Deborah Bloomfield

It’s five years to the day since the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. For many, life in the immediate aftermath of that moment became unrecognizable; for some, the change was permanent. As well as its direct impact on millions, causing not only deaths but disability in the form of long COVID, […]

NASA has been left without a Chief Scientist and an Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy after the latest rounds of cuts by the new Trump administration.  ADVERTISEMENT On Monday, March 10 the US space agency’s acting administrator, Janet Petro, emailed employees to inform them the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy would be closed […]

There’s a chance the gold ring on your finger or the chain around your neck has a link to the prolific destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. In a new study, scientists have looked at the impact of small-scale gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon and found that it has led to a […]

We live in a world rampant with misinformation, and many of us are just shockingly ill-equipped to defend against it. Luckily, a new study has found a countermeasure – and much like our physical health, it all comes down to maintaining your booster shots. ADVERTISEMENT “Misinformation is a threat to society and the functioning of […]

Officially, the ngudlukanta – also known as the desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) – is one of the many small Australian mammals lost to cats and foxes, but all hope is not gone. If ngudlukantas do indeed live, a project exploring the mechanics of their jaws could be key to finding and protecting the survivors. ADVERTISEMENT The […]

Dogs are undoubtedly humanity’s best friend (sorry, cats, but you just don’t make the same effort). Unfortunately, canine companions are also acquaintances with a bunch of nasty, disease-causing microbes that can be introduced to your home.  ADVERTISEMENT One hotspot for lurgies that pet owners might not be keenly aware of is their water bowl. Take […]

Some species are found once, reported, and then seem to have the ability to remain hidden, only to be rediscovered many years later. From golden moles to birds of prey, these species persist despite small populations and tiny distributions. Now, joining this list of rediscovered species is a frog from Chile that was thought to […]

Around 100,000 years ago, a group of Homo sapiens-like humans buried five of their dead at Timshenet cave, along with grave goods consisting of animal remains and chunks of red ochre. At the same time, neighboring tribes of archaic hominids – including some that were more Neanderthal-like in appearance – adopted similar customs, all of […]

The US “Doomsday Plane” has been spotted flying over the US Midwest, taking off from Oklahoma and circling over Nebraska and Iowa, before returning to land in the Sooner State. According to flight tracker AirNav, the Boeing E-6B Mercury’s flight took it over the Offutt Air Force nuclear command base. ADVERTISEMENT At the height of […]

Greenhouse gases are eroding the safe carrying capacity for low Earth orbit, a new study concludes. Moreover, the authors calculate that without drastic cuts to emissions, the difference will be marked. If their calculations are right, the dreams of many companies to drastically scale up and use the region just above our atmosphere for communications […]

The secret to remaining mentally astute into old age? Keep reading – no, literally. New research has shown that cognitive decline is not inevitable. Frequently using literacy and numeracy skills – whether by checking an email, calculating the grocery budget, or reading a science news article – can keep the brain sharp and prevent decline […]

The biggest animal that has ever existed on Earth is alive today, and swimming around in the oceans. But most land mammals, impressive though an elephant may be, look like a tiny elephant shrew in comparison to the mighty Brachiosaurus. ADVERTISEMENT The bad news is, we are probably not going to see land mammals the […]

Thousands of protestors came together on Friday, March 7 to take a stand against sweeping cuts to scientific funding and attacks against scientific organizations by the Trump Administration. ADVERTISEMENT Rallies organized by the grassroots organization “Stand Up for Science” took place in 32 cities across the US. A number of walkouts – where people literally […]

Last week, North America was treated to the unusual sight of an X on the Moon. On Thursday, viewers in North America will be able to witness a relatively rare event, occurring roughly once every two and half years, as the Moon turns a blood-red color in the night sky.  ADVERTISEMENT While you would be […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]