Treatment for depression has historically taken a “one-size-fits-all” approach, but this may be about to change as new research has found six kinds of depression that are identifiable through brain scans. The different kinds, or “biotypes”, respond better to some treatments than others, and could aid us in delivering more effective care for people living […]
Bird Flu Pandemic Just “A Question Of When”, Says Ex-CDC Director
A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told a US cable news network that a bird flu pandemic is “very likely”. Robert Redfield, a virologist who served as director of the agency from 2018 to 2021, also noted that bird flu in humans is associated with “significant mortality”, and that […]
Record-Breaking Heatwave Forecast As Sizzling Temperatures Set To Hit US This Week
The US looks set to face scorching temperatures this week, as the first significant heatwave of the season gets underway. Much of the Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic are forecast to see potentially record-breaking heat lingering throughout the first half of the week. The longevity of the extreme temperatures expected in some locations has not […]
Antarctica’s Recent Ice Loss Was A “One-In-A-2000-Year Event” Without Climate Change
Once viewed as a surprisingly stable bastion, the South Pole is starting to show some worrying signs of change. Antarctic sea ice reached historically low levels last year and climate change is almost certainly to blame. Advertisement In 2023, the Antarctic had 2 million square kilometers (772,204 square miles) less ice cover than usual during […]
Hot Air Rises, So Why Is It Colder On Mountaintops?
That hot air rises is one of physics’s most widely known principles. If you live in a house with more than one story you’ve felt how air conditioning can be almost essential for survival upstairs, but a luxury below. Yet the tops of mountains are the first places to get snow; that’s if they’re not […]
New Kind Of Cement Could Turn Homes And Roads Into Giant Batteries
Concrete is, to put it mildly, really bad for the environment. It’s the most-consumed product on the planet, outside of water, and its carbon footprint bears that out: on its own, the production of cement and concrete accounts for a whole eight percent of global CO2 emissions, or more than four billion tonnes of the […]
Internet Panics After Hearing Leaked Audio From The ISS, African Elephants Call Each Other By “Names”, And Much More This Week
This week, an “alien” signal from Mars received just over a year ago has finally been decoded, with just eight confirmed individuals, polar-grizzly bear hybrids are “extremely rare”, and it turns out a trip to space could (temporarily) reverse aging. Finally, we meet (literally) the enormous and stinky corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanium. Advertisement Subscribe to […]
There’s A New COVID Variant, KP.3 – These Are The Symptoms
It’s been over four years since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic, and despite best efforts, the virus that causes it is still very much kicking about. That’s in large part thanks to it evolving into multiple different variants, the latest of which has been dubbed KP.3. Advertisement KP.3 is one of the FLiRT variants of […]
Over 160 Whale Sightings, Including Endangered Species, Recorded Off New England Coast In One Day
On a recent aerial survey off the New England coast, researchers from NOAA Fisheries made 161 whale sightings in a single day, a vast proportion of which were of the rare and endangered sei whale. Advertisement The flight took place on May 25 and saw the team cover an area south of Martha’s Vineyard and […]
Flight MH370: Can Underwater Sound Signals Solve Aviation’s Greatest Mystery?
Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 2014 with 239 people on board. Despite extensive search efforts, the final location of the aircraft remains unknown. It has become one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. Our new research explores the possibility of detecting underwater acoustic signals generated by aircraft crashes, such as MH370’s presumed impact, to […]
Fresh Vs. Frozen Vegetables: Is One Better For Us Than The Other?
With the cost of living rising, many people are switching up their supermarket habits in order to save money, particularly when it comes to vegetables. Frozen veg is often on the cheaper side, but some might believe that fresh is inherently “better” for you – so which really packs more of a nutritional punch? Advertisement […]
Tiny Algae Hold Hope For Renewable Energy With Negative Carbon Emissions
With the reality of climate change pushing society to consider alternatives to fossil fuels, a potential new source of renewable energy has appeared in a somewhat unusual form: algae. Advertisement A highly diverse group of organisms, algae are also photosynthetic, meaning they use sunlight, water, and carbon to produce oxygen and energy. If scientists are […]
Planet Vulcan: The 19th Century’s Forgotten Ninth Planet, Disproved By Albert Einstein
In 1846, astronomer and mathematician Urbain Le Verrier sat down and attempted to locate a planet that had never been seen before by humans. Uranus (growing up) had been moving in unexpected ways, as predicted by the Newtonian theory of gravity. Advertisement Though the discrepancies were small, there was a difference between the observed orbit of […]
This Site Reveals 120 Million Years Of Earth’s History
Putting together the puzzle of Earth’s history is made all the more difficult with the knowledge that pieces will inevitably be missing – or so palaeontologists thought. A team led by researchers from Stanford University has discovered a single site that records the development of life over an astonishing 120 million years. Advertisement Paleontologists’ view […]
The Universe’s Biggest Explosions Made Some Of The Elements We Are Composed Of. But There’s Another Mystery Source Out There
After its “birth” in the Big Bang, the universe consisted mainly of hydrogen and a few helium atoms. These are the lightest elements in the periodic table. More-or-less all elements heavier than helium were produced in the 13.8 billion years between the Big Bang and the present day. Stars have produced many of these heavier […]
Why Does Pizza Taste So Good?
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. Why does pizza taste so good? – Annika, age 5, Oneonta, New York Pizza is one of the world’s most popular foods. In the U.S., 350 slices are eaten every […]
Stark Warning: Dangerous Levels Of Toxic Gas Detected In Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”
Toxic gas used in petrochemical manufacturing has been detected at levels a thousand times higher than what is considered safe in Louisiana. Advertisement The chemical in question is ethylene oxide, an extremely flammable and colorless gas with a slightly sweet smell. It has a variety of industrial uses, including the production of products like antifreeze, […]
Critically Endangered Leatherback Turtle Sets Potential Deep-Diving Record
A new potential world record has been set and achieved by an enormous, finned critter. Back in March this year, a Western Pacific Leatherback turtle left its nesting sites in the Solomon Islands and then dove 4,409 feet (1,344 meters) below the waves. Advertisement This achievement beat the previous record holder by 210 feet (64 […]
Long COVID Finally Has A Definition – And Over 200 Possible Symptoms
A group of experts working with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) have proposed a new definition for long COVID, in the hopes of bringing long-awaited clarity Advertisement The previous lack of consensus when it comes to defining long COVID can be problematic in many ways, but particularly for those who experience […]
Why Does Everyone Seem To Think My Partner Is My Brother?
Ever put your foot in it by presuming that someone’s date was actually their sibling? It’s surprisingly easy to do, and a pretty unfortunate way of kicking off a social interaction. If you were looking for a handy guide to help prevent you making these kinds of faux pas, we’re sorry that we’ll have to […]
