A worm larva dating back half a billion years has got a group of scientists very excited, and with good reason. Sitting right at the beginning of the arthropods, its body may contain insights into the evolution of a vast range of animal groups, including insects, arachnids, crabs, and centipedes. The fossil has been named […]
Time’s Arrow Within Glass Appears To Go In Both Directions, Raising Huge Questions
A study on the movement of molecules within glass has found something pretty astonishing, assuming that the results can be replicated. Processes within glass, as well as a few other materials with similar properties, appear to be time-reversible, potentially telling us something interesting about the second law of thermodynamics. Advertisement Have you ever noticed, while […]
WHO Says Mpox Outbreak Now A Public Health Emergency Of International Concern
The mpox outbreak that is sweeping through at least 13 countries in Africa has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Just days after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) made a similar, first-of-its-kind declaration for the continent of Africa, the WHO […]
Wondering How To Get A Song Out Of Your Head? Meet The Earworm Eraser
I was recently lucky enough to attend a choir performance inspired by The Kinks that was even attended by Ray Davies himself. It was a hoot, it was a treat, and it has haunted me every day since. I could not for love nor money get the chorus to The Village Green Preservation Society out […]
Beautiful, Long-Lasting Sky Trains Left By Meteors Occur More Often Than We Thought
Bright meteors are sometimes followed by two effects, known respectively as trails and trains. Trails are well understood, but trains are a different matter. Most trains disappear within seconds, but a rare few can last for up to an hour. Advances in photography have allowed scientists to study this phenomenon is much greater depth, proving […]
We’ve Finally Found The Atlanteans! No, Not Those Ones – They’re Volcanoes
Good news, conspiracy theorists: Atlanteans are real after all. There’s just one catch: they’re actually not a heroic race of people from an ancient and mythical land lost to Poseidon’s wrath. Turns out, they’re volcanoes. Advertisement Discovered in the oceans north of the Canary Islands, the three underwater volcanoes have been named “Los Atlantes” – […]
Stonehenge’s Famous Altar Stone May Be From Scotland, Over 700 Kilometers Away
The Altar Stone at Stonehenge may have been sourced from northeast Scotland, at least 700 kilometers (434 miles) away from its final placement in southwest England. It’s not clear how prehistoric humans managed to transport the 6-ton rock to the other side of the British Isles, but the new research adds further intrigue to the […]
Europe’s Heat-Related Death Toll Topped 47,000 In 2023, And That’s Probably An Underestimate
Sometimes, it can be hard to comprehend the enormity of climate change without seeing any immediate effects. That shouldn’t be a problem for much longer: in a grim sign of the planet’s current condition, last year wasn’t only the hottest on record – it also likely caused more heat-related deaths in Europe than any other […]
Mpox Declared Public Health Emergency In Africa In First-Of-Its-Kind Decree
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) just declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), a first in the agency’s history. The announcement comes as suspected cases of the disease across the continent in 2024 have risen past 17,000, a massive increase on the 2022 and 2023 figures. Advertisement […]
Unique Neanderthal Lair Reveals How They Lived Before Modern Humans Appeared
The discovery of a rare Neanderthal rock shelter from the period before Homo sapiens arrived in Western Europe has provided some surprising new insights into how these extinct humans lived when they were the only hominids in town. Located in the Spanish Pyrenees, the site contains a wealth of animal bones and stone tools, revealing […]
Softball-Sized Tarantulas Are Crossing State Lines In Their Thousands Looking For Love
Ever wondered where baby tarantulas come from? It all starts with a big walk and it’s about to begin in parts of the United States. Around this time of year, males begin marching about in search of mates, sometimes in large groups and traveling significant distances. Who said romance was dead? Advertisement The movement of […]
Oldest Viking Legal Text, Written In Runes On An Iron Hoop, Reveals New Insights
The Forsa Ring (Forsaringen in Swedish) is the oldest surviving legal text from Scandinavia, dating to around the 9th or 10th century CE. However, the information is not inscribed on paper, nor rock or wood, but on an iron ring. Advertisement The legal document consists of a metal hoop around 43 centimeters (nearly 17 inches) […]
Stalactites And Stalagmites: What’s The Difference?
Ever went caving as a child and were told all about the wonderful structures that form within these epic caverns, only to promptly forget everything the second you saw the sign for the gift shop? Well, wonder no more, as we break down the differences between those pesky cave structures. Advertisement Stalactites and stalagmites The […]
Mississippi’s First Mammoth Tusk Spotted By Amateur Fossil Hunter
It’s not every day you find a 2-meter (7 foot) tusk from a member of the same order as elephants, so finding one sticking out of a steep embankment in Madison County, Mississippi was a big event for amateur collector Eddie Templeton. When he alerted the Mississippi State Geological Survey, he learned he had found […]
Astrologists Are Overly Confident And Terrible At Astrology, Study Finds
A new study has put astrologers to the test, ultimately determining that they are confident in what they are saying, but no better at it than random chance. Advertisement Astrology mentions the planets and stars a lot, so can sound sort of science-y to laypeople, until you start looking into it. In fact, Gallup and […]
Humanity Could Use “Glitter” To Terraform Mars (And Add A Little Razzle Dazzle)
Right now, we are looking for signs of life on Mars at the surface, and perhaps soon in the ocean of liquid water found deep in the crust. Advertisement Finding signs of life (if that were to happen) could tell us about how life evolves, whether it is abundant in the cosmos, or even whether […]
“Mysterious” Sloth-Borne Virus Detected In Europe For First Time – Should We Be Worried?
Reports of a rare virus in three European countries have sparked fears of an “emerging threat to global health”. Oropouche virus, sometimes referred to as a “sloth virus”, typically spreads in the Americas but seems to have made its way across the Atlantic for the first time – how concerned should we be? Here’s everything […]
Lightning Strikes Two People At Horseshoe Bend In Arizona
On Monday (August 12), two people were struck by lightning in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Advertisement In a statement released on Tuesday, the National Park Service (NPS) revealed that two female visitors, aged 22 and 23 and hailing from the Netherlands and Australia, had “sustained injuries” while standing near the rim of Horseshoe […]
Some Of The Smallest Dinosaur Footprints Ever Found After Heavy Rains
An ancient trail of tiny dinosaur footprints has been discovered in the Linxia UNESCO Global Geopark in Gansu province, China. According to reports from South China Morning Post, scientists got the heads up from museum employees in the region who spotted the miniature marks after heavy rains. Advertisement Extreme weather can both help and hamper […]
One Of The Earliest Depictions Of Jesus Shows Him With A Donkey Head
One of the oldest known depictions of Jesus Christ isn’t found in a humble chapel in Bethlehem, nor is it a fine work of art kept in the shady basements of the Vatican. In fact, it’s a piece of crudely drawn Roman graffito that shows a person with the head of a donkey being crucified. […]
