Deborah Bloomfield

Some years seem to zip by in the blink of an eye, while others seem to drag on for far longer. But some, like leap years, can last a little longer than usual. And then there’s 46 BCE, which lasted 445 days, 80 days more than we are used to.  So, why did the year […]

A new study examining stick and leaf insect species has found evidence of convergent evolution, with all of the insects evolving similar characteristics despite diverging long ago. Convergent evolution is when similar features that have a similar form or function evolve in species from different periods or regions, despite the last common ancestor of the […]

Have you ever bought a bottle of vinegar with a claim on the label that it contains the “mother”? Once you bring it home and peer more closely into the bottle you’ll see a slimy blob at the bottom – this is the mother of vinegar. What is vinegar? Vinegar has been around for thousands […]

A new video from xkcd cartoonist, science communicator, and author Randall Munroe has posed the age old question; what if we put a pool on the Moon? While splashing around in water on Earth is enjoyable, it turns out that if NASA got their asses in gear it could be a whole lot more fun.  […]

In the shadow of the worst nuclear disaster in history, a population of dogs in Chernobyl, Ukraine, have become genetically different from canines in the rest of the world. The reasons for this have always been something of a mystery, but things just got even more perplexing as new research reveals that increased mutation likely […]

Health departments are warning people to take precautions against norovirus after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a surge in cases in some parts of the US. Recent figures show that 91 outbreaks of the virus were reported during the week of December 5, an increase of 22 from the previous week.  […]

A submarine volcano near Oregon looks like it could erupt at any time, and scientists have stuck their necks out by predicting that the event will occur before the end of 2025.  Forecasting volcanic eruptions with more than a few hours’ notice is currently a huge challenge, yet researchers have identified an undersea volcano called […]

In Kazakhstan lives an antelope that wouldn’t look out of place on the set of Star Wars. Saiga and their gloriously wibbly noses are one of the planet’s most remarkable species, but poaching and mass die off events saw their numbers crash. In 2024, however, the Earthshot Prize awarded an ecosystem restoration effort that’s enabled […]

Planting trees has been a staple in urban landscaping for decades, valued for its aesthetic appeal and ability to improve air quality. However, recent research highlights that the location and species of trees are crucial in mitigating urban heat stress. Over the last few decades, temperatures have been rising in cities around the world. Each […]

Say cheese and flash us those pearly whites! While most adult humans have 32 permanent teeth, or 28 if your wisdom teeth don’t behave, you might be surprised to learn that the animal world has us well and truly beat when it comes to the highest amount of teeth found in one mouth – and […]

Allow us to set the scene: you’re out walking on a misty mountain. It was clear as day when you set off this morning, but as you’re reaching the peak a thick fog comes rolling in behind you. The Sun is just about still breaking through when you spot it, a great looming “dark watcher” […]

Around every 80 years, the system we call T Coronae Borealis experiences a sudden increase in brightness. It becomes up to 1,585 times brighter, something that earned it the nickname of “The Blaze Star”. But it has a more accurate name: it is a recurring nova, and it is going to get brighter again very […]

In the depths of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, researchers have uncovered a tiny yet fascinating new species of marine life, and it’s been awarded a name fitting its appearance – “little flower”. Vitrumanthus flosculus, with “flosculus” meaning “small flower” or “floweret” in Latin, was discovered on underwater mountain ranges called seamounts, south of Japan’s coast. […]

It’s easy for a science website to get bogged down in the weirdest mysteries of the universe, while people really want the answers to more basic (but fun!) questions like “Why can’t we power our cars with magnets?” and “What would happen if you tried to swim in a pool on the Moon?”. One such […]

The JWST has examined Chiron, a minor planet that orbits between Jupiter and Neptune, and found unexpectedly different ices from the other objects located in that region of the Solar System. The composition is not yet understood, but once explained, it may reveal something important about the origins of the Solar System beyond the “snow […]

It has been just over three years since JWST was launched into space and in that time, the telescope has dramatically expanded our understanding of the distant universe. Among the important findings is the discovery of very young galaxies that already looked like their more senior counterparts in the local universe, and a recent study […]

A desert might not be the first place you’d expect to be a hive of activity, but northwestern China’s Kubuqi Desert is currently bucking the trend, as an ambitious project to build a “Solar Great Wall” continues to transform the desolate landscape. Once completed – expected to be sometime in 2030 – the solar farm […]

The death of former president Jimmy Carter has unleashed a wave of tributes far beyond those given to most former leaders. Many are focused on his unique post-presidential career, but his four years as president, judged a failure at the time, have undergone a considerable reassessment. Yet missing from almost all this commentary is the […]

Every year, animals in the deer family go through a cycle of growing and shedding their antlers, those badass branched bones that come in handy for finding mates and finding. They don’t always look so bony though; for at least some of the year, antlers are covered in a fuzzy layer called velvet. This so-called […]

Over our long and meandering evolution, the human species has lost a lot of body hair. For some reason, we have been left with forests of the stuff growing out of our noses and, especially as we age, the ears.  A lot of people are tempted to pluck, wax, or otherwise remove this hair, shunning […]