It’s a hiss-toric time for the giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas), as this wetland-dwelling reptile just became California’s state snake, a designation that’s hoped to bring more awareness to the plight of this vulnerable species. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. The […]
Experimental Nanoparticle “Super-Vaccines” Stop Breast, Pancreatic, And Skin Cancers In Their Tracks
A nanoparticle vaccine has shown great promise in preventing three types of cancer in mice, as well as stopping tumors from spreading when they were exposed to cancerous cells. Cancer vaccines have moved from the sci-fi dream realm into actual scientific possibility within just a few short decade. We’re not just talking about the HPV […]
New Nightmare Fuel Unlocked: Watch The First Known Capture Of A Shrew By A False Widow Spider
The noble false widow spider (Steatoda nobilis) is an invasive species that has come to populate much of Europe, western Asia, as well as North and South America. It was first formally described in 1875. The spider possesses a neurotoxin in its venom which, as well as giving humans a nasty bite, can allow it […]
Peculiar Glow In The Milky Way Might Be Dark Matter Signature
Looking towards the central region of the Milky Way, there is an unexpected surplus in the most powerful light that exists: gamma rays. The source of this gamma-ray excess is uncertain. Two hypotheses have been put forth. One possibility is that dark matter particles collide with each other there and emit gamma rays. Alternatively, known […]
“I Was Scared To Death”: Missouri’s Great Cobra Scare Of 1953 Was Eventually Solved After 35 Years
As the summer of 1953 drew to a close, Springfield, Missouri, was terrorized by a gang of cobras. Although it’s described today as “the oddest and most hilarious” story in the city’s history, the incident sparked several months of panic and confusion at the time. It took over 35 years to solve, but the cause […]
Two Spacecraft To Fly Through Comet 3I/ATLAS’s Ion Tail – Will They Be Able To Catch Something?
Comets tend to have two tails. One is known as the dust tail, and it tends to be more curved, while the other, known as the ion or plasma tail, is straighter, pointing away from the Sun. The tails can also be long, with ion tails often extending for hundreds of millions of kilometers. We […]
Pioneering Heavy Water Detection Suggests Earth’s Water Might Be Older Than The Sun
The origin of water on Earth is a complex affair. Was it trapped in the rocks that formed our planet or was it brought by comets and asteroids afterwards? We do not know for sure, but we can move the question even further. Did the water form with the Sun and the planet, or is […]
PhD Students’ Groundbreaking New Technique Rescues JWST’s Highest Resolution Data
A problem with JWST’s infrared camera detector causes light to bleed from one pixel to another, undermining the quality of its images on some categories of targets. However, work led by two PhD students has provided a solution, which is already being used to multiply the data available from some observations previously considered disappointing. It’s […]
Popcorn-Like Parasites And Weird Worms Among 14 New Species Discovered In The World’s Oceans
Popcorn-like parasites, ghostly crustaceans, and creepy worms are among the 14 new species that have recently been found in the world’s oceans. Scientists estimate there are around 2 million living marine species, although just a tiny fraction of those have been officially named and described. In a push to close this knowledge gap, researchers have […]
Poem From 1181 CE Cairo Appears To Reference A Rare Galactic Supernova
A study looking at ancient texts may have found evidence of a galactic supernova in a poem praising Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria, written between December 1181 and May 1182 CE. In October 1604, astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler spotted a new star in the sky and began tracking it. Over the […]
With “Iridescent Live Colors”, Newly Discovered Beautiful Dwarfgoby Lives Up To Its Name (Mostly)
Take a dip under the waves and you never know what you might discover. From dancing sea pigs to manta rays deep-diving, the world’s oceans hold all kinds of surprises. For researchers off the coast of Papua New Guinea, it was the discovery of a shimmering new fish species: Eviota bella. The rest of this […]
“Anti-Tail” And Odd 594-Kilometer Feature Found On Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS By Keck Observatory
Astronomers analyzing observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using the W. M. Keck Observatory have discovered further unusual features of our third interstellar visitor, and confirmed the presence of a rare “anti-solar tail”. On July 1, 2025, astronomers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) spotted an object making its way through our Solar System. […]
Why Do We Call It A “Hamburger” When It Doesn’t Contain Ham?
The origin of the word “hamburger” has very little to do with pork (unless you’re eating a particularly poor-quality “beef” patty). Instead, it traces back to the bustling German port city of Hamburg. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. Nestled in the […]
What Aristotle Got Wrong About The Octopus
For evidence of evolution’s sheer barminess, look no further than the humble octopus. It’s boneless, beaked, and many-brained; it has blue blood, three hearts, and eight arms; it can change color and shape at will, and comes equipped with an ink sac for defense (or, presumably, calligraphy). It is, in total, so weird that people […]
The World’s Largest Island Is Shrinking And Shifting
Greenland, the world’s largest island, is shrinking and shape-shifting. Since the peak of the last Ice Age about 20,000 years ago, the melting of its ice sheets has been easing pressure on the landmass, causing its tectonic plate and deep bedrock to deform. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in […]
Record-Breaking Marshmallow Planet – It’s A Cold, Peculiar World On A Very Slanted Orbit
Scientists have confirmed the existence of over 6,100 planets beyond the Solar System in the Milky Way. Something that has become clear pretty much from the very beginning of the search for exoplanets is that there are truly some oddballs when it comes to worlds beyond the Solar System. Newly discovered TOI-4507 b is proudly […]
Distinctive Rocks Might Be Remnants Of Earth Before The Collision That Made The Moon
Rocks from Canada, Greenland, and Hawai’i have less of the already rare isotope potassium-40 than those from the rest of the Earth. The scientists who discovered this fact consider it evidence that these rocks are formed from material that existed on Earth before the collision that led to the Moon’s formation. One collision, early in […]
Bright Northern Lights Across America Expected This Week As 3 Coronal Mass Ejections Fly Towards Earth
The solar maximum might be behind us, but the Sun continues to show off its power. Multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have occurred in the last few days, and they are all aimed at Earth. They are unlikely to combine themselves into a single cannibal one, but they are still expected to produce a moderate […]
Brain Implant Enables Paralyzed Man To Feel And Use Objects Using Someone Else’s Hands
A paralyzed man in his 40s is now able to feel and use objects through the hands of another person, after receiving a brain implant that connects him to a “human avatar”. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. Keith Thomas became paralyzed […]
“This Is A Really Big Deal”: Brain Training Significantly Improves Key Neurochemical Levels In World First
In a world-first breakthrough, scientists have shown that 10 weeks of brain exercises using a game-like app are enough to significantly upregulate the production of vital chemical acetylcholine, something that no prior treatment has ever been able to do. “The training restored cholinergic health to levels typically seen in someone 10 years younger,” said senior […]
