NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore has captured an image of a blue jet sprite in the Earth’s atmosphere, a rare phenomenon only confirmed in recent years. ADVERTISEMENT Astronaut and keen astrophotographer Don Pettit shared a photo to Reddit, taken by colleague Butch Wilmore during his unexpectedly long stay on board the International Space Station (ISS). “Here […]
How Indigenous Myths, Story-Telling, And Knowledge Could Forewarn Us Of Natural Disasters
This story is well known. On December 26, 2004, an enormous undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia and brought with it a tsunami that devastated the island populations. Around 230,000 people lost their lives in what is still recognized as one of the deadliest disasters of modern history. However, what is not so […]
Why Does Daylight Saving Time Start at 2am, Not Midnight?
Ever wondered why daylight saving time (DST) starts at exactly 2am? The railroads may be to blame. What exactly is daylight saving time? ADVERTISEMENT In the US, DST occurs on the second Sunday of March. This is when the clocks “spring forward” an hour ahead of standard time. In effect, we lose an hour and […]
Light Dark Matter Particles Near Galactic Center Could Explain Three Physics Mysteries At Once
Astronomers have observed two strange phenomena near the heart of our galaxy where existing explanations run into trouble. A new paper shows how a hypothetical particle could be the underlying cause of both, and might even fulfill the quest to find dark matter. If the authors are right, the problem is that we’ve been looking […]
Adorable All-White Spix’s Disc-Winged Bat Marks First Record Of Leucism In The Species
Unusually colored animals often turn up where you least expect them, and in all manner of species – from albino anteaters to all-black penguins, genetics can throw a spanner in the works for even the brightest feathers and fur. Now, a Spix’s disc-winged bat has been seen in Belize with beautiful white fur for the first […]
Dog Treats Made From Lab-Grown Meat Go On Sale In UK
Would you give your dog food that’s been grown in a lab? It sounds like something futuristic, but that future is already here – at least in the UK that is, where they’ve just started selling dog treats made from lab-grown meat. ADVERTISEMENT The treats, dubbed “Chick Bites”, contain both plant-based ingredients and lab-grown meat, […]
Sorry To Tell You, But You’re Probably Misunderstanding Your Dog’s Emotions
Dogs are some of our closest companions – but are we really all that in tune with how they’re feeling? We might like to think we are, but a new study suggests that actually, we’re often misunderstanding our fluffy besties completely. ADVERTISEMENT That’s what Arizona State University researchers Holly Molinaro and Clive Wynne found when […]
Why Telling Jokes Could Increase Trust in Science
What’s a physicist’s favorite food? Fission chips. ADVERTISEMENT Science may have earned a reputation for being dry and serious. However, as we have long suspected at IFLScience, new research suggests that adding a little humor not only makes science more fun but more trustworthy, too. “When used responsibly, humor is a powerful tool that can […]
What Is A Main Sequence Star?
If you get away from city lights and witness the astonishing beauty of the night sky, most of the stars you can see are part of what is known as the “main sequence”. The few that aren’t part of it get attention out of proportion to their numbers, but sometimes we should step back and […]
Male Blue-lined Octopuses Use Venom To Stop Sexual Partners Eating Them
Male blue-lined octopi (Hapalochlaena fasciata) have been found to use venom on their sexual partners, as well as for the usual reasons of defense against predators and subduing prey. Killing the females would be counterproductive, but adaptations mean that they just get sedated instead – moreover, the males would be well placed to plead self-defense. ADVERTISEMENT […]
Chained-Up Nun’s Skeleton Confirms Byzantine Women Practiced Extreme Self-Torture
A skeleton that was found shackled with thick mental chains and weighed down with iron plates has turned out to be female, thus revealing that women as well as men once practiced extreme asceticism. Found in Jerusalem and dated to the fifth century CE, the ancient nun is thought to have tormented herself in the […]
What Is Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, The Disease That Killed Gene Hackman’s Wife Betsy Arakawa?
New Mexico health officials have announced that Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist, businesswoman, and wife of renowned actor Gene Hackman, died from a rare disease known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). ADVERTISEMENT “This tragic death reminds us that hantavirus remains a serious public health concern in our state,” said Erin Phipps, state public health veterinarian […]
Why Is North “Up” On Maps?
When you imagine a map of the world, it’s probably a very particular image that comes to mind; There’s North America, Norway, and the North Pole at the top; and South America, South Africa, Australia (from the Latin australis, meaning South), and the South Pole at the bottom. You know – just how every map […]
Megalodon Likely Gave Birth To Live Young That Were Already Almost 4 Meters Long
A new study into the mighty Megalodon has found intriguing evidence to answer some of the biggest questions about these animals. What was their body size and shape? How did they give birth? And why did they go extinct? All will be revealed… ADVERTISEMENT Megalodon pose a curious challenge to scientists because despite being one […]
The Best Way To Shuffle A Deck Of Cards, According To Math
Card shuffling, assuming a standard deck of 52 cards, is just about one of the most randomizing things you can do, in theory. There are famously so many different possible permutations that it would take more seconds than have elapsed since the Big Bang to deal them all, even if you enlisted the help of […]
Why Is Endometriosis The “Missed Disease”?
There’s a disease that affects millions of people across the world that can cause them debilitating pain, prevent them from getting pregnant, and affect their mental health, and yet we don’t know what causes it, there’s no cure, and many people wait years to be diagnosed. The condition in question? Endometriosis, or as some have […]
Why Do We Get Goosebumps? This “Vestigial Reflex” Holds Untapped Potential
If someone were to run an ice cube across the back of your neck, chances are you’d get a piloerection. Fear not, nobody’s about to shame you. After all, goosebumps happen to everybody. ADVERTISEMENT Thing is, why? After all, it’s hard to imagine a benefit to naked skin going all bobbly like that. The trick […]
Check Digits Are A Little Piece Of Number Theory You Use Every Day
Had you asked G H Hardy – the Cambridge scholar responsible for myriad seminal mathematical results and developments of the early 20th century – what his favorite area of math was, he’d answer without hesitation: number theory. ADVERTISEMENT It is, he wrote in A Mathematician’s Apology, “one of the most obviously useless branches” of math, […]
What’s The Strongest Knot, And How Do We Know?
In 333 BCE, legend says, Alexander the Great entered the city of Gordion, in Phrygia, now Turkey. The once mighty power had by that point been reduced to a mere province of the Persian Empire, and all it had left of its proud history was an old wagon, tied to a post in the town […]
Colossal’s “Woolly Mouse” Advances 2028 Mammoth De-Extinction Goal, Antarctica’s Ozone Hole Is Recovering, And Much More This Week
This week, in a world first, 3D-printed tissue has restored penis capabilities in pigs and rabbits, we ask why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack on science, and humans may have been producing tools made from bones for more than 1 million years longer than we previously thought. Finally, we […]
