Deborah Bloomfield

Like it or not, COVID-19 is still with us. Masks are among our best lines of defence against airborne pathogens – not just SARS-CoV-2 – and, though many of us would prefer to consign them to the past along with all that sourdough we baked during lockdown, it’s important we keep learning the best ways […]

Ah, pi. The most popular of the irrationals. Its expansion goes on forever, in any base, with no way to predict which number will come next; it’s so unknowable that even NASA only bothers learning around 15 digits, and they put people on the Moon. Advertisement But just because we can’t write pi using numbers […]

Voice-replicating technology has improved an impressive amount in the last few years, thanks to new speech generative models. Advertisement With various products, people are able to generate relatively convincing audio copies of people’s voices with surprisingly little input. Voice Engine from OpenAI, for example, claims to use “text input and a single 15-second audio sample […]

The relationships between animals and their environments are some of the most complex and fascinating that exist. From whales taking time for spa trips, to orangutans using local plants to treat wounds, animals’ knowledge of what local flora can make them feel better is pretty damn impressive. New research suggests that Norfolk Island green parrots […]

Cheese is a wonderful thing. Recently linked to healthy aging, it dates back to at least the Ancient Egyptians, has been a symbol of socioeconomic status, and flavoring human lives for thousands of years, in which time we’ve come up with all sort of curious curdled creations, from rainbow colors to 3D sculptures. Where we’ve […]

Same-sex sexual behavior has been observed in many non-human species across the world. It is now a widely recognized phenomenon, but a new study suggests that there is a sharp discrepancy between how common the behavior is and how often it is reported. According to this work, researchers often see same-sex sexual behavior in the […]

This week on Break It Down, white wine with a hint of human remains becomes the oldest ever discovered, Jupiter’s Red Spot may be younger than the United States, a disco dinosaur has been discovered with one hell of a hat, people volunteer to be infected with COVID-19 – for science, NASA uses its first […]

The US government has for the first time acknowledged the harms caused by the building of hydroelectric dams to Tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Advertisement A 73-page report from the Department for the Interior documents the “historic, ongoing and cumulative impacts of federal Columbia River dams” on Tribes living within the basin, focusing in on […]

In addition to its iconic collection of monumental moai, Easter Island is famed for having hosted one of the most disastrous population declines in history, as the ancient locals apparently ravaged their homeland’s resources, triggering an ecological catastrophe that doomed them all. At least, that’s how the story goes, although new research has flipped the […]

Boeing’s Starliner continues to raise concerns. The test mission to demonstrate the safety of this crew capsule began on June 5 and should have lasted about a week. “Should” is the operating word here. On June 9, NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams found out that they were staying until June 18 to have […]

According to a popular and widespread belief, the mythical griffin – that eagle-faced, winged lion monster – was inspired by dinosaur fossils discovered by ancient peoples. But new analysis suggests this may not have been the case. Advertisement Griffins (sometimes spelled “griffon” or “gryphon”) are among the oldest known mythological creatures. They are a composite […]

Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases is reporting an upsurge in cases of a serious bacterial infection called streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). This rare but potentially fatal condition is most often caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, and while other countries have seen outbreaks in recent years, the unusual case numbers in Japan are […]

If your nightmares have been feeling a little bland and repetitive recently, don’t worry, we bring you something that’ll be sure to add a fresh smattering of terror – jumping leeches. Advertisement The existence of leaping leeches has been a matter of debate since Victorian-era naturalists were kicking about, with some providing field notes of […]

A heatwave is expected to grip most of the East Coast, with higher than seasonal temperatures from Florida to Massachusetts and into the interior of the Eastern United States. The heat index in Florida is looking concerning – but in 10 days, the State will enforce a ban on heat protection for workers. Advertisement The […]

The walls of Mount Vernon, American Founding Father George Washington’s former residence, were likely witness to all sorts of historical secrets we’ll never know about, but it turns out there’s plenty to be found under the floorboards too – nearly 30 glass bottles of “perfectly preserved” cherries and berries, in fact. Advertisement It all started […]

One of the rarest cats in the world, the Iberian lynx was once on the brink of extinction. Now, thanks to intense conservation efforts, they’ve clawed their way back from being classed as an endangered species to a vulnerable one. Advertisement The change in status was announced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature […]

From your computer to maglev trains, from power tools to MRI scanners, rare Earth permanent magnets are all around us. Modern life without them is difficult so their importance can’t be overstated. However, extracting the rare Earth elements that make them is often laborious and energy-consuming. Scientists have been looking for a better way – […]

A man who died 2,000 years ago in southern Spain had his ashes infused in white wine, probably as part of some sort of ritual to assist him in his journey through the afterlife. Amazingly, the urn containing his booze-drenched remains has managed to keep the ancient plonk from deteriorating, making it the oldest surviving […]

On the bottom of the seafloor near Colombia, surrounded by fish and three centuries of sediment, there sits a shipwreck loaded with millions, perhaps billions, of dollars worth of treasure.  Advertisement Attracted by the promise of glory and gold, the sunken remains of the San José have charmed the eyes of many contenders – countries, […]