Deborah Bloomfield

The past decade has seen an explosion of new research into some of the most fascinating sounds in the sea: the vocalisations of whales and dolphins. Scientists have uncovered how humpback whales learn songs from neighbouring populations, so that these songs travel from western Australia to South America. They discovered bowhead whales singing 184 different […]

Seashells may seem like a harmless memento from your trip to the beach, but there are a few good reasons why you let it be and leave them on the shore. Advertisement Beachcombing, if done carelessly, has the potential to cause real upset for coastal ecosystems. A study in 2014 investigated the removal of seashells […]

History is filled with stories about island and their civilizations that disappear after some cataclysm (I bet I can guess which one you’re thinking of). But I doubt many people have heard the story of Teonimanu, the landmass that has now vanished from among the Solomon Islands. We only now know of its existence because […]

The daily shower is a more controversial thing than you might think. Are we showering too much? Too little? Is the water too hot, or too cold? What is that rat doing in here anyway? Advertisement But for some reason, the one that really gets people grimacing is the question of when to shower. If […]

A father and son explorer team have successfully reached the most remote place on Earth after embarking on a harrowing journey to Point Nemo, a place where – most of the time – the nearest humans are whizzing overhead on the International Space Station (ISS). That all changed in 2024 when Chris and Mika Brown […]

The unfolding climate crisis puts humanity in danger – and usually, the ones who have contributed the least to it face the harshest consequences. The health impacts of the crisis have become more and more evident, and it seems that conditions that affect the brain are likely to be affected by the changing climate as […]

In early March, during its close flyby of Jupiter, Juno snapped a beautiful view of the planet. And among the stunning cloud formations, there is a dark spot. In one photo, it is over a dark band. In another, it is starkly clear over the Great Red Spot. A fitting place, given that Amalthea is […]

Palaeontology is currently experiencing something of a “golden age”, with a wealth of new, weird, and wonderful dinosaurs discovered each year. The question is just how long that golden age will last. Only a finite number of dinosaur species existed – so how many are there left to find? Advertisement There’s no exact answer to […]

Thunderstorms and volcanic eruptions are some of Earth’s most powerful natural phenomena. Combine the two and the result is truly dazzling. Onlookers at Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala were wowed to see lighting seemingly strike the edge of the erupting crater earlier this month. Advertisement Volcán de Fuego, a 3,763-meter (12,346-foot) tall stratovolcano, is Guatemala’s […]

For a group of animals that went extinct 60 million years ago, we know a remarkable amount about how dinosaurs lived, but what about how fast they could run? We’ve all seen the depictions in Jurassic Park of velociraptors chasing down humans with ease, but what was the fastest dinosaur? Advertisement Ascertaining dinosaur behavior generally […]

Scientists have detected “significant concentrations” of microplastics in the testicles of both humans and dogs. Worryingly, they also found some evidence that certain forms of microplastic might be having a damaging impact on sperm count.  Advertisement Researchers at the University of New Mexico looked for microplastics in 47 canine and 23 human testes taken during […]

This leggy, spiny fella is Douglassarachne acanthopoda, whom we’ll call Doug for short (only kidding). You might look at this fossilized specimen and confidently declare, “That there’s a spider.” But wait! While D. acanthopoda certainly shares many of the characteristics of modern arachnids, it has enough unique features to give palaentologists a headache when it comes […]

Large congregations of animals can be positive or negative. Large groups of whales seen for the first time may represent an important conservation milestone, while the upcoming cicadapocaplypse might not be everyone’s idea of a good time. Underneath the waves off the coast of California, however, a gathering of tuna crabs is causing a stir. […]

An oral antidote to acute alcohol intoxication has been developed and tested successfully on mice. The hydrogel is engineered using a milk protein that’s a by-product of cheese manufacturing, and it breaks down alcohol in the body without generating the usual toxic waste products. Advertisement In many communities, alcohol has historically played an important part […]

While not as well known as its alligator cousins, the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) is a fascinating and fearsome inhabitant of the Amazon rainforest that will essentially eat anything it can get its jaws around. However, its place at the top of the food chain is constantly under threat from other large predators that share […]

Looking at the universe, we know that the Earth and the whole solar system are not in a special position. This has been extended too to the existence of alien life – if we are here, we are probably not special, and the universe must be teeming with life. To which, we ought to agree […]

Landmarks on Europa’s surface suggest the icy crust is at the mercy of the waters below. Most important, a recent visit by Juno reveals what might be plume activity, which if real would allow future missions to take a sample of the internal ocean without needing to land. Advertisement It’s been almost two years since […]

An unfortunate fox that lodged its head in a sink drain has been successfully rescued in the UK.  Advertisement South Essex Wildlife Hospital in the southeast of England responded to a call last week regarding a curious cub that had become stuck in an unusual place. Advertisement Tom Linsel, a Slovakia-born veterinarian who works at […]

Astronomers are reporting the discovery of SPECULOOS-3b, an Earth-sized planet that orbits an ultracool dwarf, a star not much bigger than Jupiter. This is the only second known system such as this. The other one is the well-known TRAPPIST-1, which sports seven Earth-sized planets. The new system is 55 light-years away. Advertisement The star has […]

It takes a lot of energy to make a baby, whatever species you are. Biologists studying animal energy expenditure have been underestimating the requirements of reproduction for decades by focusing on the direct costs and ignoring or underestimating the indirect costs, which a new assessment indicates are much larger. Advertisement When a baby (or an […]