Deborah Bloomfield

Researchers in Australia have used spent coffee grounds to make concrete 30 percent stronger. Simply by replacing a percentage of sand with waste coffee, something common to many households, it is possible to make construction more efficient and greener.  As a household item, coffee grounds are everywhere. It is currently estimated that around 60 million tons […]

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter concluded its 72nd flight with a rough emergency landing, losing contact with the rover Perseverance when it was still about 3 meters (10 feet) from the ground. One communication was established, the American space agency announced that they had seen images that confirmed that after almost 1,000 days of service, Ingenuity had […]

A new species of giant deep-sea isopod has been identified in the Bahamas after researchers with OceanX deployed traps on the seabed. A cousin of the much beloved terrestrial roly-poly pill bugs, they serve a similar ecological role in the nutrient cycle, making them a vital part of the ecosystem. These alien-like critters have see-through […]

A 30-year study of over 900 participants has found an association between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and problems with memory and cognition. While it’s not possible to say for sure that PCOS caused the observed issues, the scientists behind the work say more research is now needed to better understand these potential risks of a […]

Visions of the future from the past tend to involve a lot more stuff flying around in the sky than ends up happening in real life. Disappointing as it is that we didn’t get flying cars, we have also missed out on Cloud Nine; Buckminster Fuller’s vision of the future population being housed inside gigantic […]

Ever feel like you’re being watched? More specifically, ever think to yourself, “I probably should/shouldn’t do that,” because someone might see you? Well, here comes science to throw a spanner in the works. When one group of researchers applied testosterone gel to some men, it made them much less sensitive to being observed, and consequently […]

By comparing the DNA of individuals born with a range of birth defects, including extra fingers and toes, researchers have identified a new rare disorder and with it, opened up an avenue towards improved diagnosis and treatment. The findings were described in a study that examined three children sharing a rare combination of traits: polydactyly, […]

While you might hear parrots and think of them flying majestically through the trees in the Amazon – or even that one time a flightless parrot in New Zealand got up close and personal with a zoologist – your mind probably wouldn’t go to the idea of them swinging through the forest by their beaks. […]

A mysterious low noise regularly heard by residents in South Tampa, Florida, over the last three years may have an explanation. In 2021, residents from Port Tampa to Davis Islands heard what has been described as a “mysterious deep bass sound”. Advertisement “Everyone seems to have their favorite theory,” resident Sara Healy explained in a […]

Bone fragments found near, Ranis, central Germany, prove Homo sapiens were in the area at least 45,000 years ago, possibly the earliest date for our species in northern Europe. The discovery indicates that modern humans and Neanderthals lived side by side for thousands of years, rather than our ancestors’ arrival spelling immediate doom for humanity’s […]

Along the coast of Morocco, archaeologists have uncovered the oldest human footprints ever discovered in Northern Africa and the Southern Mediterranean. Dating to some 90,000 years ago, they are also “among the oldest footprints attributed to Homo sapiens worldwide.”  An international team of archaeologists recently discovered the footprints near the city of Larache on the […]

Since the 18th century, we’ve known that there are special points around two massive bodies in space as long as one orbits the other. There are places that move with the smaller orbiting object, never changing distance from it; they are great places to park spacecraft and telescopes. And it turns out, you can copy […]

Over in the Facebook group Physics is Fun, one member stirred things up a bit by claiming “light takes on the velocity of its source”, meaning that if you were to cycle forwards and turn on your bike light, the light emitted from it would travel at light speed + whatever incredible speed you are […]

The interaction between light from the Sun, charged particles, and molecules in the atmosphere can create a variety of glowing phenomena. The best known are the Northern and Southern Lights. They truly put on a show, but they are not the only ones. A more subtle phenomenon is called airglow, and while it is possible […]

Fossils can tell us a lot about dinosaurs, and sometimes, it can be pretty surprising. That’s certainly the case for a new study that analyzed the bones of everyone’s favorite bipedal predators, the theropods. The research revealed that this group of dinosaurs may have been affected by bone diseases, and that particular types of theropods […]

If worst comes to worst and atomic warfare erupts, seaweed could become the unlikely savior of humanity. In a nuclear war, mushroom clouds and searing hot fireballs are just the start of the problems. Radiation will poison the land and vast plumes of soot will be blasted into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight from reaching Earth’s […]

The tentative detection of the first-ever exomoons – moons orbting planets outside the Solar System – was called into question at the end of last year when scientists using a new detection algorithm said they couldn’t find them. The exomoons have been at the center of plenty of drama over the five years since their […]

TikTok abounds with techniques that will supposedly keep us looking young, which seems a tad odd considering the biggest proportion of its users are under 25. Regardless, it’s full of advice about 20-step skincare routines and “anti-aging” straws (yes, you read that right). And the latest trend? Face yoga. What is face yoga? The idea […]

A tortoise in Brazil has received a new lease of life thanks to a one-of-a-kind 3D-printed prosthesis. Filó the 25-year-old Chelonoidis carbonarius – or jabuti, as the species is known locally – had been left unable to walk following surgery to correct a severe reproductive condition, yet now zips around on wheels. Veterinary doctor Giuliano […]

Baleen whales have paired blowholes, while toothed whales have just one. This has led scientists to suspect that baleen whales, like humans and many land creatures, can use subtle differences in the strength of a scent to detect the direction it’s coming from. It’s not an easy hypothesis to test, however, given that the largest […]