Anthrax is a serious disease that’s rare in humans, but earlier this year an unexpected outbreak occurred when a Texas rancher picked up the bug. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have now detailed the circumstances behind the event that made it what they describe as “unusual”. Advertisement It began when a male […]
Shingray Update, Seahenge, And The Longesssst Rock Art
This week on Break It Down, Charlotte the stingray is back and it’s not good news, a zig-zagging snake stretching over 40 meters might be the world’s longest rock art, the irony of offering endangered orangutans as a form of diplomatic gift, the mysterious aurora STEVE gets a long-lost twin, why Seahenge was built, and […]
First Metal 3D Printing In Space Is A Giant Leap In Microgravity Manufacturing
The European Space Agency has begun an intriguing experiment on the International Space Station (ISS), one that set a record and might shape manufacturing and sustainability in orbit. For the first time, a metal object has been 3D printed in space. Advertisement The Metal 3D Printer was sent to the ISS back in January but […]
Why Do We Call Our Planet “Earth”?
Our solar system is an incredible place, filled with celestial bodies with exciting and intriguing names. For instance, there’s the planet Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, or Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, which is named after the king of this ancient pantheon. And then there is Earth, our planet, […]
Airport Worker Explains Why You Should Never Tie Ribbons To Your Luggage
Just in time for vacation season, an airport worker has revealed why passengers should avoid tying ribbons to their suitcases if they’re checking in luggage before a flight. Advertisement Many people attach colorful ribbons around the handle of their suitcase so it’s easy to spot when they’re picking up their luggage from the carousel upon […]
What Was The Wow! Signal And Why Is It So Famous?
When astronomer Jerry Ehman noticed something unusual in the printout from Ohio State University’s radio telescope, his response became the most famous moment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In recent years several explanations for what became known as the “Wow! signal” have been published. However, since these contradict each other, it is fair to […]
Fly Over Stunning Martian Trenches In This Reconstruction Of The Red Planet
The European Space Agency’s Mars Express has been around the Red Planet for two decades and has delivered incredible images of the Martian surface. Those images have often been turned into three-dimensional visualizations and videos, and the latest one is of a fascinating series of trenches known as Nili Fossae. Advertisement The series of concentric […]
UFOs May Be Evidence Of “Cryptoterrestrials” Secretly Living Among Us
Aliens passing as humans meet an advanced reptilian race living in a subterranean kingdom. Sounds like the script of a Mork and Mindy vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover episode, but it’s actually the contents of a fantastically speculative new paper about UFOs. Advertisement Penned by researchers from Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and Montana Technological […]
Turns Out Our Galaxy Cannibalized A Companion Much More Recently Than We Thought
The European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft is creating the most detailed map of the Milky Way. The position and motion of 1.5 billion stars are being measured, and that has revealed something pretty interesting. Some stars move in ways that can only be explained if they have come from a different galaxy. And it turns […]
Mount Everest Receives Its First Ever Drone Delivery At Nearly 20,000 Feet
Mount Everest has received its first ever drone delivery in a proof-of-concept test conducted in April this year. The incredible achievement was a first of its kind mission to use drones to deliver supplies to mountaineers. Advertisement The delivery was conducted by the technology company, DJI, in collaboration with Nepalese Airlift, the video production company […]
The World’s Most Dangerous – And Cranky – Bird Is Now Threatened With Extinction
With razor-sharp claws, a neon blue neck, and a tall, brown helmet, Southern cassowaries are quite the sight to behold – but also an increasingly rare one, as these notoriously grumpy birds are at risk of extinction. Advertisement Southern cassowaries are generally considered to be the world’s most dangerous bird, at least in terms of […]
The Famous “March Of Progress” Image Is Wildly Wrong
Creationists hate it, scientists loathe it even more, yet the “March of Progress” continues to be the defining image of human evolution. Since its creation in the Victorian era, it’s arguably become one of the most iconic illustrations of modern science. The drawing shows a series of primates going from left to right, starting with […]
Russian Cosmonaut Becomes First Person To Spend 1,000 Days In Space
On June 5, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko became the first human to have spent 1,000 days in orbit. The space traveler had already beaten the record of longest time spent beyond Earth back in February, surpassing the record of his countryman Gennady Padalka who was in space for 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and […]
First Ever Human Case Of H5N2 Bird Flu Leads To Death In Mexico
A man in Mexico has died after contracting the first lab-confirmed human infection with H5N2 bird flu. It’s unclear how the man was exposed to the virus, but this type of avian flu has previously been found in poultry in the country. The risk to the general public is still considered to be low. Advertisement […]
Airlines Explain Why You Rarely See Pilots With Beards
As well as wondering why flight attendants never seem to drink hot drinks and why airplane windows have those tiny little holes in them, you may have wondered at some point why so few pilots have beards. Advertisement While it’s not a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policy, several big airlines do have strict policies about […]
HIV PrEP Injections You Only Need Every 6 Months Are Being Trialed In The US
Clinical trials of a new form of long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, commonly known as PrEP, have launched in the US. As well as hopefully leading to a new option for HIV prevention, the trials are aiming to address an unmet need in HIV research by focusing on two populations that have often been passed […]
Mastodon Vs Mammoth: What’s The Difference?
Who could resist an ancient elephant-like creature that roamed the Earth long before humans came onto the scene, especially after multiple Ice Age films made us fall in love with Manny. But do you know your mammoths from your mastodons? It’s time to take a closer look at the differences between these two ancient beasts. […]
An Alarming Number Of People Don’t Disclose When They Have An STI
Here’s a statistic that might surprise you: around one in five people in the US have a sexually transmitted infection at any one time. There’s nothing wrong or shameful about that – in this age of modern medicine, many are curable and all are treatable – but if you have one, you at least ought […]
Starship Successfully Completes Fourth Test – And This Time Didn’t Explode
The fourth test of Starship has been a success. The Starship and Super Heavy booster combo lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 7:50 am local time. The test was for Super Heavy to demonstrate that it could land back on Earth and for Starship to successfully reenter through the atmosphere after […]
A Giant Ancient River System Revealed Beneath Antarctica’s Ice
During the mid-late Eocene epoch, 44-34 million years ago, large parts of Antarctica were ice-free, creating room for river systems now long frozen. Sediments from the Amundsen Sea came all the way from the mountain range that spans the continent, revealing there was no inland sea in between to capture them. Advertisement The world was […]
