Working out the shape of the Milky Way Galaxy from the inside has been quite a challenge, but we’ve slowly found our place, which turns out to be in a minor arm. If you’re looking at the night sky with eyes alone, most of what you can see is part of this same arm. Douglas […]
Sperm Whale “Phonetic Alphabet” Similar To Human Language, Why AstraZeneca Has Taken Its COVID-19 Vaccine Off The Market, And Much More This Week
This week, the “near-collapse” of Earth’s magnetic field 590 million years ago may have helped complex life form, rock art depicting cows suggests the Sahara was a very different place 4,000 years ago, and could psychedelic toad venom be the next big thing in antidepressants? Finally, we consider the dinosauroid and explore how dinosaurs may […]
World’s Oldest Running Battery Has Been Chiming For Over 180 Years
The gentle chime of the Oxford Electric Bell can barely be heard, but what it lacks in loudness, it more than makes up for in the durability of its battery. The bell has been ringing since 1840, making it one of the world’s longest running science experiments – though quite what’s kept it going for […]
“Chicken Skin” Is A Common Condition, But What Actually Is It?
If you’ve ever experienced those small, sometimes reddish bumps on your skin, you’re not alone; so-called “chicken skin” is so common it’s often considered a normal variant of human skin. In medical terms, it’s better known as keratosis pilaris (KP) – but what actually is this, and can it be treated? What is keratosis pilaris? […]
The Quietest Place On Earth Is Minus Decibels
The sound of silence is one that few people truly know, but there is a place you can go if you’d like to get acquainted. Be warned, however, that the deafening hush of the place can cause you to become oddly disoriented, and it’s thought that no one is able to last more than an […]
The Chinese Witch Hazel Plant Shoots Seeds With Ballistic Force
It’s easy to think of the plant world as gentle and calm, but take a closer look and you’ll find plenty of plant life that doesn’t quite fit that perspective. That includes the Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis), which scientists have captured squeezing out its seeds with an impressive level of force. Advertisement It all […]
A Potentially Fatal New COVID-Related Syndrome Has Emerged
A rare yet deadly autoimmune disorder appears to be on the rise in the north of England, and new research indicates that the outbreak may be linked to COVID-19. Known as Anti-MDA5 positive dermatomyositis, the disease was mainly observed in Asian populations prior to the pandemic, yet is now surging among the caucasian residents of […]
Scientists Observe The Emergence Of A New Accent In Antarctica
Scientists witnessed the first stages of a common accent developing in Antarctica among its ever-changing population of scientists who spend months together at research stations on the isolated continent. Advertisement Antarctica has no native population or permanent residents, but it does have a transitory community of scientists and support staff who live there for part of the […]
People Are Just Learning The True Meaning Of The Word Wi-Fi
A lot of people (IFLScience included) rely on Wi-Fi every single day, for our jobs, accessing the news, accidentally spending three hours on TikTok – and we can now do so in more places than ever before. But while it might be heading towards ubiquity, how many of us actually know what the term stands […]
How To Tell If A Conspiracy Theory Is Probably False
Conspiracy theories are everywhere, and they can involve just about anything. People believe false conspiracy theories for a wide range of reasons – including the fact that there are real conspiracies, like efforts by the Sackler family to profit by concealing the addictiveness of oxycontin at the cost of countless American lives. The extreme consequences […]
Where Does The Idea That Crystals Are Healing Come From?
This article first appeared in Issue 19 of our digital magazine CURIOUS. Advertisement It’s a busy Saturday morning in the local New Age store. Everywhere I walk, I have to maneuver around islands of individuals and families eagerly examining everything from candles and Tarot cards, to dream catchers and incense (I had no idea there were so many […]
The “Gateway To The Underworld” In Siberia Is Splintering Open
The Batagay megaslump, better known as Siberia’s “gateway to the underworld,” is up to its usual tricks. New research shows that the giant geological scar has grown up to 1 million cubic meters (35 million cubic feet) each year since 2014, pumping out thousands of tons of carbon as it fractures. Advertisement The 1-kilometer-long (0.62-mile) […]
Ultrasonics Make Cold Brew Coffee In Minutes Not Hours
Coffee that matches the taste profile that usually takes a day to achieve through cold brewing can now be produced in 1-3 minutes using ultrasound, with more caffeine to boot. The technology could make the cold brew experience available to the impatient and the housebound, making most coffee fans happy and forcing coffee snobs to […]
When Can Wildlife Photographers Intervene?
This article first appeared in Issue 19 of our digital magazine CURIOUS. Advertisement Fans of the David Attenborough BBC series Dynasties may remember a particularly harrowing scene in which a group of penguins got stuck in a ditch during a storm and couldn’t get out. It was a memorable episode, not only because of the desperate plight of […]
Archaeoraptor: The Dinosaur-Bird “Missing Link” And One Of Science’s Greatest Hoaxes
Heralded as the “missing evolutionary link” that proved modern-day birds evolved from feathered dinosaurs nearly three decades ago, the Archaeoraptor liaoningensis fossil was a discovery thought to change how the world saw evolution. Advertisement The fossil, so-named in its unveiling, appeared to be a combination of a bird and theropod, or two-footed dinosaur. On publication, […]
Are There Really Places On Earth Where It Is Illegal To Die?
Have you heard that it’s illegal to die in the cold distant reaches of Svalbard, Norway? The reasoning is that, due to the permafrost, bodies laid to rest in this Arctic territory will not decompose and so present a biological risk for future generations. However, this is not really true, especially the part about dying […]
This Curious Black Garlic Doesn’t Give You Garlic Breath And Is Healthy Too
Do you like garlic? Of course you do, and now you can enjoy everyone’s favorite ingredient without having to worry about garlic breath as a University of Queensland collaboration is trying to make black garlic happen. Black garlic was first developed in regions of Eastern Asia, and it’s created by aging garlic in controlled humidity. […]
Meat Tax: Could A Charge On Steak And Sausage-Lovers Save The Planet?
Whether you like the idea or absolutely loathe it, some believe that a “meat tax” is almost inevitable in the near future. While it’s sure to anger die-hard carnivores with libertarian leanings, there’s decent evidence that suggests a levy of high-emission foods could have many benefits for the planet, people, and animals – although it’ll […]
The Platypus Doesn’t Have A Stomach, And Probably Never Will
It’s honestly no surprise that the first people to see platypuses thought they were fake; they look like someone woke up one day and decided to bung together a bizarre-looking mishmash of a duck, beaver, and otter. Take a peek inside a platypus, however, and they get even stranger – they don’t have a stomach. […]
How To Make A Million Dollars (With Math!!)
According to the latest figures, there are more than 5.5 million people in the US who have more than a million dollars to hand. That sounds like a big number, until you realize it equates to about 1.65 percent of the population – or to put it another way, fewer than one in every 60 […]
