Deborah Bloomfield

In the search for a vaccine that protects against a wide range of coronaviruses, the secret could be going sugar-free, one team has concluded. Progress has been reported at the American Chemical Society conference, while the team involved has also published two papers on how a related approach can improve the effectiveness of cancer vaccines. […]

It’s been quite a comeback for psilocybin. Banished for decades to the criminal narcotic realm, it seemed as though hell would have to freeze over before the psychedelic compound stood any chance of being accepted by mainstream society or medicine. Yet a flurry of recent scientific studies has seen the mind-bending drug brought in from […]

Fueled by environmental concerns, the anti-plastic movement, and the viral influence of hydration-obsessed self-care gurus, reusable water bottles have become the must-have accessory of our time. One poll found that up to 60 percent of American adults now use one. As eco-friendly as they might be, multi-use bottles might be harboring a dirty secret. ADVERTISEMENT […]

Ever wondered what noise a shark makes? If you have no idea, you’re not alone. For a long time we thought these animals were pretty much silent and didn’t make active sounds, but now new research has captured the first ever recordings of sharks making noises. And what do you know? They click. ADVERTISEMENT The […]

You ever had a friend come to you in tears, distraught over the breakup of a relationship that, frankly, you’ve known was doomed for like, two years at this point? Well, good news: it might not have just been confirmation bias – because, as it turns out, scientists could probably also have told your pal […]

Green screens are that in-your-face verdant color for good reason – but they weren’t always that way. The magic of chroma keying has a long and colorful history, with filmmakers once relying on entirely different colors to pull off their cinematic illusions. ADVERTISEMENT Green screens are, urm, green screens that are used as a tool […]

Any parents out there will most likely have been advised that it’s not safe to feed babies honey or honey-containing products, before the age of 1. In amongst all the myriad dos and don’ts that get thrown at you when you bring a tiny human into the world, you may have simply accepted this advice […]

If you’re reading this then you’re probably human, which means you’ve likely made mistakes and upset people in the past. Our ability to apologize for such transgressions can play an important role for both our efforts to forgive ourselves and to reconcile with the victims. ADVERTISEMENT But what does it mean if you believe your […]

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent problems facing humanity, but it’s been decades since we last developed a new class of these drugs. That could all be about to change thanks to the discovery of a new molecule, which scientists say could work against some of the most drug-resistant bugs on Earth. ADVERTISEMENT […]

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is planning a large study into whether vaccines are linked to autism, despite this myth being robustly debunked by years of careful scientific research. ADVERTISEMENT Now, scientists are sounding the alarm after the Department of Health and Human Services has reportedly picked well-known and highly controversial vaccine skeptic […]

Eclipses are incredible celestial events and they are quite common, happening many times a year. The issue is that the peculiar celestial alignment that makes them possible doesn’t happen every month, and for solar eclipses, only a small portion of the planet actually gets to see them. These peculiarities have made them seem like an […]

Avocados might just be one of the most hazardous foods when it comes to finger-slicing fiascos and hand injuries. Beloved for their oily goodness and Instagrammable credentials, these trendy fruits have been responsible for a noticeable rise in 911 calls in recent years. ADVERTISEMENT The culprit? A phenomenon known as “avocado hand”. An estimated 50,413 […]

A rare all-black gentoo penguin has been spotted on Rongé Island, Antarctica. Gentoos typically sport the more traditional tuxedo penguin pattern, but in cases of leucism and melanism, they can get a makeover. ADVERTISEMENT Leucism is the loss of pigment, making an animal appear more pale than is typical. For penguins, this can include going […]

Lightning is a major threat to big trees, even where forest fires are rare. However, natural selection is a powerful force, and one species of forest giant has learned to make lemonade out of life’s lemons, new research suggests. Not only have they become able to survive lightning strikes that kill others, their health is […]

People who call their pets “fur babies” may be more correct than they realize, according to a new paper linking rising rates of dog ownership with decreasing birth rates. Before you go blaming pet ownership for some nonexistent existential threat, however – we know you’re reading, Elon – rest assured that the causality behind this […]

Welcome back to the weird world of animal taxonomy. Whether you’ve seen a spider and mistakenly referred to it as an insect or got caught in the classic ape vs monkey debate, we’re here to set your mind straight. This week’s taxonomy of choice: bugs and insects. ADVERTISEMENT Now it may surprise you to learn […]

An Australian man described as a “science nerd” may face jail time, after attempting to collect all the elements in the periodic table. ADVERTISEMENT The periodic table is an arrangement of all the known elements, from hydrogen to oganesson. While collecting the whole lot (even if some only last for microseconds before decaying) may seem […]

Greco-Roman sculptors created artworks with more than just visual beauty in mind, and strove to indulge all of the senses in their masterpieces. According to new research, this also included the sense of smell, which was aroused by smothering ancient statues in rose-scented perfumes and other delightful fragrances. ADVERTISEMENT “This idea of scented statues has […]

Thirty-six years after the first hints of auroral activity on the ice giant, astronomers have captured Neptune’s aurorae for the first time. Thanks to JWST, the planet’s elusive glow has been measured and it’s not the only new insight these observations have delivered. The planet is colder now than back in 1989 when Voyager 2 […]

NASA’s Perseverance Rover has stumbled across a rather intriguing rock on the rim of the Jezero Crater on Mars. The rock, which was closely examined and photographed by the rover, appears to be made up of hundreds of strange, spherical-shaped objects, dubbed “blueberries” when they were previously seen on the Red Planet. ADVERTISEMENT Just over […]