Deborah Bloomfield

Just like oil and water, certain substances in chemistry simply do not mix. At least this was our understanding. It turns out that some of these substances do mix under certain conditions, a discovery that might have a major impact on what we expect to discover on Saturn’s moon Titan and what the conditions on […]

This week, an “anti-tail” and an odd 594-kilometer (369-mile) feature have been found on interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, brain training has been found to significantly improve key neurochemical levels in a world first, and 14 new ocean species have been discovered, including popcorn-like parasites and weird worms. Finally, we spoke with ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan on […]

Lead exposure from modern chemical pollution is a well-documented threat to neurodevelopment and general health, yet a surprising new study reveals that this toxic heavy metal has, in fact, been impacting human evolution for more than two million years. What’s more, using lab-grown mini-brains, the study authors revealed that Homo sapiens is far more resistant […]

Currently, the Lagocheilus genus of snails contains 106 species that are widespread across much of south east Asia, India, and South China. Of these 106 species, only six are known from mainland India and the understanding of the snails in the Western Ghats region is largely poor due to large parts of the area having never […]

We have mapped and discovered a large portion of the most dangerous asteroids in the Solar System, but there is a glaring omission, with glaring being the operative word. Asteroids that orbit the Sun much closer than the Earth can be lost in the glare of our star. It’s painstaking work to find them, but […]

When red devil spiders ventured down the Atlantic and arrived on the Canary Islands, their genome dramatically shrank and became half the size within just a few million years (a blink of an eye in terms of evolution). A new study has investigated this “extraordinary diversification” to better understand how genomes can undergo such rapid […]

Look up at the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere from October to March, and (weather-permitting) you can catch a glimpse of Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. As well as being an excellent example of an asterism (see also: the “Summer Triangle“), this cluster of stars serves as the inspiration for what could […]

Some of us still remember when fax machines were the height of technology, so it’s safe to say this one blew our minds a little bit. Scientists have developed a pill-sized bioprinter, designed to be swallowed and then to use “living” ink to repair damage inside the body. When it’s done its job, you simply […]

We all go through an awkward phase in our youth, and most of us hope all evidence of it is lost. Our planet is no exception – but as a new study has discovered, Earth’s major makeover wasn’t totally enough to cover up its past. It’s “maybe the first direct evidence” of preserved materials from […]

Just a few weeks ago, we crossed the significant milestone of 6,000 known exoplanets. The counter keeps getting higher, and there are 8,000 more candidates waiting for confirmation. In the decades since the first detection of a world beyond the Solar System, we have learned that the universe is a lot more varied and extreme […]

No, sharks do not have bones. Their skeletons are made of cartilage, the same flexible, “rubbery” material found in human ears and noses.  Unlike bone, which is a rigid, mineralized tissue rich in calcium phosphate, cartilage is made mostly of water and protein collagen, making it lighter, flexible, and less rigid. Bonelessness is a defining […]

After millions of years of peace, an idle volcano is showing its first signs of volcanic unrest. The summit of Taftan has become swollen and bloated, indicating that the pressure of magma and hot gas is increasing within its bowels.  The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to […]

Residents of the US’s West Coast have long feared “The Big One” – the apparently inevitable massive earthquake that will one day hit where the Pacific tectonic plate meets its North American neighbor.  Well, we’ve got good news and bad news.  The good: according to a new paper, that expectation may be unrealistic. The bad: […]

It’s a hiss-toric time for the giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas), as this wetland-dwelling reptile just became California’s state snake, a designation that’s hoped to bring more awareness to the plight of this vulnerable species. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. The […]

A nanoparticle vaccine has shown great promise in preventing three types of cancer in mice, as well as stopping tumors from spreading when they were exposed to cancerous cells.  Cancer vaccines have moved from the sci-fi dream realm into actual scientific possibility within just a few short decade. We’re not just talking about the HPV […]

The noble false widow spider (Steatoda nobilis) is an invasive species that has come to populate much of Europe, western Asia, as well as North and South America. It was first formally described in 1875. The spider possesses a neurotoxin in its venom which, as well as giving humans a nasty bite, can allow it […]

Looking towards the central region of the Milky Way, there is an unexpected surplus in the most powerful light that exists: gamma rays. The source of this gamma-ray excess is uncertain. Two hypotheses have been put forth. One possibility is that dark matter particles collide with each other there and emit gamma rays. Alternatively, known […]

As the summer of 1953 drew to a close, Springfield, Missouri, was terrorized by a gang of cobras. Although it’s described today as “the oddest and most hilarious” story in the city’s history, the incident sparked several months of panic and confusion at the time. It took over 35 years to solve, but the cause […]

Comets tend to have two tails. One is known as the dust tail, and it tends to be more curved, while the other, known as the ion or plasma tail, is straighter, pointing away from the Sun. The tails can also be long, with ion tails often extending for hundreds of millions of kilometers. We […]

The origin of water on Earth is a complex affair. Was it trapped in the rocks that formed our planet or was it brought by comets and asteroids afterwards? We do not know for sure, but we can move the question even further. Did the water form with the Sun and the planet, or is […]