This week on Break It Down: resurrecting Cold War spy planes to explore radioactive storms, the most detailed brain wiring diagram we’ve ever seen, mystery “skyquake” sounds have the world perplexed, plus grinning dolphins, glow-in-the-dark gemstones, and can you really feel when you’re being watched? Available on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, and […]
USS Stewart, The World War II “Ghost Ship Of The Pacific”, Discovered Off California Coast
Undersea investigators have located the wreck of a century-old US Navy destroyer, USS Stewart, that was lost for nearly 80 years. The wreck, once known as “The ghost ship of the Pacific”, was found off the coast of northern California 1,067 meters (3,500 feet) below the water’s surface. Advertisement USS Stewart was found within the […]
The Deadliest Day In Human History Was Unimaginably Awful
As days go, January 23 1556 was a proper stinker. According to most accounts, this fateful date saw more human lives extinguished than any other day in history, with the vast majority of these deaths occurring in the Shaanxi province of northwest China. Advertisement The culprit on this occasion was an enormous earthquake caused by […]
1.5-Meter “Sea Snake” Picked Up On Danish Beach Is Actually… A Whale Penis
Beach cleaners on the Danish island of Bornholm got a shock recently, when they picked up what they initially thought could be the remains of a sea snake. That alone would have been enough to mark the day as unusual for the group, who typically pick up plastic trash and sometimes ship parts – but […]
Laser Message Sent 460 Million Kilometers – Further Than Mars – To NASA’s Psyche
The Psyche mission is on its way to study the metallic asteroid of the same name, and on its journey, continues to test the communication system of the future. Laser light was sent from Earth to Psyche on July 29, when the spacecraft was located 460 million kilometers (290 million miles) from our planet. Advertisement […]
Do The Tropics Get Two Longest Days Because The Sun Passes Overhead Twice A Year?
If you live at the equator the Sun passes overhead twice in the year, at the equinoxes. In late June the tilt of the Earth means the Sun doesn’t get higher than 67 degrees above the horizon – which is still pretty high – and around Christmas it is the same height, but to the […]
Flamingo Foster Dads Successfully Hatch Delightfully Fluffy Chick At San Diego Zoo
Two male lesser flamingos have become parents for the first time, after the San Diego Zoo Safari Park same-sex duo successfully hatched a chick. The pair were well prepared for fatherhood, having been given a dummy egg to look after earlier this year. Once staff at the zoo were satisfied that they were up to […]
“Dracula” May Have Been The Largest Flying Creature The World Has Ever Seen
The idea of a pterosaur even the size of those in Jurassic Park III is terrifying enough, but now imagine one that’s 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) tall and with a wingspan longer than a London bus. We’re sorry to tell you, but that creature was real – and it may well be the largest animal ever […]
2-Billion-Year-Old Rock Found Harboring Microbes – And They’re Still Alive
A 2-billion-year-old rock has been unearthed in South Africa – and if its advanced age wasn’t enough to knock your socks off, it’s also home to pockets of microbes that are still alive and thriving. Having been around for eons, these are the oldest examples of living microbes ever found within ancient rock. Advertisement “We […]
Geomagnetic Storms Imminent After Strongest Solar Flare This Cycle – And For 7 Years
Welcome to the solar maximum. We do not know exactly when the peak of solar activity will be during this cycle, but we are near it and the Sun is showing it. Yesterday, we reported the release of the second most powerful flare for this cycle, and our star decided to one-up itself and release […]
World’s Largest Amphibian Turns Out To Be Up To 9 Different Species
Long thought to be a single species, a new study has revealed that the Chinese giant salamander might actually be up to nine different species, bringing fresh calls to ramp up protections for this critically endangered group. Advertisement This isn’t the Chinese giant salamander’s first identity crisis; back in 2019, scientists confirmed that there were […]
9-Kilometer Impact Crater Beneath Atlantic Reveals Dino-Killing Asteroid Had A Friend
Some 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid slammed into Earth. The Chicxulub impactor, as it is called, famously wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs and left a huge crater at the edge of the Yucatán peninsula – but it may not have acted alone. New research has revealed that a second, smaller space rock smashed […]
New Species Of Tropical Moth Found 7,000 Kilometers From Where It Should Be
Your own living room is probably the last place you’d expect to find a brand-new species of bug, but that’s exactly what happened to one ecologist from Wales, UK – except what she found turned out to be a long, long way from home. Advertisement The new species is a clearwing moth, named Carmenta brachyclados, […]
Uniquely Shining Galaxy May Be Missing Link To The Universe’s Unseen First Stars
Galaxy GS-NDG-9422 might not have a catchy name or look that impressive, but it has the potential to be revolutionary in our understanding of galaxy evolution. It has an odd light signature – it seems that its gas is shining a lot brighter than its stars. This peculiar feature might open a window onto a […]
IFLScience The Big Questions: What Would A Human On Mars Look Like?
Are humans done evolving – or could settling on an alien world with an environment unlike Earth’s take us on a different evolutionary trajectory? Host Tom Hale is joined by Scott Solomon, author and professor of bioscience at Rice University, to discuss the myriad ways Homo sapiens may continue to evolve on Earth, and how […]
An Electrical Donut And Magnetic Horns Spotted Around Mercury During Quick Flyby
BepiColombo’s June 2023 flyby of Mercury put the spacecraft on the right trajectory to get in orbit around the smallest planet, and it was also a chance to test its science instruments. Even with such a brief window of time, researchers were able to get incredible insights into the planet’s magnetosphere. Advertisement Mercury’s magnetic field […]
Light Experiment Shows Atoms “Seem To Spend A ‘Negative’ Amount Of Time” In An Excited State
Quantum mechanics just can’t keep from getting freaky. The latest thing is negative time, and how light going through a cloud of atoms might appear to come out before it goes in. Unfortunately, it is not a time machine – your best bet there is still a DeLorean – but a curious phenomenon with intriguing […]
California Legalizes Fully-Fledged Cannabis Cafes
From the start of next year, cannabis retailers in California will be allowed to sell fresh food and non-alcoholic drinks – and even put on a party whilst doing so – after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a “cannabis café” bill into law on September 30. Advertisement Cannabis lounges, where people can smoke and socialize, already […]
We Finally Know Why Some People With Schizophrenia Hear Voices
People with schizophrenia who hear voices in their head may be experiencing the results of “noisy” signaling produced by the brain’s motor system. As counterintuitive as this seems, the new discovery could be a gamechanger for scientists working on treatments for auditory hallucinations as it suggests that the target may lie outside of the auditory […]
Can You Really “Feel” When You’re Being Watched?
At some point in your life, chances are you’ve felt that prickle in the back of your neck suggesting somebody staring at you from across the room. And when we say “chances are”, we’re not exaggerating: various surveys over the years have placed the proportion of people reporting this feeling as anywhere between 68 and […]
