Deborah Bloomfield

China has had a bit of a mixed bag in terms of space exploration over the last few years. Following on from several successful missions to recover samples from the Moon, in June the space-faring nation saw one rocket explode after accidentally launching it during a static test. Advertisement Now it appears that a rocket […]

Paignton Zoo in the United Kingdom has welcomed its first Chilean flamingo chicks since 2018, and among the clutch was an egg tended to by a same-sex couple: Curtis and Arthur. The new dads have captured the hearts of many, but it’s by no means the first time this kind of behavior has been seen […]

Even people with little interest in boxing are likely aware of the explosion of anger released when Italian Angela Carini withdrew early from a fight with Algerian Imane Khelif early in the Olympic women’s boxing. The issues raised are not purely scientific, but a great many of the comments about Khelif’s eligibility to compete in […]

Many of us like to jet off on holiday around this time of year, leaving in our plane’s wake a curious white trail. We’ve all seen them, but what are they? The white trails planes leave behind are called contrails, and they’re effectively artificial clouds produced by the water vapor released by aircraft engines. One […]

A potentially life-threatening pathogen has just welcomed a new family member, as researchers have identified another distinct group of Candida auris. The discovery brings the number of known clades of the fungus – an emerging multidrug-resistant superbug – to six. Advertisement C. auris is a type of yeast that can cause severe illness and is […]

On a global scale, the human population is certainly booming. It officially hit the 8-billion mark back in 2022 and is expected to spend the next 60 years or so creeping up to over 10 billion. On a country-wide scale, however, the story is a bit more complex. We know this thanks to the latest […]

A deluge of heavy rain near Lake Pátzcuaro has triggered the collapse of an ancient pyramid in Mexico, just days after the iconic “Double Arch” in Utah’s Glen Canyon National Recreation Area came crashing down into Lake Powell. Both victims of an increasingly wild global climate, according to some, this could also be an indication […]

The United Kingdom has released new voluntary codes of practice for the treatment of crabs, lobsters, and prawns, codes that the organization Crustacean Compassion has stated aren’t in keeping with the recent Animal Welfare Bill that recognized these animals as sentient beings capable of feeling pain. Advertisement The guidance published by Seafish on August 2, […]

The Earth is currently in the firing line of four distinct coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which means we could experience geomagnetic storms throughout the weekend. And while it’s unclear exactly how strong these storms will be, such events are known to trigger spectacular auroras at lower latitudes than one would typically expect to see them. […]

The southern polar vortex is currently showing rare signs of extreme instability, leading to fears that it could collapse, bringing both icy blasts and extreme heatwaves to the southern hemisphere. Likewise, the northern polar vortex had yet another wild winter this year, and with climate change set to intensify these perilous polar patterns, we could […]

Fancy a brighter, whiter smile? You’re not the only one. An estimated 35.22 million people in the US are expected to use some sort of tooth whitener this year – but do any of the most popular methods they might end up using actually work? Advertisement Before we get started, it should be noted that […]

Imagine not letting your butt rest on a solid surface for an entire week. That means no chilling in an armchair while watching TV, no sinking into an ergonomic office chair and no sitting on the toilet seat while you poop. Advertisement To find out what that’s like, YouTuber pigmie recently attempted to go seven […]

A popular natural rock feature that stood for millions of years has come crashing down into Lake Powell in Utah’s Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Known as the Double Arch, the stunning geological attraction had been one of the park’s most visited beauty spots, but collapsed on Thursday, August 8th. Advertisement Also known as the […]

Look at a map of faults and fault lines in the US, and much of it will look pretty much like you’d expect, assuming you’ve ever heard of the San Andreas Fault. Basically, there’s nothing between the East Coast and, oh, Denver or so, and then suddenly the country turns into a mess of seismic […]

This week, the first-ever archaeological survey in space was carried out on the ISS, we investigated if the Egyptians really built their oldest pyramid with a hydraulic lift, and we explained why people are so excited about Perseverance’s “possible biosignature” discovery on Mars. Finally, we asked why we believe in urban legends like the Russian sleep experiment. […]

It’s easy to assume that “big” equals “strong”. If you pitted an elephant and a guinea pig against each other in a weightlifting contest, it’s pretty easy to guess how that would go… or is it? While some of the strongest bones to be found in the animal kingdom do belong to the traditional big […]

Sometimes the natural world and the world of computer and video games have a little bit of a crossover – from the frightening zombie fungus from The Last Of Us, to the subject of today’s article. Meet the Pacman frog. Pacman frogs aren’t really called Pacman frogs but because of their pleasingly round bodies and […]

This week on Break It Down: the first archaeological study takes place outside of Earth, the oldest calendar might show a comet impact, a new study thinks the ancient Egyptians were using hydraulic tech to build the pyramids (others disagree), what a rock on Mars could tell us about potential life in the Solar System, […]

Ever thought, “I’d really like a game of table tennis,” but had no one to play with? Well, do we have the scientific breakthrough for you! Google DeepMind has just unveiled a robot that could give you a run for your money in a match, but don’t assume you’d be in for a trouncing – […]

In a matter of days, the European Space Agency’s JUICE mission will attempt a completely new maneuver that breaks two records: It will be the first time a spacecraft uses two objects for a gravity assist maneuver, and it will be the first-ever Lunar-Earth flyby. The Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist (LEGA) is expected to save JUICE […]