which recently surpassed COVID-19 to once again become the deadliest infectious disease on Earth – the findings are a great step forward in the quest to combat humanity’s ancient foe. ADVERTISEMENT GO […]
The Pope Has Double Pneumonia – Here’s What That Means
After Pope Francis was hospitalized on February 14 to receive treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican has now announced that the head of the Catholic Church has been diagnosed with double pneumonia. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE “A follow-up chest CT scan, to which the Holy Father was subjected this afternoon – prescribed by the Vatican medical […]
World’s Oldest Megaraptorid Reveals A Predatory Hierarchy In Cretaceous Australian Dinosaurs
Five dinosaur specimens discovered near Australia’s south-eastern coast have shed light on the region’s Cretaceous predators. The finds come from fossil beds hundreds of kilometers and millions of years apart, but suggest a hierarchy between large, medium, and small-bodied predator families at the time. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE To the general public, the most exciting […]
What’s The Difference Between A Wood, A Forest, And A Jungle?
If you go down to the woods today, could you also say you’ve seen a forest? And what if it’s hot and humid when you get there, does that mean it’s actually a jungle? As it turns out, there is a difference between a wood, a forest, and a jungle, and we’re here to tell […]
What Is Short Sleeper Syndrome – And Is It A Bad Thing To Have?
Let’s be real – regularly getting less than six hours sleep a night sounds like a recipe for winding up drowsy at your desk. That is, unless you’ve got short sleeper syndrome. What is short sleeper syndrome? ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Short sleeper syndrome (SSS) refers to people who naturally and routinely sleep for less […]
Common Rocks And A Cement-Making Technique Could Transform How We Capture Carbon Dioxide
Chemists at Stanford University have developed a low-cost way to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere using an unlikely source: rocks. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The process involves heating common minerals, so they transform into materials that spontaneously pull carbon from the atmosphere and permanently contain it. Even more impressively, these reactive materials can […]
2,000-Year-Old Divination Spoon Discovered On The Isle Of Man Is Only 28th Ever Found
Divination is an ancient practice. People from across the world have used various ways to attempt to anticipate or predict the future, but have you ever heard of divination spoons? Well, a 2,000-year-old bronze spoon that may have been used for such things has been discovered on private land on the West Coast of the […]
Shocking Video Provides Undeniable Evidence That Red-Eared Slider Turtles Hunt Ducklings
Red-eared sliders are one of the most popular pets in the United States, but as a result, they’ve become one of the world’s 100 most invasive species. Pet releases have contributed to their takeover, and as resilient reptiles with enhanced cognitive capacity, they’ve really run with their freedom. They outcompete many native species and have […]
Want To Know The Most Dangerous Animal In The World? Ask The Crespo Scale
Humankind shares the planet with all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures, from rare deep-sea mysteries, to black wolves, and tiny insects. Some of the species run into conflict with humans from time to time, whether through direct attacks or the spread of disease. Efforts to rank the most deadly are widespread, and now a […]
The US’s Most Decorated Service Dog In History, K9 Hurricane, Has Died
I am sorry to inform you that the most decorated dog in US history, K9 Hurricane, has died. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Hurricane, a Belgian Malinois, was a former Special Operations Canine with the US Secret Service. Originally a member of a winning US Canine Olympic team, he was soon brought on with the important […]
“Wooly Devil” Is First New Plant Genus Found In US National Park For Nearly 50 Years
US national parks are famed for their biodiversity, but even the most well-studied of places can still throw us a surprise or two. In 2024, Big Bend National Park in Texas presented a particularly rare one – the first new plant genus and species to have been discovered in a US national park since 1976. […]
Nearby Supernova May Have Caused An Ancient Surge In Viral Diversification In Africa
A nearby supernova that peppered the Earth with cosmic rays 2-3 million years ago has been blamed for an upsurge in viruses in an African Lake at the time. The connection remains fairly speculative, but if confirmed, it may change how we see the drivers of new species, and not just at the viral scale. […]
Water Intoxication: What Happens If You Drink Too Much Water?
While we’re often told of the importance of water and drinking enough of it, like anything else that’s meant to be good for us, too much of it can be just as much a problem as too little. Guzzling down too much water can lead to water intoxication – and that can have some pretty […]
We Regret To Inform You, But Penis Fractures Are A Thing
Penile fractures – now those are two words that cause many people to wince and cover their eyes while shouting “No, No, No!”. Unfortunately, this is an injury that is frequently heralded by an audible crack followed by severe pain for the recipient – and it happens a bit more often than people may think. […]
“Super Diamond”: World’s Hardest Material Synthesized In Chinese Laboratory
A team of scientists from two universities in China have synthesized a material harder than diamond in the laboratory. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE When carbon is subjected to extreme heat and pressure within the Earth, it can crystalize to form diamonds; the hardest (though not necessarily the toughest) natural mineral on the planet. In diamond, […]
Is The “Spoon Test” Actually Useful For Measuring Sleep Health?
Are you feeling sleepy? You’re in good company if so: at last count, nearly three in five US adults report that they’d feel better for a good night’s kip. But there’s more to sleep than sheer hours put in: the quality of your slumber is at least as important, if not more so, than the […]
Latest NASA Observations Make Asteroid 2024 YR4 The Most Dangerous Since Tracking Began
The chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 colliding with Earth in 2032 have risen again (again), making it the most dangerous near-Earth object (NEO) since astronomers began tracking them. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The odds of the asteroid striking Earth on December 22, 2032, are currently at 1 in 32, or 3.1 percent, rising from 2.6 […]
