Around 85 percent of the world’s people identify with a religion, most of which are thousands upon thousands of years old. Of all the countless religious belief systems globally, Hinduism is most often cited as the oldest surviving major religion. However, there are a number of spiritual belief systems that deserve a mention when exploring […]
Waves 3 Times The Size Of The Sun Break On Enormous “Heartbreak” Star
Brightness fluctuations on a star with 10,000 times the Sun’s volume have been explained by enormous waves rippling in its outer layers. Instead of sloshing endlessly around the star, these waves break once a month, throwing gases into orbit. Naming a star MACHO 80.7443.1718 makes it sound tough. However, this star is called that because […]
How Much Does Google Know About You? A Short Video Shows All
If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. That’s especially true when it comes to the internet and the many free services you’re offered, whether it’s social media platforms or search engines. Internet companies often make their billions by advertising and harvesting their users’ data. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to get a […]
Why Is Russia Introducing Bison To Replace Extinct Woolly Mammoths?
Russian scientists have introduced 12 bison to the Russian Arctic in the hope they will restore the ancient ecosystem that was once maintained by woolly mammoths. In addition, the scientists involved hope these animals will help slow down the damage being caused by climate change. The bison (Bison bison bison – easy to remember), also […]
A Mysterious Interstellar Radio Signal Has Been Blinking On And Off Every 22 Minutes For Over 30 Years
Last year, we made an intriguing discovery – a radio signal in space that switched on and off every 18 minutes. Astronomers expect to see some repeating radio signals in space, but they usually blink on and off much more quickly. The most common repeating signals come from pulsars, rotating neutron stars that emit energetic […]
6,000-Year-Old Human Remains Hint At Ancient Funerals In Spanish Cave
One of the oldest burial chambers in the Iberian Peninsula has been identified in a cave in northern Spain, with bones from within the pit dated to over 6,000 years ago. Representing some of the earliest Neolithic human remains ever discovered in the region, the find provides a rare insight into the funerary customs of […]
NOAA Forecast Doubles Odds Of A Big Atlantic Hurricane Season In 2023
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has updated its forecast for the ongoing 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, ramping up its predictions from a near-normal level of activity to an above-normal level of activity. The latest update was announced by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center on August 10. Advertisement Its previous forecast in May predicted just […]
Scientists Once Stuck A Dead Salmon In An MRI Machine, For A Very Good Reason
People have done all kinds of wacky things in the name of science. Thankfully, the events of this story are a bit less drastic than that time a scientist fed birds rice to see if they would explode, or when the discoverer of LSD took a pretty hefty dose to test it out, culminating in […]
TWIS: New Video Shows Longest Ever Time-Lapse Of An Exoplanet, “Demon” Quasiparticle Finally Observed, And Much More This Week
This week a new species of tarantula showed off its locks of golden hair, astronomers have set their next target following the first-ever image of a black hole, and a new shark species was discovered in Australia with some funky-looking teeth. Finally, we learned about the first name ever given in print for a dinosaur […]
Why Switching Your Phone To Airplane Mode Is Important
Airplane mode is not just for when you want to secretly read your WhatsApp messages – it’s actually supposed to be used on, you know, airplanes. You might not have realized it, but your phone’s radio signals could be causing all sorts of havoc as you zoom through the sky, with knock-on effects that could […]
Perfect Conditions To See Perseids Sparkle In The Night Sky This Weekend
The Perseid meteor shower, the best of the year, is set to peak on Saturday, August 12 with an expected 40 meteors an hour. The Perseids is one of the most prolific meteor showers and this year the conditions are perfect to view the fireworks. The rate per hour of this shower can reach 100 […]
How The Oldest Ever Human Bones Were Found Buried In A Moroccan Cave
You can find all manner of weird and wonderful stuff in caves. From softball-sized spiders to ancient water, and even the remnants of Neanderthal interior design, some of our planet’s greatest treasures have been found in its hidden hollows. It was in a cave in Morocco that archaeologists made a discovery that changed our view of […]
“Demon” Quasiparticle Finally Observed After Decades Of Predictions
Plasmons are truly peculiar quasiparticles. They arise from quantized oscillations in plasma, the fourth and most common state of matter. Just like light is an electromagnetic oscillation with its own particle, the photon, other oscillations can create something similar. One of the weirdest plasmons of all is without doubt Pines’ Demon, and the fact that […]
How The Atomic Bomb Taught Us That Greenland Sharks Live To 400 Years Old
The Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, is the longest-living vertebrate on the planet with a lifespan that’s thought to possibly extend beyond 500 years. Even at the most conservative estimate of 272 years, it beats any other species on Earth – but the way we came to discover their extreme longevity begins with the atomic bomb. […]
What Are The Chances Russia And India Land On The Moon At The Same Time This Month?
A mini-race to the Moon is gonna happen over the next couple of weeks. The Chandrayaan-3 from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is expected to land on the South Pole of the Moon between August 23 and August 24. And this week, Roscosmos has announced that its very delayed Luna 25 will launch sometime […]
Molecules That Died With Neanderthals And Denisovans Recreated In “Molecular De-Extinction”
Molecules produced by extinct branches of the human family have been recreated for the first time since the species they came from went extinct. The work might help us in our quest to understand our long-lost cousins, but there is also a more practical concern: fighting pathogens to which others may have been immune. De-extinction, […]
Crocodiles Sense Distress In The Cries Of Human Babies, And It’s Attractive
Crying infants may attract Nile crocodiles, according to an eyebrow-raising new study that found these predatory reptiles are well attuned to the tearful cries of some primates. Having been a threat to the human lineage since it first developed, it’s entirely possible the squall of babies may represent attractive stimuli for these massive meat eaters. […]
Watch A Sloth Fight An Ocelot – And Win!
In one of the greatest upsets of all time, an unfancied sloth has recorded an unlikely victory against a feline predator. Known for their ponderous movements and dopey charm, sloths aren’t exactly built for combat – but as one ocelot found out in the Ecuadorian Amazon, the tree-dwelling dawdlers can pack a punch. The bout […]
Thousands Of Microplastics Discovered In Human Heart Tissue For First Time
Microplastics have been discovered in the human heart and its innermost tissues for the first time. While the health consequences of this are still unknown, the new study is yet another grim reminder of how pervasive the world’s plastic problem has become within just a century. In a new study, scientists at Beijing Anzhen Hospital […]
Who Were The Clovis People?
Across North America, a consistent style of tools can be found dating from around 13,500 to 12,700 years ago. These, and the people who made them, are known as Clovis, after a site in New Mexico where a large array of such tools were found in the 1930s. The similarity of the tools across great […]
