Deborah Bloomfield

There is a lot that we do not know about how planets form. We get the gist of it. A disk of material forms around a very young star. Inside it, dust becomes pebbles, and pebbles, over time, accumulate into a planet. But what are the detailed processes at work? Recent observations are providing insights […]

A team of medical professionals has outlined the unusual case of a man who received 217 COVID-19 vaccinations within the space of 29 months. Though it is a good idea to get COVID-19 vaccinations as the virus evolves and immunity wanes, there is no government on Earth that recommends taking over 200 vaccines in such […]

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in creating organoids from cells shed by fetuses in the womb. The so-called “mini organs” were grown from lung, kidney, and small intestine cells found in amniotic fluid, and could pave the way toward better diagnostics and treatments for various congenital conditions. Organoids are 3D bundles of cells that […]

Archaeologists in Panama have uncovered the spectacular tomb of a pre-Hispanic chieftain whose funerary offerings include lavish gold items and earrings made of whale teeth, among other treasures. Dated to around 750 CE, the adult male buried within the grave is likely to have been a high-status member of the ancient Gran Coclé culture, which […]

For many years, Apophis was considered the most dangerous known asteroid. Astronomers calculated it had a small chance of hitting our planet either in 2029 or, if that was a miss, in 2036. More precise observations of its orbit over the years have shown that it will actually come as close as 40,000 kilometers to […]

The decomposition of a corpse until there’s nothing left but bone is a process known as skeletonization, and it can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few years. The rate of decomposition depends heavily on the environmental conditions, but what about that skeleton that’s left behind? If bones don’t decompose, how come […]

Attracting a mate, whether human or animal, comes with a certain level of courtship. While some people are impressed with fancy dinners or sunset beach walks, in the insect world, a firefly can win a partner with a well-controlled display of flashing butt lights, romantic hey? Now, researchers are taking a closer look at the […]

Despite looking similar and thriving in comparable habitats, crocodiles and alligators only coexist in one place on Earth: Everglades National Park in South Florida. Crocodiles and alligators have been around for a long time. There aren’t many species alive today that survived the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. Scientists have traced Crocodylomorpha (the […]

A solution has been announced to the apparently contradictory requirements for a highly energy-dense battery that works at very low temperatures. The work is still a long way from mass production, but suggests a major obstacle to electrifying aviation is not as insuperable as many have thought, along with a host of other potential applications. […]

There are few weird sea creatures we here at IFLScience can resist and new giant sea monsters from the Cretaceous period are not one of them. A new species of mosasaurid from the Maastrichtian age has been discovered in Morocco with dagger-like teeth and a bizarrely shaped skull and even scientists have called it “strange”. […]

Never one to take a relaxed approach to surveillance, China is reportedly looking into ways to install an extensive network of sensors and cameras to monitor their future base on the moon. The International Lunar Research Station is a planned lunar base proposed in 2021 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Roscomos, the […]

Did you know that platypuses are armed with a venomous spur on their hind legs? Well, one “Good Samaritan” found out the hard way when she was struck with excruciating pain while attempting to rescue a troubled platypus on the side of the road.  Jenny Forward, the unfortunate woman who was spurred by the platypus, […]

France has become the first country in the world to enshrine the right to an abortion in its constitution. The change comes after a pledge made by President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of the historic overturning of Roe v Wade in the US in 2022, and is the first amendment to the French constitution […]

Meet Qizai: not only is he thoroughly friend-shaped, but he’s also quite the mystery man. The giant panda is one of just seven brown and white members of the species ever reported, and the only one in captivity. The reason for this unusual coloring had long eluded scientists – but with the help of genetics, […]

Google has launched a global competition with XPRIZE and the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) to apply quantum computing to real-world challenges.  Quantum computers use quantum mechanics to solve problems that are simply too complex to be calculated by traditional computers, or even supercomputers. The hope is that, as the field progresses, these computers […]

If someone says “Galápagos Islands”, it often conjures up thoughts of giant tortoises or Charles Darwin – but there’s something important missing from that list. The islands are volcanic, and they’ve just dished up a steaming hot reminder of that with the eruption of La Cumbre volcano late on Saturday night. La Cumbre, a shield […]

What’s the difference between a dog and a horse? Well, look past the more obvious distinctions – the hooves; the mane; the lack of woofing – and you’ll find the two species are actually a lot more similar than they seem. Humans’ best friends Of all the species humanity has domesticated over the millennia, dogs […]

The principle that opposite charges attract and like charges repel has some exceptions, chemists have shown, complicating what is seen as a fundamental law of physics. There are few things that make chemists happier than getting one over on physicists, so the discovery must have caused great delight for that reason alone, and there could […]

How to define the tallest mountain on Earth is debatable. Mount Everest, everybody’s go-to peak, is a contender as its  8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak places it as the highest above sea level, with K2 coming a close second at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet). If you measure from base to peak, however, Mauna Kea in Hawai’i is […]

Researchers in South Korea have created a remarkable first-ever encodable multifunctional material, which can be shifted into different shapes and mechanical properties in real-time. The inspiration for this new metamaterial came from an unlikely place: octopuses. According to the researchers, this material surpasses the limits of existing materials and opens new possibilities for various fields […]