On the grounds of Emperor Nero’s grand palace, where legendary parties once shocked and amazed, archaeologists have uncovered a giant chunk of pure Egyptian blue pigment, roughly the size of a swollen grapefruit. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The rare relic was found during recent excavations of the Domus Aurea, the monumental residence commissioned by Emperor […]
“Silver Mountain”: Perseverance Nabs Oldest Mars Sample Yet With Texture “Unlike Anything We’ve Seen”
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has just collected its 26th sample, named “Silver Mountain”, and NASA has confirmed not only does it have curious textures “unlike anything we’ve seen before” but it’s the oldest one yet. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Perseverance has been exploring a site called Blue Hill that has been described by the science […]
“Slime” That Generates Electricity When Squeezed Could Be Used In Medicine And Green Energy
Researchers have developed a new slime-like material made of natural materials that’s basically something out of a sci-fi movie: it generates electricity when squeezed! This crazy goo may have a whole range of potential uses, ranging from new medical applications to supporting green energy production or being used in robotics. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The […]
“Tooth-Like Structures” With Human And Pig Cells Grown In Mini Pigs’ Jaws
Researchers have developed a way to grow human-sized tooth-like tissues in the mouths of pigs – this may be a lot to chew on, but the results could lead to new biological tooth substitutes that can be used to replace existing synthetic implants. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The idea of growing human-like teeth in another […]
American Crocodiles Are Booming At A Nuclear Power Plant In Florida
Lurking in the cooling canals of a Florida nuclear power plant, an unlikely population of American alligators has taken up residence and continues to thrive. Fear not – the crocodiles aren’t glowing, radioactive mutants with strange superpowers. In fact, the artificial habitat has helped to restore populations of the imperiled species. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE […]
Another Good Reason To Keep Your Cats Indoors Found In Bird Nests
Few debates are more heated than whether to keep your cat indoors or let them meander around the neighborhood. Unfortunately for free-roaming fans, a new study has uncovered another reason to keep cats inside: unexpected exposure to flea treatments. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Despite cats’ innate desire to wander and hunt, they are often kept […]
Amateur Astrophotographer Captures NASA Astronaut Conducting Record-Breaking Space Walk
An amateur astrophotographer has captured an astonishing image of NASA astronaut Suni Williams conducting a record-breaking spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS). ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Last week, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore – famously “stranded” on the ISS after faults on the Starliner spacecraft – left the safety of the space […]
What Is The Most Intelligent Snake Species?
Animal intelligence is a complex and hotly debated topic; there’s even some debate about the sentience of certain species and their ability to think. However, that hasn’t stopped us from giving bees math problems and marveling at falcons’ ability to solve puzzle boxes. But where do snakes fit into this spectrum of animal intelligence? ADVERTISEMENT […]
Comics In Court? These Researchers Have Novel Ways To Explain Science To Jurors
TV shows often lie, especially when it comes to complex topics, like those surrounding forensic science. Anyone who has watched a crime scene show will likely have the impression that crime scene science is unambiguous and that the “who done it” is typically made clear once the right piece of evidence is identified. That’s how […]
Chernobyl’s “Elephant’s Foot” Was So Tough, Kalashnikovs Were Used To Chip Off Samples
Had you lingered in the room with this hardened mass in the late 1980s, your chances of seeing another birthday would have been slim. Just seconds in its presence would leave you puking, feverish, and barely able to think. This is no ordinary industrial debris – it’s a relic from the heart of the Chernobyl […]
Good Mornings And Bad Nights? Happiness Is Higher At Certain Times Of The Day
How do you feel in the morning? Do you feel like the day greets you at your best, that you’re at your brightest as you rise from bed but gradually feel less “perky” as the day goes on? If so, then you may not be alone as, according to a large new study, people generally […]
New H5N1 Bird Flu Virus Genotype Found In US Cows In Second Spillover Event
Avian flu first made the jump from birds into dairy cows on farms in a number of US states in spring 2024. Until now, all such cases of the H5N1 virus have been ascribed to a genotype called B3.13, but the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just announced the detection of a second genotype, […]
Think A Juice Cleanse Is Good For You? Think Again
Juice cleanses – where people exclusively consume fruit and/or vegetable juice – have often been touted as good for your health, purportedly “detoxing” you and helping you to get a bunch of vitamins and minerals to boot. The thing is, detox diets have been thoroughly debunked – and a new study has found that juice […]
Shy Cave Spiders Turned Into “Zombies” By Behavior-Changing Fungus
There are some pretty weird relationships in the animal world. Some parasites exist only in the eyes of the world’s oldest sharks, while researchers have been researching fungus that survives by infecting spiders. Now, a new species of such a fungus has been described altering the behavior of its spider host, in the same style […]
Spectacular Jet Over 200,000 Light-Years Across Is Largest Ever Seen In The Early Universe
Galaxies in a quasar state can release powerful jets from their active supermassive black holes. The jets can extend far into intergalactic space, even for millions of light-years. The process for many objects started a long time ago, and researchers have found these jets even in the distant universe. Astronomers have now announced the largest […]
This 1.4 Million-Year-Old Jawbone May Reveal A New “Gorilla-Like” Human Relative
The hominin family tree may have a new twig: Paranthropus capensis, a “gorilla-like” human relative that lived in southern Africa some 1.4 million years ago. A new study focuses on a hominin jawbone known as SK 15 that was unearthed in 1949 at Swartkrans, a cave in modern-day South Africa that holds a rich trove […]
There’s A New Way To Cook The Perfect Egg – It’s Not How You Think
Boiling an egg feels like walking a tightrope: misjudge it by just a fraction and you’ll end up with either a snot-like undercooked white or a miserable, dry yolk. Fortunately, a team of scientists has finally cracked it, developing a novel method to cook all parts of an egg to perfection. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE […]
Chances Of Asteroid 2024 YR4 Hitting Earth In 2032 Just Climbed To 2.3 Percent
Update 2/6/25: We have updated this article to include the Center for Near Earth Objects Studies cumulative impact probability, which upgrades the chance from 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The threat of Asteroid 2024 YR4 has not gone away just yet. The near-Earth object was discovered in December and calculations of […]
New Test For Life On Mars Could Help Prove We Are Not Alone In The Universe
A team of researchers in Germany have proposed a new method for searching for life on alien worlds, which they believe could be integrated into future Mars missions. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Finding life on another planet would be a world-changing discovery for humanity. But actually detecting it is no simple task. Rovers sent to […]
68 Million-Year-Old Antarctic Fossil Proves Existence Of Dinosaur-Era Ducks
A Cretaceous-era skull found on Vega Island, Antarctica, has been confirmed as a member of the same order as ducks and geese, making it one of the oldest known examples of a modern bird. Dating from not very long before the asteroid hit, the species Vegavis iaai, or a near relative, is a strong candidate for […]
