The largest wildfire currently burning in the US is sweeping through Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, scorching more than 51,000 hectares (126,000 acres) and blanketing the surrounding area in thick smoke. To make matters worse, hot, dry conditions continue to fuel the flames as ominous “fire clouds” loom overhead. The fire, named the Dragon Bravo […]
You Can See 6 Planets Aligned In The Sky Right Now – And 2 Conjunctions
It is all happening in August! We are just days away from the peak of the Perseids, there is going to be a Black Moon later this month, and right now and for several weeks, you can see not just one but six planets in the night sky, four of which are visible to the […]
Colliding Photons In Crossed Beams Of Light Create Virtual Particles That Test The Standard Model
Particles known as tensor mesons are created when high-energy photons interact. These mesons have now been proposed to have a larger effect on photon behavior than previously thought, and provide a new way to test the validity of the Standard Model of particle physics. Here’s an experiment any reader can try. Take two torches into […]
Don’t Stand So Close To Me: 2 Meters Of Socially Distanced Queuing Is Not Always Enough
Room temperature plays a surprisingly important role in determining how far apart people need to be to prevent disease transmission in a queue, a new study suggests. Consequently, the 2 meters (6 feet) apart queuing adopted during the pandemic was not always appropriate. How many lives may have been lost for lack of this information […]
Cockatoos Love To Dance, Showing Off 30 Different Moves That Some Combine In Unique Ways
Cockatoos have at least 30 dance moves they love to show off, and while not every species has been spotted making every move, some individuals combine moves in ways others don’t to create further metamoves. The purpose of the dancing is unknown, because while it may have evolved from courtship, it now occurs far more […]
Loch Ness Monster Sightings Don’t Match “Impossible” Images Of The Beast – So What Are People Seeing?
There’s something funny about how sea or aquatic monsters are depicted. Think about the Loch Ness Monster, for example. How many times have you seen images or drawings showing a beastie poking its head above the water while a vertical undulating serpent-like body follows behind? This particular representation of the mythical “Nessie” is pretty illustrative […]
The Oldest Government Computer Still Working Is Over 25 Billion Kilometers From Earth
The oldest government computer still in operation today is over 25 billion kilometers (15.5 billion miles) from Earth, and despite well-documented issues, it still runs far better than we could expect. While you may rush out to buy the latest hardware necessary to run the latest computer games, governments and large organizations can end up […]
We May Finally Know Where The “Hobbit” Humans Came From
The miniature “Hobbit” humans of Flores Island may have come from the nearby island of Sulawesi, where researchers have discovered evidence for hominin occupation up to 1.5 million years ago. It’s currently unclear exactly which ancestral species was present on the Indonesian island at this early point in our history, but the journey from mainland […]
Meet The Pickle Slug, A Knobbly Wonder That Lays Little Pickled Onions For Eggs
If you were to go strolling at night in the right part of New Zealand, you just might be blessed by a visit from one of nature’s most delectable-looking gastropods: the pickle slug. Also known as putoko ropiropi, the gherkin slug, leaf vein slug, or Athoracophorus papillatus, these slugs are famous for the little spikes […]
Half A Billion Years Ago, The Grand Canyon Was Filled With Penis Worms
The Grand Canyon is undeniably a wonder of nature – and according to a new paper from a team of palaeontologists and geologists, it always has been. Half a billion years ago, long before humans were around to gape in awe or plummet to their selfie-related deaths, the canyon was apparently a hub of biodiversity […]
“Yellow Brick Road” Found On Pacific Ocean Floor During Groundbreaking Volcano Expedition
The Wizard of Oz got a hat tip from scientists poking around in an ancient and underwater volcano chain in the Pacific Ocean, as they discovered what looked like a “yellow brick road”. The natural brickwork was actually the result of volcanic geology which has fractured the rock in a curiously uniform way. E/V Nautilus […]
How Often Do You Really Need To Change Your Bed Sheets?
How often do you change your bed sheets? We spend nearly a third of our lives in bed, yet we often don’t treat it with the same hygiene standards as our bathrooms or kitchens. A survey reported by several outlets, including The Independent, found that nearly half of single men in the UK admitted to […]
The Origins Of Dark Matter: Two New Theories Talk Of Hidden Reality And The Universe’s Edge
Dark matter is a hypothetical substance that outweighs regular matter (which makes up us and everything we can see in the universe) five to one. We do not know what it is and have not confirmed its existence, but based on astrophysical observations, it is strongly believed to be a substance; the alternative is that […]
The First Molecules In The Universe Reveal Surprises After Being Bombarded With Deuterium
A new study has found a few odd surprises about the first molecule in the universe, suggesting our models of the early cosmos may need a little update. Shortly after the Big Bang the universe was a hot, dense soup of particles. After a few seconds, it became cool enough for the first elements to […]
Meet Henry, The World’s Largest Elephant Ever Recorded, Who Was Heavier Than A T. Rex
Standing at 4 meters (13 feet and 2 inches) from ground to shoulder and weighing around 11 tons, “Henry” is the largest Elephant ever recorded – a true giant amongst giants. To help you get your relatively puny-sized head around this stature, he was heavier than the biggest T. rex ever unearthed and tall enough […]
HTLV-1: The Deadly Virus No One Talks About
You’ve heard of HIV. You’ve definitely heard of COVID-19 – probably more often than you want to, let’s face it. You know about HPV, and tons of other viruses besides… but there’s one that gets nowhere near as much attention, even though it affects millions of people around the world. It’s called human T-lymphotropic virus […]
Inland Taipan: The Deadliest Snake In The World?
Snakes are true killing and eating machines. While some inject incredibly potent venom, others can swallow food five times larger than their own heads. Due to their unfused lower jaw, they’re able to swallow jaw-dropping-sized prey, and some even possess “bone-digesting” cells in their gastrointestinal tract. To top it all off, some species are also […]
Four New Species Of Tarantulas Discovered With Longest Known Schlongs In The Spider World
Four new tarantula species have been discovered in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. While that is remarkable in itself, what makes these four new tarantulas stand out from other known species is their surprisingly long schlongs. Technically, tarantulas don’t have penises; instead, they possess specialized appendages called palps that are used […]
Voyager Will Reach A Hypothetical Region In 300 Years – And Will Take 30,000 Years To Go Through It
In 300 years, NASA’s Voyager spacecraft will reach a hypothetical region of space, long thought to exist but for which we do not yet have conclusive evidence. The region is so large that it will then spend the next 30,000 years passing through it. Voyager was launched in 1977 and has been traveling ever since. […]
Oh No, Wavy Dave! Robot Crustacean Waves At Fiddler Crabs For Science, Has A Bad Time
Wavy Dave the robot crustacean has been showing scientists how male fiddler crabs respond when they see a fellow crab waving. Famous for their enormous claws, the team made Wavy Dave blend in by giving him a huge claw of his own, only for it to get ripped off by a male crab. Before he […]
