Deborah Bloomfield

Ancient DNA can reveal all sorts of things about the past – from the mysteries of human evolution to the secrets of Earth’s prehistoric climate. We’ve found some pretty old examples of it – but what is the oldest DNA ever recovered? Advertisement What is ancient DNA? DNA is the hereditary material in humans and […]

If there’s one thing that the internet has made clear, it’s that scientists should not be allowed anywhere near your food. They’ll snip the middle out of your birthday cake; divide your pizza into weird, curvilinear tessellations – and now, they’re coming after your sandwiches. Advertisement Now, we all have a favored way to slice […]

The government in Alberta, Canada has announced an end to the 18-year ban on hunting grizzly bears in the province, drawing criticism from wildlife conservationists.  Advertisement Hunting grizzly bears – which are a subspecies of the brown bear Ursus arctos – was first brought to a close in Alberta back in 2006 due to low numbers […]

Two NASA astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) have described the moment they realized that the spaceship that brought them there was faulty. The astronauts – Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore – departed for the ISS on June 5, the third and final test of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, and […]

A new study has suggested that up to 60 percent of near-Earth objects could be “dark comets”, a strange class of objects that have characteristics of both asteroids and comets. Advertisement Comets are remnants of dust, ice, and rock left over from the formation of the Solar System, typically measuring 1 to 10 kilometers (0.6 […]

The Bubonic plague that killed a third of the population of Europe and parts of Asia in the 14th century stands as possibly the most devastating disease epidemic in world history. But it seems there had been a warning of what the bacterium could do thousands of years before, when it was a contributor to […]

Chile’s Atacama Desert – the driest nonpolar desert on the planet – is currently blanketed in swathes of pretty purple flowers. It may seem strange for plant life to bloom in such a hostile place, but, stranger still, it is happening in the dead of winter, several months earlier than anticipated. The phenomenon is known […]

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 “If you fell from a skyscraper on the Moon, would you die or otherwise get badly […]

A new robotic ankle controlled by electrical signals in residual muscles below the knee is showing promise in improved mobility and reduced pain. After just two practice sessions, around six hours in total, seven participants in a clinical trial testing the new device were able to walk as fast as non-amputees and the movements of […]

What may be Britain’s oldest giant chalk figure, the iconic Uffington White Horse, has been given some much-needed care after it had started to shrink and thin out. The restoration work has spruced up the ancient horse, allowing it to put on weight again and return to its former glory. Advertisement Last year, archaeologists with […]

It’s almost forty years since Voyager 2 checked out Uranus, leaving some great mysteries behind. Three planetary scientists think they’ve shown two of these are connected – why its proton radiation belts are so weak and why its magnetic field is off-kilter – possibly solving one. Advertisement Magnetic fields affect the movements of charged particles, […]

Parents in the animal kingdom often have their work cut out for them, from octopus moms who can’t eat while looking after their eggs, to those animals going it solo. What is unusual is large mammals having multiple offspring, but that is exactly what’s happened in Yellowstone National Park as a grizzly bear female was […]

After a suspicious set of test results triggered an investigation last week, public health officials in Pueblo County, Colorado, have now confirmed a case of plague in a local resident. Advertisement Plague is a bacterial infection that’s best known for decimating Europe’s population in the mid-14th century, with what came to be known as “The […]

The largest of the star clusters that surround the Milky Way, Omega Centauri, has a black hole at the core with a mass 20,000-50,000 times that of the Sun, new evidence reveals. At 18,000 light years away, this object is hardly close, and certainly no threat, but the discovery is important. Astronomers have long sought […]

A woman from New Jersey has died less than three months after becoming the second person in history to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. Lisa Pisano underwent the historic procedure in April as an experimental last resort for severe illness, but had to have the porcine organ removed 47 days later. Advertisement The […]

Analysis from environmental charity WWF shows that, as of this week, the amount of fish consumed this year in the European Union (EU) has already reached the annual amount that can be obtained from the Mediterranean. To match demand, Italy and other southern European countries have to rely on imports. The WWF and New Economics […]

Younger generations in the US are way more skeptical about the “American Dream” than older folks, according to a new poll. The American Dream is a phrase used to describe the optimistic idea that anyone in the US can attain their own version of success through hard work and determination.  It was popularized by historian […]

The discovery of an immune system pathway that appears to be a driving force behind lupus could herald the development of targeted treatments for the autoimmune disease. With 1.5 million people affected in the US alone, this new study will be welcome news for scores of patients living with this long-term condition. Advertisement Systemic lupus […]

Building sandcastles is one of the great joys of a day at the beach, but when you’re sourcing building materials it’s vitally important you don’t go digging giant holes. Why? Because statistics suggest that suffocating in the sand may be a bigger killer than shark attacks. The threat of sand suffocation comes down to the […]

When you think of a lion, what is the first thing that comes to mind? A catchy song from a Disney movie, their majestic roar, or maybe the similarities between these predators and the housecat curled up on your lap? What perhaps doesn’t enter your mind is the swimming prowess of these African beasts. Well, […]