Deborah Bloomfield

‘Tis the season for colds and flu, and with a hefty dose of COVID-19 and other viruses thrown into the mix, chances are you or people you know are feeling pretty rough right now. When you’re struck down with the sniffles, it’s usually not long before a well-meaning person advises you to “feed a cold, […]

It’s currently winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and if you’ve seen the news in the last couple of weeks, you’ll know that many countries have been plunged into freezing temperatures. As if convincing your dog to pee outside and avoiding slipping on ice wasn’t enough, some have claimed that the chilly weather can endanger our […]

It must be tough being a kid these days. Born too late to actually enjoy the internet, too early to declare yourself god-emperor of a desert wasteland run on water scarcity and guzzoline – and should you try to numb the pain with a little light math, you’ll most likely have to put up with […]

There’s a city in California where a community of people are living longer, healthier lives than the US average. Known as Loma Linda, it was recognized as one of five shining examples of longevity across the globe, so what are they getting so right? In You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, the Netflix […]

On top of Homo sapiens, at least eight other species of our genus have walked Earth: Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo naledi, Homo floresiensis, and Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals). Plus, it’s likely in the future there will be more that are recognized or unrecognized. That’s not even mentioning Denisovans, which may be a […]

An eight-year-old has broken new ground in two questions most Australians have pondered at some time: why do magpies swoop, and how do they pick their targets? What started out as a modest school project went viral and received tens of thousands of responses. While some of the survey’s associated questions might not be what […]

Planetary scientists studying lunar rocks might have discovered some boulders behaving oddly. While studying some cracked boulders, they noticed that some were different from others. They believe some boulders are attracting only certain types of lunar dust, potentially due to magnetic properties. Dust on Earth is certainly not pleasant, but it is certainly better than […]

It has long been presumed that primate societies were predominantly run by males. With the exception of lemur society, which was thought to be an outlier, most primates, including gorillas, chimps, and monkeys were believed to be largely male-dominated. Now, a literature review of 79 primate species is challenging that long-held assumption, suggesting that things […]

Quasicrystals are very interesting entities. They have ordered structures but they do not repeat, so they are – as the name suggests – almost like crystals, but not exactly. This difference is certainly not a disadvantage, since quasicrystals often showcase properties your common-or-garden material could only dream of. And this is the case for a […]

Nearly 75 percent of the US – an area that’s home to hundreds of millions of Americans – is at risk of experiencing earthquake damage over the next 100 years. That’s according to new maps and data released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The areas at the highest risk are California, Alaska, and […]

Today, January 19, at 3:20 pm UTC, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has made history – not just for Japan, but for the whole world. Its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) successfully soft-landed on the Moon. The goal was to be able to do so within just 100 meters (330 feet) of a […]

Some discoveries are more impressive than others and finding the largest deep-sea coral reef habitat in the world is pretty damn impressive. The team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has discovered an area larger than the state of Vermont that contains a whole seascape of cold-water coral mounds that had, until now, remained […]

The Underwater Photography Guide has revealed the winners of their 12th annual Ocean Art competition, showcasing some of the finest underwater photography you’ll see this year. The Ocean Art 2023 competition featured 14 different categories, ranging from Portrait and Marine Life Behavior to Underwater Conservation and Black & White. They even have a category dedicated […]

Ten millennia ago, a bunch of teenagers in what is now Sweden chewed up and spat out pieces of birch resin, in much the same way that modern kids might stick their used gum to the underside of a school desk. Little did these ancient adolescents know, however, that their discarded chewings would one day […]

New research has revealed a grave historical error at Palacio de Cortés in Mexico. It was long assumed that a skeleton on display at the palace was that of a Spanish monk – but a new analysis has shown that it actually likely belonged to an Aztec woman. Palacio de Cortés in the city of […]

Some memories are best forgotten. Granted, this observation is unlikely to make you feel better if you’re running late for work because you can’t remember where you put your keys… but when we’re talking about memories associated with addictive substances, the possible issues around this become clearer. A new study has uncovered the mechanism that […]

This week, water flows freely down the Klamath River for the first time in 100 years, the oldest known supermassive black hole was found at the center of GN-z11, and a 14,000-year-old woolly mammoth tusk tells the tale of the animal’s huge journey. Finally, we ask what will be happening on the surface of the […]

Snake fangs get a lot of attention, from their use in creating anti-venom to figuring out how they evolved. One area of research has now gone beyond just the fangs, looking at the way that all of the teeth and their morphology are related to the whole of the snake as it moves in response […]

Call it Botox, Dysport, or Jeuveau – there’s no denying that injections with botulinum toxin A are popular. In fact, over 8.7 million cosmetic procedures were carried out with them in the US in 2022. But does their regular, long-term use make any real difference to the faces of those who receive them? A case […]

If you are someone who has a child, plays some other role in a child’s life, or are simply near one at a bus stop, at some point you are going to be asked how clouds stay in the sky by a toddler. Science lessons from your youth fade pretty quickly, we get it. There’s […]