A test exists for a leading explanation for the nature of dark matter, but it relies on catching a supernova in the moment of explosion. Although we now do that quite frequently, the supernova needs to be closer than any we have seen for decades, and we have to have a gamma-ray telescope pointing in […]
Earth’s Temporary Mini-Moon Might Not Have Been What We Thought
Earlier this year, the number of moons orbiting Earth temporarily doubled, admittedly from the low starting point of “one”. Taking a closer look at the new mini-moon, astronomers have learned more about its origin. On August 7, astronomers discovered a new near-Earth object, dubbed 2024 PT5. Analyzing the object, around 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter, […]
Dragonfly Babies Breathe Through Their Butts – But That’s Not All
We all know that the animal kingdom is full of creatures doing some pretty remarkable and sometimes downright weird activities. Whales are creating bubble nets to catch krill, while in the insect world, juvenile dragonfly nymphs are breathing through their butts. Dragonflies are pretty ancient and have been flying about on Earth since the Paleozoic […]
Explosive Study Reveals How Squirting Cucumber Engorges And Erupts, Shooting Seeds 10 Meters
It’s not often that fruit gets you blushing, but might we recommend you don’t watch videos of the squirting cucumber at work. The mechanics behind this suggestively named plant’s bizarre seed distribution have now been revealed in explosive detail, as scientists at the University of Manchester and the University of Oxford have revealed how it […]
Groundbreaking “Genetic Time Machine” Reveals Evidence Of Cumulative Culture In Chimpanzees
A groundbreaking new study has opened the book on chimpanzee culture and its transmission, revealing compelling evidence that it is cumulative and spreads through social groups over generations. Using what they’re calling a “genetic time machine,” scientists have peered back into thousands of years’ worth of gene transfer, and spotted patterns between migrating females and […]
Galaxies Colliding At 3.2 Million Kilometers Per Hour Create A Star-Forming “Sonic Boom”
A new astronomical instrument has had its first outing observing the velocities of colliding galaxies in the famous Stephan’s Quintet. It has revealed the rate at which one of these galaxies is crashing through the others, and the consequences, which astronomers have likened to the sonic boom created by a jet fighter exceeding the speed […]
Do Wolves Pollinate? Large Carnivores Seen Slurping On Nectar For First Time
Never mind the birds and the bees, wolves with a sweet tooth may be playing a prominent role in the pollination of a flowering plant native to the highlands of Ethiopia. For the first time, Ethiopian wolves have been documented feeding on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa). Up in the […]
We All Carry Neanderthal And Denisovan DNA – Here’s How That Affects Us
Homo sapiens may be the last humans standing, but we weren’t always alone. For much of our history, we coexisted with other members of our genus, and our prehistoric ancestors didn’t waste the opportunity to hook up with their Neanderthal and Denisovan relatives. Many millennia have passed since these inter-hominid affairs, yet we all still […]
First H5N1 Bird Flu Infection In A US Child Confirmed By CDC
A child in California has been infected with H5N1 avian flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed. This is the first such case reported in a minor in the US and brings the total number of confirmed human cases in 2024 to 55. CDC figures as of November 22, 2024, show […]
Giraffes Could Be Added To US Endangered Species Act Under New Proposal
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has announced a proposal to list three subspecies of giraffe as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and a further two species as threatened. If finalized, this would see all five entitled to federal protections that it’s hoped will help combat their decline. The proposal, which is […]
Man Finds Gigantic “Scar” In Australian Outback On Google Maps. It Was An Important Discovery
A man browsing Google Maps of the Nullarbor Plain in Southern Australia stumbled upon a strange “scar” pattern, prompting further investigation by scientists. People have discovered all sorts of oddities while browsing through Google Maps, from “aliens” and camera-hogging cats to the answer to decades-old cold cases and meteor impact sites. In this latest find, […]
Have Scientists Solved Decades-Long Mystery Involving A Submarine And A Creepy Quacking Sound?
Ancient Greek sailors returned home with stories of mermaids and sirens. In the 1960s, a group of submariners returned home from the Southern Ocean with a much odder tale. They had heard the ocean quack. Strange as it might sound, it was not a one-off event and it has even earned itself a quacking name, […]
Why Can’t We Send All Our Garbage Into Space?
There’s no getting around it: Earth has a trash problem. Particularly in the West: we throw away more than two billion – with a “b” – tonnes of the stuff every year, and only a tiny proportion of it ever gets recycled. The rest? Eternal garbage. Of course, nobody likes living surrounded by their own […]
Researchers Identify “Phantom Compound” In US Drinking Water
For more than 40 years, scientists have known of the existence of a mysterious “phantom chemical” that lurks in US drinking water. And yet, they have been unable to determine its identity – until now. A team of researchers from the US and Switzerland have discovered the chemical chloronitramide anion (CI-N-NO2). Chloronitramide anion is a […]
How Do We Know Evolution Is Still Happening Today?
Medical and technological advances have allowed more of us to survive and to live longer, healthier lives. Does this make evolution irrelevant? In the most basic sense, evolution refers to the process of genetic change in a population over time. It occurs because gene variants are more likely to survive and prosper if they offer […]
Mosquitoes Carrying Genetically-Engineered Parasites Could Be Used To Immunize People Against Malaria
Mosquitos get a bad rep – and for good reason. Not only can these flying insects leave a nasty bite, they are responsible for transmitting the parasite that causes malaria. However, if new research is anything to go by, mosquitoes may also provide a creative solution to the disease. By infecting mosquitoes with a genetically […]
Simulation Reveals How Extraterrestrial Civilizations Might Spread Across The Universe
The more we learn about planets inside and outside our Solar System, the more difficult the question “Well, where the hell are aliens then?” seems to become. As well as finding a slew of planets in the habitable zones around their stars and locating new classes of exoplanets that may be good candidates for life, […]
What Are Adaptogens And Do They Have Any Health Benefits?
In a world that seems to be pretty much designed to make us feel stressed and out of balance, our lord and master the social media algorithm loves to dish us up some apparently simple solutions. One of the most recent? Adaptogens. If your “For You” page is yet to explain what on Earth they […]
The First Ever Close-Up Picture Of A Star Outside The Milky Way, World’s Thinnest Spaghetti Is 200 Times Narrower Than A Hair, And Much More This Week
This week, fat cell “memory” could help explain why weight loss can be difficult to maintain, researchers might have figured out what made the Earth’s inner core go from molten to “frozen”, and first-of-its-kind footage zooms in on the life cycle of a giant virus. Finally, meet the shark-hunting dog that spent nearly a year […]
Where Do Most Atmospheric Rivers Occur?
Atmospheric rivers have been gaining a lot of media traction lately. But while atmospheric rivers have played an integral role in the water cycle long before the birth of the dinosaurs, the term was first described surprisingly recently – in 1994. It refers to the long, narrow columns of water vapor that flow through the […]
