Deborah Bloomfield

Wallace and Gromit are returning to our screens this Christmas, but with them comes an arguably even more hotly-awaited guest appearance: that villainous penguin, Feathers McGraw. Yes, the glove-hats are off in Aardman‘s Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, in which we see Wallace grappling with his reputation as an evil inventor. Things get worse […]

Never seen a gogotte before? Also known as concretions, some of the most mesmerizing examples come from the Fontainebleau region in France.  Fontainebleau was covered in water around 30 million years ago, and when it disappeared, it left behind a layer of quartz. Silica-rich water from the environment then flowed through the layers and the […]

“Holiday heart syndrome” may sound like the name of an ER-based Hallmark movie, but it’s actually a dangerous medical condition. While we all like to kick back and indulge a little during the festive season, it turns out that bingeing too hard on your favorite guilty pleasures can turn ugly – fast. “The term ‘holiday […]

Point Nemo is the most remote place on Earth, the coordinates where – most of the time – the nearest humans are those occasionally whizzing overhead on the International Space Station. They sail by at a lofty 408 kilometers (253 miles) above the water’s surface, but recently a father-son explorer duo went splashing through the waters of […]

When astronauts head to Mars, they will experience time dilation. That’s to be expected. In fact, your feet and your head experience time dilation, with your head aging ever so slightly faster than your feet. But how much time dilation will they experience (relative to Earth observers)? First off, let’s check we’re all on the […]

Scientists have observed a never-before-seen form of oxygen, and its behavior could call into question what nuclear physics says about “magic numbers”. Imagine, if you will, that you could see within an atom; at its core is the nucleus, containing subatomic particles called protons and neutrons. The number of protons is what defines the element. […]

Astronomers have cast their nets wide searching for habitable planets, and a team at the University of Georgia, Athens, argues that may be too broad to be useful. What we need, they suggest, is not simply to find planets that could support life, but to seek out those that could support the life we can […]

Many migratory species use the Earth’s magnetic field to keep their journeys on track. Now a study of a very non-migratory animal, the Drosophila fruit fly, shows the same capacity exists in some unexpected places. Perhaps humans are the rare ones because we don’t have this capability; if so, why? In the quest for survival, […]

It’s that time of year once again, where we (mostly) meet with friends and family to exchange gifts and awkwardly make small talk with that one uncle who still thinks NFTs are the future of art. But for some of us, those gatherings are hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles away – so what’s the […]

It’s a classic winter scene: you’re huddled up in bed, mainlining chicken noodle soup and feeling like warmed-over poop. Trouble is, you’ve no idea what’s wrong – so here’s a simple guide for distinguishing five of the most common viruses that trouble us in the colder months. POV: you’re rushing to the bathroom every few […]

New additions to the Terracotta Army have been unearthed in China, adding a drop more to the mystery of how ancient artisans created this mind-blowing mausoleum complex.  At least three Terracotta Warriors, three terracotta horses, and two chariots have been recovered from Pit No. 2 near the world-famous Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in […]

The Moon used to have a magnetic field, powered similarly to how the geodynamo powers the magnetism of Earth. Unlike our planet though, the Moon became solid and the magnetic field disappeared. But before it diminished completely, it appears to have had a resurgence, according to the latest analysis of the rocks carried back to […]

Whales are extraordinary creatures – not only are some the largest animals to have ever inhabited the planet, but others are also exceptionally long-lived. Now, new research has discovered that right whales have secretly been fellow members of the long lifespan club all along, revealing that they can live for over 130 years. To determine […]

Holiday festivities might be in full swing, but this time of year isn’t necessarily packed with cheer. For those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), the changing of the seasons can bring significant shifts in their mood, sleep, and energy levels. What is seasonal affective disorder? Rather than a standalone diagnosis, SAD is currently considered a […]

Our high school years were, many of us may have been told, the best days of our lives. But that’s no longer the case, according to a new working paper from Dartmouth University Professor David Blanchflower and colleagues – and the formerly inescapable “U curve” of well-being is now more of an uphill struggle towards […]

Back in 1967, the Soviet Union celebrated its 50th anniversary. As well as events on the ground, part of these celebrations involved a stunt to be carried out in space, which ultimately ended in the unnecessary death of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, who became known as “the man who fell from space”. The plan was to […]

This week, after a 4-year controversy, a paper claiming the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could treat COVID-19 has been retracted, a turtle with “bubble butt” syndrome gets a new 3D-printed custom harness, and could we make homes on Mars by harvesting human blood to make concrete? Finally, writer Ben Taub endures the dreaded hangover in the […]

A new spy drone with an unusually slender design has been cruising through Earth’s stratosphere in its latest test flights. With the potential to stay airborne for several months, perhaps a whole year, the novel aircraft is aiming to shake up the satellite game. It’s known as PHASA-35, an ultra-lightweight, solar-electric High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) […]

Pliny The Elder once wrote of elephants: “Of all other living creatures, they cannot abide a mouse or a rat.” Elephants being afraid of tiny rodents has become a popular theme in folklore and cinema – just look at Disney’s Dumbo – but is it true? Given that African elephants are the largest terrestrial animals […]

Why is it that the later months of the summer end up being the hottest, even though daylight hours are shortening? Similarly, the arse-end of winter always seems to feel much more bitter than it did in the so-called bleak middle part. The name of this oddity? Seasonal lag. Defining seasonal lag Seasonal lag is […]