Archaeologists have recently discovered a remarkably well-preserved child’s nightgown complete with unusual “knots” that is estimated to be about 1,900 years old. The garment was found in the famous Cave of Letters in Israel, which has previously yielded other important archaeological finds that provide insights into Jewish history. The Cave of Letters was first discovered […]
Surging Methane Suggests Earth Is Brewing An Ice Age Termination Event
The past 17 years have seen some unusual rises in levels of methane gas in Earth’s atmosphere – and this surge might be a messenger for something bigger, according to new research. It’s not certain what this methane increase means exactly, but scientists argue it’s reminiscent of past “termination events” in Earth’s climate system that […]
Jerusalem Syndrome: The Unusual Psychiatric Condition Affecting Visitors To The “Holy City”
A man accused of smashing two second-century Roman statues at the Israel Museum was experiencing “Jerusalem Syndrome”, according to his lawyers. The 40-year-old tourist from the US was arrested following the alleged destruction of two statues, including one of the goddess Athena. After questioning, the Israeli police say that the man broke the statues as […]
Is It True That Walt Disney’s Body Was Frozen?
At some point in your life, whether on the Internet or watching Family Guy, you have probably come across the rumor that Walt Disney had himself cryonically frozen after his death, in the hopes of one day being thawed out and revived. You may also have come across a secondary conspiracy theory that Disney released […]
Our Sense Of Smell Changes How We See Color
If someone were to invent “smellovision”, it seems we might all end up watching the same show slightly differently – researchers have discovered that our sense of smell can affect how we perceive color. Humans are constantly bombarded with sensory information: the whirr of the computer fan as you work; the bright white of that […]
Octopuses Could Soon Get Same Legal Protections As Monkeys In US Research
Octopuses, squids, and other super-smart cephalopods may soon receive the same legal protection in the US as other animals used in scientific research, such as monkeys and rodents. Last month, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) put out a call for information to help shape their proposed guidelines for the protection of cephalopods used in […]
The Icy Odyssey Of Ancient Earth’s Frozen Era Is Explored In A New Series
Earth’s worst day at the start of the Permian extinction saw the planet’s surface transformed into a fiery hellscape. However, at other times in its history, Earth has become a ball of ice and snow. “700 million years ago, Earth was a giant snowball cloaked in ice from pole to pole – a global deep […]
The First Dog-Fox Hybrid Points To The Growing Risk To Wild Animals Of Domestic Species
Next time you see a fox when out walking with your dog, pause for a moment and ponder their relatedness. Dogs and foxes are distinct but distantly related canine species. Until recently, scientists thought it was impossible for them to breed. However, the discovery of a dog-fox hybrid in Brazil suggests that The Fox and […]
What Are “Time Reflections” And Why Are They So Promising In Tech?
Ordinary wave reflection off a suitable boundary is a familiar part of life. We witness it every day when we look in the mirror, hear it in echoes, and can watch ocean waves bounce off a breakwater if we want to see the process on a more graspable scale. Time reflections, also known as temporal […]
Want To See A Giant Squid In An Aquarium? Here’s Why You Never Will
One of the greatest battles an animal lover faces is wanting to see living things up close but needing to accept that in many situations this is neither practical, possible, or ethical. While zoos and aquariums can play a vital role in safeguarding populations that are vulnerable in the wild, there are many species that […]
Humans Got To America 7,000 Years Earlier Than Thought, New Research Confirms
When and how humans first settled in the Americas is a subject of considerable controversy. In the 20th century, archaeologists believed that humans reached the North American interior no earlier than around 14,000 years ago. But our new research found something different. Our latest study supports the view that people were in America about 23,000 […]
Over 500 Fish Have Rapidly Evolved In A Single Lake Thanks To Hybridization
The Lake Victoria of today is relatively young at just 16,000 years old, but within this tiny timeframe, some 500 different species of cichlid fish have managed to evolve here. Remarkably, this explosion of diversity is primarily thanks to hybrids born as a result of inter-species breeding. In a new study, scientists at the University […]
Same-Sex Behavior May Have An Evolutionary Benefit, Astrophysicists Find Potential Evidence Of Cracks In The Universe, And Much More This Week
This week we investigate the curious case of a killer whale that swallowed seven sea otters whole, 23,000-year-old human footprints are the earliest known in North America, and a surprising number of animals glow under UV light. Finally, we learn about the scholar who claimed Jesus was actually a hallucinogenic mushroom. Subscribe to the IFLScience […]
Strange Rare Star Explosion Spied By Hubble Where It Shouldn’t Be
For the last five years, astronomers have been spotting peculiar stellar explosions that don’t behave like any other known. These rare events are known as Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOT) – you may even remember the first one, nicknamed the “Cow” (AT2018cow). Already strange, they just got stranger as Hubble has observed one happening […]
For The First Time Ever, Humans Have Bent Lightning
For the first time, scientists have managed to deflect lightning, to the relief of anyone afraid of thunder and lightning storms but probably the chagrin of Zeus. They managed to show that lasers can act as virtual lightning rods, redirecting the direction in which bolts jump. The Franklin lightning rod was a major scientific advance […]
10,000-Meter Hole: China Drills Into The Earth To Investigate The Cretaceous System
Scientists in China have begun digging a 10,000-meter (32,808 feet) hole into the Earth, the deepest ever attempted in the country. Digging down through 10 layers of rock, the team hopes to reach rocks from the Cretaceous Period, the layer known as the Cretaceous System, which dates back up to 145 million years. The project, […]
Awesome Science Can Be Just As Good As Religion For Your Mental Wellbeing
If you don’t already visit IFLScience daily, there’s a whole new reason why you should – because researchers have found that awe-inspiring science can have a positive effect on your sense of wellbeing. The recently published paper covers three studies that examined how people view science in a spiritual way, similar to religious spirituality, and […]
Creatures Of The Sand: What Animals Live In The Desert?
The desert: on the face of it, not a particularly appealing place to live. For starters, it’s full of sand, which as we all know is coarse and rough and gets everywhere. Add to that a distinct lack of water and food sources, and you’ve got a recipe for seriously inhospitable surroundings. But some animals […]
Who Decided Which Books Went Into The Bible?
Let’s start with a point a few people may not like. The Bible, the collection of texts that make up the holy book for Christians across the world, was not created in the state we have it today. The whole thing is a compilation of different narratives, instructions, prophecies, and poems written by different people […]
How To Safely Watch Next Week’s “Ring Of Fire” Eclipse Across The US
On October 14, there will be an annular solar eclipse seen widely across the Americas. The Moon is near its apogee, the most distant point in its orbit; as it moves between the Earth and the Sun it will not cover our star completely, and the so-called “ring of fire” will remain visible. However, it’s […]
