Deborah Bloomfield

Long-lasting radioactive isotopes found in ocean sediments have been considered indicators of nearby supernova activity. However, according to one, yet to be peer-reviewed, preprint submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters, in one case something more exotic was probably involved. During their lifetimes, stars convert hydrogen to helium, which eventually becomes other light elements such as […]

Over four decades have passed since the original Golden Records were blasted into deep space onboard the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in one of humanity’s first efforts to communicate with alien species. Now, scientists are looking to put together a new edition of the message to provide potential extraterrestrial life with another snapshot of […]

Earlier this month we celebrated the birthday of the oldest living land animal in the world and now it’s time to celebrate the return of the world’s oldest living wild bird to land. Wisdom the albatross came back to her nesting site of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the North Pacific Ocean on […]

Stonehenge, the Pyramids of Giza, and Machu Picchu are just some of the ancient monuments that are said to be connected by mysterious invisible pathways called ley lines. Given how little we know about these spectacular yet enigmatic landmarks, it’s sometimes been difficult for scientists to fully quell this theory or offer alternative explanations as […]

We know: “time crystals” sound like something out of a movie. And not a good movie, either – probably something from the same scriptwriter who came up with “unobtainium”. However, not only are they real, but they’re actually much cooler than anything Hollywood could come up with. They break the laws of physics. They turn […]

The Geminid Meteor Shower is set to light up the night skies on December 13 and 14. Don’t be put off by the cold weather – this is one of the strongest meteor showers of the year, and the favorable conditions of the moon should ensure they’re perfectly visible.  The Geminid Meteor Shower lasts from […]

The people of the Internet love nothing more than getting annoyed at stuff and correcting other people’s mistakes. After being prompted by X (Twitter) user Amy Colleen to reveal common historical myths that make their hackles rise, they got a chance to do both.  Below are a few of our favorites. As always, we’ll jump […]

Scientists have unveiled the new must-have accessory for the discerning lab mouse: virtual reality goggles.  Virtual reality (VR) has actually been a mainstay of neurobiological research for over a decade, but since they don’t make an Oculus Rift small enough for your average rodent, some compromise has been required. The current state-of-the-art systems use computer […]

An alarming suspected new syndrome has been described for the first time in newborn babies whose mothers used non-prescription opioids, “particularly fentanyl“, while pregnant. Displaying a range of facial, musculoskeletal, and genital abnormalities, the infants are now being monitored to determine how their condition influences their cognitive development and overall well-being. The pattern of birth […]

Deep below the mountains of Sicily, a vast deposit of ancient freshwater has been found. Although it has been trapped here for 6 million years or so, geologists believe could offer a solution to the modern-day water shortages faced by the many arid lands around the Mediterranean coastlines. It’s estimated that the deposit contains 17.5 […]

You may have noticed, perhaps around the time you started studying magnets in school, that we don’t power vehicles by strapping a magnet to the front of them and propelling them forward with a second magnet just out of reach in front of it. Instead, we continue to power our cars using electricity and the […]

JWST has studied the most recent supernova remnant in our galaxy again, using a different camera this time. In doing so it has addressed some of the questions created by its previous observations, while also revealing a giant cosmic mirror we hadn’t seen before. The last time humanity witnessed a supernova explosion in our galaxy […]

Ancient artifacts carved from volcanic glass have been found off the idyllic coast of Italy. It’s been speculated that these stunning relics fell to the seafloor amidst a shipwreck during the Stone Age, between 8,000 to 5,000 years ago, which makes the objects unbelievably old for their style and quality. The discovery was recently made […]

Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars located at the very back of the mouth. They look just like the first and second molars, but can sometimes be a little smaller. They are commonly called wisdom teeth because they are the last of the 32 permanent teeth to appear, emerging between 17 and 25 […]

Ongoing excavations at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, has recently unearthed a darker feature of the city’s past. Archaeologists have found a structure where enslaved people and donkeys were confined and forced to grind grain to make bread, a painstaking process that could take hours. The bakery-prison, as it is being referred to […]

A scientific review and meta-analysis has examined the potential for psilocybin, the active compound in “magic mushrooms”, to treat major depression and depressive disorders. The evidence shows that psilocybin could be a safe and effective treatment that needs further study. Despite advances in treatments for depression and other mental health therapies, there are still many […]

Earlier this year, we were surprised to learn that people (falsely) believed that the stone bodies of Pompeii were real bodies, and ancient in origin. Of course, they are accurate representations of the bodies of people caught up in the eruption of 79 CE, but in reality they were created by pouring plaster of Paris […]

The secretive X-37B space plane is set to blast off today onboard a SpaceX rocket. Its mission? As ever, it’s not quite clear.  For its seventh mission, the robotic plane will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time, according to the US Space Force. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space […]

When amateur aurora photographers noticed a type of light in the sky no one had reported before most people assumed they had found a new sort of aurora. However, an alternative explanation attributes it to such different causes the scientists responsible see it as something separate, not a subtype of what we already know. Some […]

Chimpanzees have been spotted engaging in some extremely rare scavenging behavior in the wild. In Tanzania, researchers watched on as an alpha chimp appeared to snatch the body of a young antelope away from an eagle, before eating its meat with other chimps, stripping the body down to just a skull.  The unusual observation was […]