The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) just declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), a first in the agency’s history. The announcement comes as suspected cases of the disease across the continent in 2024 have risen past 17,000, a massive increase on the 2022 and 2023 figures. Advertisement […]
Unique Neanderthal Lair Reveals How They Lived Before Modern Humans Appeared
The discovery of a rare Neanderthal rock shelter from the period before Homo sapiens arrived in Western Europe has provided some surprising new insights into how these extinct humans lived when they were the only hominids in town. Located in the Spanish Pyrenees, the site contains a wealth of animal bones and stone tools, revealing […]
Softball-Sized Tarantulas Are Crossing State Lines In Their Thousands Looking For Love
Ever wondered where baby tarantulas come from? It all starts with a big walk and it’s about to begin in parts of the United States. Around this time of year, males begin marching about in search of mates, sometimes in large groups and traveling significant distances. Who said romance was dead? Advertisement The movement of […]
Oldest Viking Legal Text, Written In Runes On An Iron Hoop, Reveals New Insights
The Forsa Ring (Forsaringen in Swedish) is the oldest surviving legal text from Scandinavia, dating to around the 9th or 10th century CE. However, the information is not inscribed on paper, nor rock or wood, but on an iron ring. Advertisement The legal document consists of a metal hoop around 43 centimeters (nearly 17 inches) […]
Stalactites And Stalagmites: What’s The Difference?
Ever went caving as a child and were told all about the wonderful structures that form within these epic caverns, only to promptly forget everything the second you saw the sign for the gift shop? Well, wonder no more, as we break down the differences between those pesky cave structures. Advertisement Stalactites and stalagmites The […]
Mississippi’s First Mammoth Tusk Spotted By Amateur Fossil Hunter
It’s not every day you find a 2-meter (7 foot) tusk from a member of the same order as elephants, so finding one sticking out of a steep embankment in Madison County, Mississippi was a big event for amateur collector Eddie Templeton. When he alerted the Mississippi State Geological Survey, he learned he had found […]
Astrologists Are Overly Confident And Terrible At Astrology, Study Finds
A new study has put astrologers to the test, ultimately determining that they are confident in what they are saying, but no better at it than random chance. Advertisement Astrology mentions the planets and stars a lot, so can sound sort of science-y to laypeople, until you start looking into it. In fact, Gallup and […]
Humanity Could Use “Glitter” To Terraform Mars (And Add A Little Razzle Dazzle)
Right now, we are looking for signs of life on Mars at the surface, and perhaps soon in the ocean of liquid water found deep in the crust. Advertisement Finding signs of life (if that were to happen) could tell us about how life evolves, whether it is abundant in the cosmos, or even whether […]
“Mysterious” Sloth-Borne Virus Detected In Europe For First Time – Should We Be Worried?
Reports of a rare virus in three European countries have sparked fears of an “emerging threat to global health”. Oropouche virus, sometimes referred to as a “sloth virus”, typically spreads in the Americas but seems to have made its way across the Atlantic for the first time – how concerned should we be? Here’s everything […]
Lightning Strikes Two People At Horseshoe Bend In Arizona
On Monday (August 12), two people were struck by lightning in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Advertisement In a statement released on Tuesday, the National Park Service (NPS) revealed that two female visitors, aged 22 and 23 and hailing from the Netherlands and Australia, had “sustained injuries” while standing near the rim of Horseshoe […]
Some Of The Smallest Dinosaur Footprints Ever Found After Heavy Rains
An ancient trail of tiny dinosaur footprints has been discovered in the Linxia UNESCO Global Geopark in Gansu province, China. According to reports from South China Morning Post, scientists got the heads up from museum employees in the region who spotted the miniature marks after heavy rains. Advertisement Extreme weather can both help and hamper […]
One Of The Earliest Depictions Of Jesus Shows Him With A Donkey Head
One of the oldest known depictions of Jesus Christ isn’t found in a humble chapel in Bethlehem, nor is it a fine work of art kept in the shady basements of the Vatican. In fact, it’s a piece of crudely drawn Roman graffito that shows a person with the head of a donkey being crucified. […]
Bowhead Whales Could Be Diving In Sync With Their Long-Distance Pals
Whales are famous for a lot of different things. Swimming great distances, dancing, trips to the spa – whalekind has a lot of tricks up their considerable whale sleeves. However new research could add to that list with the theory they might be pretty great at long-distance relationships too. Advertisement Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were […]
World’s Largest 3D-Printed Neighborhood Is Almost Finished In Texas
The world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood is quickly nearing completion, one layer at a time. Wolf Ranch is a community of 3D-printed houses found alongside the San Gabriel River in the hills of Georgetown, Texas, around 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of Austin. Advertisement Construction of the settlement began in 2022 with the project planning to […]
Meet The Bristle-Spined Rat: A Bizarre-Looking Rodent That’s Long Baffled Scientists
You’ve heard of porcupines, you’ve heard of rats, but have you ever seen an animal that’s a confusing mixture of the two… and also looks like someone made it out of the same stuff as a stiff broom? No? Then it’s time to introduce you to the bristle-spined rat. Advertisement Bristle-spined rats: the basics Also […]
Gene-Edited Salad Leaves Could Be Making Their Way To Your Plate This Year
The latest gene-edited food tipped to hit the shelves – potentially in a few short months – are new and improved leafy greens. With better taste and higher nutrition than your average lettuce, it could soon be spicing up salads, having recently been licensed by biotech giant Bayer. Advertisement Last year, food startup Pairwise launched […]
Harvester Ants’ Powerful Venom Could Kill A Human In 500 Stings
When it comes to venom’s toxicity, scientists work out quite how powerful it is by predicting the median lethal dose, or LD50. According to the University of Florida’s Book Of Insect Records, harvester ants take the crown for insect venom toxicity in mice – and hoo boy does it pack a punch. Harvester ants: the […]
Man Fined $1,000 For Driving Boat Through Pod Of Orcas
A boat trip near Roche Harbor in Washington ended up leading one man to a $1,000 civil penalty, after he violated regulations by driving his boat straight through a pod of orcas. Advertisement The incident occurred back in September 2022, when the man, who’s been named as Matt Ryan, was taking his boat Cypress Point […]
FDA Snubs MDMA Following Flawed Trials And Sexual Abuse Scandal
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected an application to allow the use of MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bringing an end to several years of excitement about the prospect of the party drug becoming medicalized. After analyzing research submitted by drugmaker Lykos Therapeutics, the agency ruled that the […]
NASA Analyst Explains The Obvious: Why Aren’t Photos Of The Milky Way Real?
A former NASA analyst on TikTok has explained the (hopefully obvious) reason why photographs of our galaxy – the Milky Way – are not real. Advertisement Responding to the question “How do we take pictures of the Milky Way if we are in it?”, science communicator and former NASA space analyst Alexandra Doten explained that […]
