Deborah Bloomfield

Tobacco pipes were one of the first mass-produced, disposable objects in Britain. Through contact with indigenous peoples of the Americas, tobacco pipes and tobacco were introduced to Europe as early as the 16th century, but had been used in the Americas for centuries before this. Pipes were adapted for European tastes using European materials, and […]

A cave in southern Spain has been continuously visited by humans for over 40,000 years, new research has revealed. After analyzing charcoal and soot left by the torches that have lit the cavern since time immemorial, the study authors confirmed that the spot saw more prehistoric incursions than any cave other in Europe. Located in […]

The Hakuto-R Mission 1 Moon lander, which aimed to be the first private lander on the Moon, has likely crashed into the Moon’s surface, according to its creators. The lander began its four month journey in December 2022, being launched by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Without the annoyance of having to keep astronauts alive, […]

If you’ve spent far too much time on the Internet, you may have stumbled across the story of Sergei Ponomarenko, a supposed time traveler who showed up in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2006. According to the story, a man was found wandering the streets of Kyiv, wearing a strange outfit for the time and carrying an […]

Besides having an orbit that could cause it to hit Earth far in the future, asteroid 3200 Phaethon is primarily known for having that most unasteroid-like thing, a tail. Astronomers initially thought the tail was dust blasted off the surface by the extreme heat Phaethon experiences, but experimental evidence now supports an alternative hypothesis, that […]

If you go down to the intertidal shrimp pond today, you’re sure of a big surprise – which is certainly what researchers in Hong Kong received when they discovered a completely unknown species of box jellyfish, the first species of box jelly ever to be found in Chinese waters.  The class Cubozoa, most commonly known […]

Every now and then on the Internet, people discover something about food that you thought everyone already knew. Hey, we’re all learning, right? Last month it was the turn of paprika and all spice, but now it’s our old friend Parmesan cheese under the spotlight. “Today years old when I found out Parmesan cheese is […]

In recent years we have learned a lot about various efforts to limit the spread of diseases, such as COVID-19, through global vaccination efforts, but did you know immunization has a long and fascinating history?  Far from being a modern technique, the principle of vaccination has been utilized for several centuries, and there is evidence […]

The first image ever taken of a black hole’s shadow was recently sharpened by AI. That made for a pretty picture, but the bigger story was still to come. Refinements of images taken five years ago have now, for the first time, allowed us to see the jets expelled by the black hole at the […]

Researchers have discovered a gene that they believe could be driving anxiety symptoms, potentially opening up a new therapeutic avenue. When the team modified the gene, they managed to reduce anxiety levels in animal models, suggesting the gene could be closely tied to the complex condition.  Anxiety disorders are a set of complex conditions involving […]

Can humans feel wetness? It may sound like a strange question, given that you definitely feel like you can tell when an object is wet, but there is a bit of reasoning behind it. Twitter user @HannahPosted recently informed her followers that humans do not have a direct way to detect wetness, relying instead on […]

Have you ever wondered how the Vikings managed to navigate from Scandinavia to America a millennium before the invention of GPS systems? The routes they took often crossed through near-polar regions that were subject to dense fog, rain, and clouded skies that obscured the Sun and stars, making it extremely difficult to find their bearings […]

The results of a world-first clinical trial have shown promise for a new genetic therapy in reducing the amount of harmful proteins that build up in the brain of Alzheimer’s (AZ) patients, offering a tentative hope that the condition could be slowed or even reversed. Using a the therapy on a small number of patients, researchers […]

Dog walkers might want to consider investing in protective headwear: research has found a surprising link between brain damage and leashed dogs. According to John Hopkins University researchers, traumatic brain injury is the second most common injury among adults treated in the United States for injuries sustained while walking leashed dogs.  Life is never without […]

DNA sequences from over 30,000 previously unknown viruses have been discovered, thanks to a seriously powerful computer and some clever detective work. The team, led by Dr Christopher Bellas at the University of Innsbruck, was astounded when their study of a group of complex micro-organisms called protists came up with a whole lot more than […]

Meteorite impacts can be cataclysmic events in the history of a planet, melting rock, changing atmospheric chemistry, and wreaking general havoc. However, impacts may also have created Earth’s continents, supported ecological niches that kick-started life, and even developed metal ores. Advertisement In a new study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, we examined what’s […]

When it comes to zoonotic influenza – all the various flu viruses out there which originated in animal populations before jumping into humans – there are two big hitters: bird flu and swine flu. But with the publication of a new study out of China, scientists are warning that we may soon see the rise […]

A new paper has explored the potential dangers of people having sex in space, suggesting that it may soon be necessary to have space tourists agree not to have sex whilst they are up there. Right now, space tourism is the reserve of the super-wealthy, and there is little opportunity for having a little zero-g […]

As the world increasingly turns towards vegetarian and vegan diets, one group are having a much harder time making the switch: men. Men generally eat more meat than women and are more resistant to changing this, so why are they so stuck in their ways?  The answer, like many things, could be good ol’ fashioned […]