It was a Monday morning like any other in mid-March 1995. But then again, that’s always how these things go, isn’t it? ADVERTISEMENT As people rushed through the city streets on their way to work, five men stepped onto the packed trains of the Tokyo underground. Although the trains were on separate lines, each had […]
What Is Egyptian Blue Lotus, The Rare Plant Used In Ancient Psychedelic Sex Rituals?
When Howard Carter famously discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, he found the pharaoh’s body covered in the petals of a type of water lily known as the blue lotus. Containing two psychoactive alkaloids, the flower produces hallucinatory effects and is thought to have been ingested during erotic ancient rituals in which participants sought […]
New Yellowstone Hydrothermal Feature Popped Up “Right In Front Of Our Eyes”
If there’s one thing you should know about Yellowstone National Park, it’s that it’s always changing – and that can mean the appearance of a brand-new hydrothermal feature, which is exactly what happened last summer. ADVERTISEMENT The feature in question was discovered on August 5, 2024, when a park scientist driving through the Roadside Springs […]
Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism. Here’s How We Know That
Vaccines do not, cannot, and have not ever caused autism. There is not a shred of scientific evidence to support the belief that they do. Unfortunately, fears around vaccines were so stoked by this myth that vaccine hesitancy got a new boost in the late 1990s, which hasn’t really gone away. The result? Diseases that […]
Velvet Worms’ Deadly Projectile Slime Unleashes Surprising Protein Discovery
The velvet worm is pretty cute as invertebrate predators go. A leathery rope of an animal with a fuzzy, velvet-like texture. It has two antennae making it look a bit like Zuul, but when it’s time to fight, it takes inspiration from Spiderman. ADVERTISEMENT Velvet worms are sensitive to air currents, so despite being almost […]
Why Do Clocks Move Clockwise?
It’s easy to blindly accept that clocks move clockwise, sweeping left to right on the upper half of the face and right to left on the lower half. But have you ever wondered why this is the case? It isn’t dictated by some fundamental law of physics, nor our psychological perception of time, but rather […]
Watch A Storm Of Red Sprites Light Up The Himalayas
Lightning is just one of the many spectacular luminous events that occur in Earth’s atmosphere. A particularly sought-after and mysterious one is red sprites, flashes of red-orange light that happen at altitudes of 50 to 90 kilometers (31 to 56 miles). They are very difficult to capture as despite being huge – up to 40 […]
If You Don’t Have Diabetes, Do You Need To Worry About Your Blood Sugar?
Keeping a close eye on your blood glucose levels is part and parcel of life for people living with diabetes. The last few years, however, have seen a sharp rise in health-conscious people without the condition wanting to monitor their blood sugar, too – but is there actually a need to? How are people tracking […]
New Map Shows What Antarctica Looks Like Naked Under Its Massive Ice Sheet
Antarctica isn’t a floating chunk of ice like the Arctic. Beneath its frozen surface sits a solid continent of mountains, rocky terrain, and gold-spewing volcanoes. This hidden world has now been revealed in stunning detail thanks to a groundbreaking map developed by international scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). ADVERTISEMENT Called Bedmap3, it […]
Should You Drink Rainwater? Not If You Can Help It – It’s Not Safe Anywhere In The World
Half a century or so ago, the world was facing a nightmare made real. A mystery monster had taken root – it was in the lakes around us and the clouds in the sky, embedded in the Earth, and infecting the very air we breathed. ADVERTISEMENT It killed forests in Europe and wiped out marine […]
Euclid’s Incredible New Deep Fields Are A Precious Look Into The Dark Universe
We are a step closer to understanding the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter. The European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope has just released its first batch of data. In this rich survey, the mission has captured millions of galaxies, revealing the first details about how they are organized in the cosmic web. ADVERTISEMENT Understanding […]
Dolphins Greet NASA Astronauts In Gulf Of Mexico As They Return From The ISS
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were greeted by an unexpected welcome party as they returned to Earth yesterday after several dolphins came to investigate the capsule they rode in on. ADVERTISEMENT Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore departed for the International Space Station on June 5, 2024, the third and final test […]
The World Smashed Past Over 1.5°C Global Warming In 2024, Says WMO Report
The dream of keeping climate change to within 1.5°C (2.7°F) has taken a major hit. The latest climate report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has confirmed that 2024 was likely the first calendar year to have a global temperature more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. ADVERTISEMENT The global mean near-surface temperature last year was […]
The Warty Octopus Gets Wartier The Deeper It Lives – Why?
Deep in the Pacific Ocean lives a warty octopus. Its bumpy texture can range from a delicate peppering of bumps to – and we’re borrowing the words of the Field Museum here – “outrageous warts”. It was a variation that caught the eye of associate curator of zoology at the museum, Janet Voight, and the […]
If You Farted In A Jar And Opened It 20 Years Later, Would It Still Smell Of Farts?
A while ago, one reality TV star began selling her own farts in jars, earning an astonishing $45,000 a week for her troubles. ADVERTISEMENT While her career choice briefly landed her in hospital, forcing her to switch to find a far safer occupation (selling boob sweat), you may have a few questions. Questions like “what […]
US Sees First Outbreak Of H7N9 Bird Flu Since 2017
While the United States continues to deal with a significant outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu, officials have now reported the country’s first outbreak of H7N9 – another often deadly strain – in commercial poultry since 2017. ADVERTISEMENT The first signs of the outbreak came on March 8, when chickens at a commercial broiler breeder […]
Uranus Is Much Hotter Than We Thought
Two teams have separately concluded that Uranus is releasing more internal heat than was indicated in observations by Voyager 2. Instead of just reflecting heat from the Sun, it adds some of its own. The papers have yet to complete peer review, but in addition to the teams independently reaching similar conclusions, the findings bring […]
How Did Cave Spiders Get Their Eyes? Study Provides First Detailed Insight Into Their Development
Across planet Earth, the animal world is full of species perfectly adapted for life in their specific niche. From polar bears with translucent fur to the worlds longest living leaves, the environment shapes an organisms’ adaptations. Now, a study has honed in on the development of a spider species found within caves, and looking closer […]
Being On Your Period Doesn’t Change How Your Brain Works, FFS
There are so many myths around periods, it’s amazing humans haven’t just given up and adopted an estrous cycle instead. After all, if we believed everything we’ve ever been told about this extremely normal biological process, experienced every month or so by approximately two billion people, then we’d all be avoiding showers, surrounded by bears, […]
Seeds Discovered In Natural “Time Capsules” In South Africa Can Still Grow After 130 Years
During an investigation to see whether it was possible to restore an iconic, but endangered, community of shrubland plant species in South Africa, researchers have not only discovered underground banks of seeds that have remained intact for over 130 years, but that are also very much still alive – and can grow too. ADVERTISEMENT The […]
