Deborah Bloomfield

This week, Malaysian officials have announced a plan to gift orangutans to palm oil partners in an effort to establish orangutan diplomacy, an aurora-like phenomenon called STEVE appears to have a twin, and we ask why the 4,000-year-old “Seahenge” was built. Finally, we explore the history behind the famous “March of Progress” evolution illustration, and […]

This September could see the world’s first wooden satellite launch to space, thanks to scientists in Japan. If it’s succesful, it could open doors for more environmentally friendly satellite reentries, something that is increasingly important with the rise of objects being sent to – and returning to Earth from – space.    Advertisement Researchers at […]

The world’s biggest solar plant has come online, according to Chinese media. Covering 13,333 hectares (32,947 acres) in the desert of northwest Xinjiang and capable of powering a small country on its own, the facility was reportedly connected to the grid on Monday. Advertisement Located in a desert area of Ürümqi, capital of the famously […]

For a one-cell organism with no nervous system, Lacrymaria olor is a pretty impressive predator. Extending a long, wiggling neck from its pear-shaped body, L. olor hunts down prey to chomp on in the ponds where it lives. Just how it manages this remained a bit of a mystery, but a pair of determined scientists have […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that contaminated cucumbers could be the cause of a recent Salmonella outbreak in the US, which has seen people across 25 states become sick. Advertisement People first started getting ill back in mid-March, with investigations revealing that they had been infected with a strain of the […]

Many centuries ago, this was the pavilion of a villa where Rome’s rich and famous would relax and drink wine while they overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. As the years passed, the structure became lost to the waves and continues to lurk there to this day.  Advertisement The submerged ruins can be found on the coastline […]

Anthropologists recently identified two fossilized teeth and a single kneecap that appear to belong to a never-before-seen species of great ape: Buronius manfredschmi. Advertisement With an estimated weight of just 10 kilograms (22 pounds) – about the weight of an extremely chonky cat – the new-found species is the smallest great ape to be identified.  […]

Anthrax is a serious disease that’s rare in humans, but earlier this year an unexpected outbreak occurred when a Texas rancher picked up the bug. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have now detailed the circumstances behind the event that made it what they describe as “unusual”. Advertisement It began when a male […]

This week on Break It Down, Charlotte the stingray is back and it’s not good news, a zig-zagging snake stretching over 40 meters might be the world’s longest rock art, the irony of offering endangered orangutans as a form of diplomatic gift, the mysterious aurora STEVE gets a long-lost twin, why Seahenge was built, and […]

The European Space Agency has begun an intriguing experiment on the International Space Station (ISS), one that set a record and might shape manufacturing and sustainability in orbit. For the first time, a metal object has been 3D printed in space. Advertisement The Metal 3D Printer was sent to the ISS back in January but […]

Our solar system is an incredible place, filled with celestial bodies with exciting and intriguing names. For instance, there’s the planet Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, or Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, which is named after the king of this ancient pantheon. And then there is Earth, our planet, […]

Just in time for vacation season, an airport worker has revealed why passengers should avoid tying ribbons to their suitcases if they’re checking in luggage before a flight. Advertisement Many people attach colorful ribbons around the handle of their suitcase so it’s easy to spot when they’re picking up their luggage from the carousel upon […]

When astronomer Jerry Ehman noticed something unusual in the printout from Ohio State University’s radio telescope, his response became the most famous moment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In recent years several explanations for what became known as the “Wow! signal” have been published. However, since these contradict each other, it is fair to […]

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express has been around the Red Planet for two decades and has delivered incredible images of the Martian surface. Those images have often been turned into three-dimensional visualizations and videos, and the latest one is of a fascinating series of trenches known as Nili Fossae. Advertisement The series of concentric […]

Aliens passing as humans meet an advanced reptilian race living in a subterranean kingdom. Sounds like the script of a Mork and Mindy vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover episode, but it’s actually the contents of a fantastically speculative new paper about UFOs. Advertisement Penned by researchers from Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and Montana Technological […]

The European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft is creating the most detailed map of the Milky Way. The position and motion of 1.5 billion stars are being measured, and that has revealed something pretty interesting. Some stars move in ways that can only be explained if they have come from a different galaxy. And it turns […]

Mount Everest has received its first ever drone delivery in a proof-of-concept test conducted in April this year. The incredible achievement was a first of its kind mission to use drones to deliver supplies to mountaineers. Advertisement The delivery was conducted by the technology company, DJI, in collaboration with Nepalese Airlift, the video production company […]

With razor-sharp claws, a neon blue neck, and a tall, brown helmet, Southern cassowaries are quite the sight to behold – but also an increasingly rare one, as these notoriously grumpy birds are at risk of extinction. Advertisement Southern cassowaries are generally considered to be the world’s most dangerous bird, at least in terms of […]

Creationists hate it, scientists loathe it even more, yet the “March of Progress” continues to be the defining image of human evolution.  Since its creation in the Victorian era, it’s arguably become one of the most iconic illustrations of modern science. The drawing shows a series of primates going from left to right, starting with […]

On June 5, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko became the first human to have spent 1,000 days in orbit. The space traveler had already beaten the record of longest time spent beyond Earth back in February, surpassing the record of his countryman Gennady Padalka who was in space for 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and […]