Supposedly, artificial intelligence (AI) is coming for all our jobs. Well, maybe not all – researchers recently put AI in control of their satellite to take images of Earth targets, and it took a route that has absolutely bewildered them. Either it is operating at an intelligence far beyond our comprehension, or it just makes […]
This Is The World’s Oldest Bar Joke, But Literally Nobody Knows Why It’s Funny
Say, have you heard the one about the Abderite who saw a eunuch talking to a woman and asked whether she was his wife? Upon hearing that eunuchs couldn’t take wives, the Abderite replied: “so, is she your daughter?” Didn’t tickle your funny bone? It probably sounded better in the original Latin – along with […]
Why Do Spacecraft Take So Long To Get To Jupiter?
The European Space Agency mission JUICE launched last Friday with a lot of excitement and will reach Jupiter in 2031, after an 8-year journey. NASA’s Europa Clipper will launch next year and arrive in 2030. And yet the Voyager probes took just less than two years to get to the largest planet in the Solar […]
Humans Have Been Predicting Eclipses For Thousands Of Years, But It’s Harder Than You Might Think
The coastal town of Exmouth in Western Australia is due to experience one of the most spectacular astronomical phenomena on April 20 2023 – a total solar eclipse. Eclipses have entranced us for millennia. But it turns out calculating exactly when and where we can watch an eclipse in its full glory can be surprisingly […]
Princesses Played Critical Role In The Diversity Of Mongolia’s First Nomadic Empire
Painstaking archaeological research and new DNA evidence has revealed fascinating insights into the Xiongnu empire, the world’s first nomadic imperial power. The research not only shows how ethnically diverse this empire was, but also the critical role princesses played in building its political structure. The Xiongnu empire arose on the Mongolian steppe around 2,500 […]
What Scientists Found When They Studied The Shroud Of Turin
The shroud of Turin is a large piece of linen cloth that was used to wrap the body of Jesus Christ, according to those who believe in it. The cloth contains a faint image, which people have claimed shows the face of Jesus of Nazareth himself, complete with a crown of thorns and stains which […]
First “Pristine” Deep-Sea Coral Reef Found Off The Galápagos Islands
A four-week mission to explore the waters around the Galápagos islands has struck scientific gold almost immediately, with a reef lying 400-600 meters (1,300-2,000 feet) beneath the surface of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. The biology of the reef will take some time to explore, but may prove as distinctive as the islands above. Since Darwin, […]
Antineutrinos From Nuclear Reactor Spotted In Deep Mine Detector 240 Kilometers Away
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Plus (SNO+) is a neutrino detector located deep within Creighton Mine in Sudbury, Ontario. At 2,100 meters (6,890 feet) below ground, it is shielded from most cosmic particles coming from above. But not all. And those that can get there are its target: neutrinos. Neutrinos are elementary particles with very little […]
The Purpose Of Japan’s Huge “Rock Ship Of Masuda” Is Lost To Time
In the quiet hills of Japan, the “Rock Ship of Masuda” can be found hidden among the bamboo looking as if it’s just crash-landed from another planet. Despite its strangely smooth surfaces and angular indents, the structure has been around for centuries, although its original purpose has been long-forgotten. Bar the odd tourist blog, very […]
Will The Earth Last Forever?
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. Will the Earth last forever? – Solomon, age 5, California Everything that has a beginning has an end. But the Earth will last for a very long time, and its […]
Why Did Gold Become The Go-To Element For Money?
There are a number of good reasons why gold became the go-to chemical to form the basis of money systems throughout history. After all, why didn’t people settle on copper or einsteinium? In short, gold is the ideal choice for a currency as it’s relatively unreactive, relatively rare, and has a relatively low melting point. […]
A Two-Year-Old Got An Ecstasy Pill Stuck Up Her Nose. This Is What Happened
The case of a toddler who became intoxicated after getting an ecstasy pill lodged in her nose has been detailed by a medical team in a new report. The 2-year-old had reached into a box above the fridge where her mother stored ecstasy pills, the authors explain. Unfortunately, the girl took one of the pills […]
First Earth Observation Satellite Deployed By Kenya
The Kenyan Space Agency has deployed its first Earth Observation Satellite, Taifa 1. Flown on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the satellite entered solar synchronous orbit – so it passes over every part of the Earth at the same local mean solar time. This orbit is used for imaging and reconnaissance satellites because the illumination […]
These Are The Most Detailed Scans Of A Mouse Brain Ever Taken
Brain imaging just took a massive leap forward. After decades of work, scientists have managed to produce magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of a mouse brain that are a whopping 64 million times sharper than can currently be achieved. The unprecedented level of detail in these images could help us to visualize conditions affecting the […]
First New Heavy Isotope Of Radioactive Uranium Discovered In Over 40 Years
Scientists have announced the production of Uranium-241 for the first time, filling a gap in the long list of the heavy metal’s isotopes. At an estimated 40 minutes, the half-life is far too short for any U-241 formed in supernovas or kilonovas to survive. On the other hand, unlike many isotopes with half-lives measured in […]
The Language You Speak Might Affect Recovery From Stroke
English-speaking and bilingual Mexican Americans make a better recovery from strokes than their counterparts who speak Spanish alone, according to a new study. Whether the improved outcomes reflect changes language makes to the brain, or if other differences in the samples were responsible, remains uncertain. However, the findings raise the possibility that the way languages […]
Adorable Sloth Spotted During ESA’s JUICE Launch Steals The Show
On Friday, the eyes of the world’s science media were turned to South America for the launch of the European Space Agency’s hotly anticipated JUICE mission. Aiming to explore the icy moons of Jupiter and potentially discover if there was life present on these frozen worlds, the JUICE mission has been long awaited. However, this […]
The Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World And Where To Find Them
The “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” mark some of the most impressive structural achievements of their time in the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. While just one of the seven structures remains standing today, these fascinating feats of engineering provide a glimpse into the complex cultures of some of these ancient communities. With an […]
Why You Are Supposed To Turn Your Phone Off At Gas Stations
If you’ve ever looked up from your phone while pumping gas at the gas station for long enough, you may have noticed a sign on or near the pump telling you to turn off said cell phone. So why is that? Is there an actual risk that comes from having your mobile on, or are […]
A Woman Has Just Emerged From A Cave After 500 Days Of Total Isolation
A Spanish mountain climber recently left a cave 70 meters (230 feet) underground where she spent the past 500 days isolated from the outside world. As she emerged, she seemed remarkably unfazed by her feat and simply asked who would be buying the celebratory round of beers. Beatriz Flamini, a 50-year-old from Madrid, reportedly left […]
