Deborah Bloomfield

There are plenty of local issues with the United States’ power grid. Texas, for example, continues to have weather-related outages. But there is another threat that should be considered – and it comes from beyond Earth. The effects of space weather, of a geomagnetic storm, could be disastrous.  Advertisement Researchers have found two particularly vulnerable […]

The only green-boned dinosaur fossil ever discovered is set to take center stage this fall at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. “Gnatalie” (pronounced Natalie) will grace the Museum’s new wing and community hub, where her verdant remains will be on display for all to see. Advertisement As well as being the only green-colored […]

A vaccine platform that promises a one-shot solution to the flu has just been tested on a potential pandemic strain, and the scientists behind it say their results are very promising indeed. Advertisement “I think it means within five to 10 years, a one-and-done shot for influenza is realistic,” said corresponding author Jonah Sacha of […]

The fastest object ever made by humankind is NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, a spacecraft that cruised through the corona, the Sun’s upper atmosphere, a mere 6.5 million kilometers (4 million miles) from its surface. Advertisement It first completed this historic flyby of the Sun in 2021, but achieved its top speeds during its 17th close passage […]

The very first inhabitants of the paleocontinent known as Sahul may have exported some of the region’s most iconic mammals to islands hundreds of kilometers away, new research suggests. Consisting of Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and other nearby isles, Sahul is famous for its cast of marsupial characters, some of which appear to have been […]

Ever been out walking and spotted a pair of sneakers slung over a power line? It’s not an uncommon sight, and with good reason.  Shoe tossing – or shoefiti – is done all over the globe and for all sorts of reasons, so let’s dive into some of the most common theories behind this seemingly […]

Researchers have been able to turn simulation and observational data from a fusion reactor into an incredible 3D simulation. It provides a view of what it would be like to fly through the plasma, and gives insights into how the reactor behaves at such extreme temperatures. Advertisement The modeled reactor is a faithful reproduction of […]

Front paws forward, stomach on the ground, and most importantly, back legs kicked back. This is the full sploot position. And it is very cute. Advertisement The sploot. Although the first use of the word is unknown it has gained increasing popularity over the last seven years. Its origins are in DoggoLingo, a cutesy internet […]

The United Nations (UN) has issued a report warning that some efforts to combat the effects of climate change may bring with them further risks. The report emphasizes how interconnected and fragile our system is in the 21st century and urges us not to focus on short-term solutions that may impact long-term prosperity. Advertisement The […]

Although chimpanzees and humans share a surprising 98.8 percent of their DNA, our differences are vast – or at least we like to think. Take a look at chimp behavior and you’ll quickly realize that we’re not so different from our primate cousins (for better or for worse). Advertisement Chimps are warmongers Humans aren’t the […]

Fancy a trip to see the stars? Don’t worry if you haven’t got a rocket – to see the stars we’re talking about, you only need a passport, some flip-flops, and a Japanese phrasebook. Advertisement Our destination is right down in the south of Japan, on the three islands of Iriomote, Hatoma, and Taketomi. Scoop […]

So, mere hours after announcing that only the emergence of some medical problem would make him drop out of the presidential race, US President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID. But how worried should he and his supporters be?  Advertisement Is this the end of his campaign? Or just a week with the sniffles? […]

Cephalopods are always full of surprises that push the boundaries of what we think we know about animal life – and few are more fascinating than the octopus squid (Octopoteuthis deletron), a deep-sea loner with removable limbs and a strong tendency towards same-sex behavior.  Most squids have a total of 10 appendages, consisting of eight […]

This week on Break It Down: why Venus just got very exciting as a potential site of extra-terrestrial life, how you make butter out of thin air, a Stegosaurus on sale for $44 million, the discovery of the first Moon cave, why Earth just landed itself a new microcontinent, and pseudoscience Vs anti-science – what […]

Space weather can be beautiful, such as the incredible aurorae seen around the world in May, and dangerous, damaging technology both temporarily and permanently. Predicting space weather is incredibly important. And researchers now report a better understanding of coronal mass ejections, a crucial development in knowing what kind of danger lies in the future. Advertisement […]

Words like “fruit”, “berry”, and “vegetable” are thrown around with reckless abandon, taking little care for their botanic classifications. So, if you’d like help reducing your circle of friends, stick with us and we’ll teach you how to correctly identify all the taxonomic inaccuracies surrounding fruit and veg. Let’s start off easy to whet your […]

The Sun has a main cycle of activity that lasts about 11 years. We count them from minimum to minimum. We are currently around the maximum of activity and that has been the main focus of scientists. This is a period of intense solar storms, as we saw back in May. But within that flurry […]

Ozempic, Wegovy, GLP-1 – they have all become online buzzwords. A miracle drug for weight loss that makes you feel full and has apparently minimal side effects? But there is more. A flood of studies and clinical trials are investigating whether Ozempic and its sister drugs could treat an assortment of heart, kidney, and liver […]

The UK has become the first European country to approve the sale of lab-grown meat – not for humans, but for cats and dogs.  Advertisement UK-based company Meatly is now authorized to sell pet food products containing cultivated chicken, according to an announcement on their website. They hope to start selling the product later this […]

An international group of researchers has developed a new tool for measuring gender inequality between women and men in the United States, and in doing so, revealed which states have the greatest levels of inequality for women. Advertisement According to the team’s findings, gender inequality is at its highest in Arkansas, closely followed by Louisiana […]