The world is building three gigantic optical telescopes whose size will dwarf anything we have today. It is hoped these three collectively will answer some of the big questions of the universe that have proven beyond existing instruments. However, a proposed National Science Foundation (NSF) budget cap puts one leg of the stool in danger. […]
Cat That Fell Into Vat Of Toxic Chemicals Is On The Loose In Japan
The Japanese city of Fukuyama is on high alert after a cat fell into a vat of hazardous chemicals before scampering off into the night. Residents have been warned to keep their distance should they come across the unfortunate feline, which is covered in the highly acidic carcinogen hexavalent chromium. According to the Japanese newspaper […]
The Plan To Ban TikTok In The US Takes A Step Closer To Reality
The US House has just passed a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok unless its Chinese owner ByteDance sells it within six months. Known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or H.R.7521, the bill passed by a vote of 352-65 on Wednesday March 13 and now makes […]
Why NASA Only Uses A Handful Of The 62.8 Trillion Known Digits Of Pi In Its Calculations
It’s March 14 – Pi Day as the date format used in the US and only a handful of other countries reads 3/14. And 3.14 is usually what you need to know when you are doing calculations that involve circular things. For example, working out how much more pizza you get by ordering one 18-inch […]
New Giant Turtle Species That Lived 40,000 Years Ago Is One Shell Of A Fossil
A new species of giant freshwater turtle has been described by scientists who discovered the aquatic beast’s enormous jaw bone in the Brazilian Amazon. Its shell would’ve been around 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) long, making it larger than any turtle alive today. Stephen King was the inspiration for the ancient turtle’s species name, Peltocephalus maturin. […]
When Will Earth’s Last Total Solar Eclipse Take Place?
2024 is a pretty great year for gawping at celestial events. As well as a possible once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a nova, there is a total solar eclipse taking place across North America on April 8. While emergency officials warn that you should stock up on food, water, and fuel ahead of the eclipse, and […]
Why Physicists Are Searching For Dark Matter 2 Kilometers Below The Ground
As far as astronomers studying the observable universe can tell, only around 5 percent of it is made up of matter. The rest, or the overwhelming majority of it, is made up of dark matter (around 27 percent) and dark energy (around 68 percent). Dark matter is invisible matter that doesn’t emit its own light […]
US Citizens Are Strikingly Bad At Sorting Facts From Opinions
US citizens are worryingly poor at differentiating between fact and political opinion. This may not be the news you wanted to hear in an election year, but is the finding of new research led by scholars from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Political Science. “The capacity to differentiate between a statement of opinion […]
JWST Spots The Ingredients For A Dirty Martiny In Space – But No Olives!
The clouds surrounding two protostars are rich in complex molecules including some that would not be out of place in your kitchen or behind a bar. Observations with JWST reveal the presence of ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, and more around protostars IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385. Ethanol is the alcohol found in liquors; acetic […]
Why Non-Identical Twins Run In Some Families, According To Genetics
Why do some families see more than their fair share of twin births? Identical twins are a random surprise, but scientists know that non-identical (or fraternal) twins have a genetic link. Finding the specific genes involved, however, has been another story. Now, new research has picked up on seven genes, and a test for them […]
Olivia Munn Diagnosed With Luminal B Breast Cancer – What Is It?
Actress Olivia Munn has shared that she was diagnosed with luminal B breast cancer in April 2023 and has since undergone surgical removal of both of her breasts. “[Munn’s OBYGYN] looked at factors like my age, familial breast cancer history, and the fact that I had my first child after the age of 30. She […]
We’ve Been Overlooking A Giant Martian Volcano For 50 Years
A giant volcano taller than Mount Everest has been detected on Mars – but perhaps the most extraordinary thing is that it was sitting right there in images collected by Mariner 9 in 1972. A sheet of glacier ice is suspected of lying beneath it, and the likely combination of water and heat mean that […]
The Oldest Parental Split Of Any Animal, Plant, Or Fungi Hybrid Is A Fish
The big news recently broke that gars’ genetic history reveals they are “living fossils“, evolving significantly slower than any other jawed vertebrate. The breakthrough in our understanding of living fossils revealed why they’ve remained largely unchanged for tens of millions of years, and it means they can create viable hybrids with other species – even […]
Paul Alexander, “The Man In The Iron Lung”, Has Died
Paul Alexander, “The Man in the Iron Lung”, has passed away aged at age 78 after leading an incredible and inspiring life. Alexander, affectionately known as “Polio Paul”, died on March 11, 2024, according to an update on his GoFundMe page that was raising money for his healthcare. Advertisement “I am so grateful to everybody […]
SpaceX’s Third Attempt To Launch (And Not Blow Up) Starship Set For Tomorrow – Here’s How To Watch
Thursday, March 14 (Pi Day) has been set as the launch date for SpaceX Starship’s third attempt at safely launching, flying, and coming back down in one piece. A lot runs on this vehicle and this test being a success, given that Starship is going to be the landing system for the Artemis astronauts to […]
Stock Up On Food, Water, And Fuel Ahead Of The Eclipse, Emergency Officials Warn
Lorain County Emergency Management (EMA) in Ohio have issued a warning to eclipse watchers and locals to the path of totality to stock up on food, water, and fuel ahead of the total eclipse on April 8, with an influx of visitors to the area expected. The last total solar eclipse over the US was […]
Meet The Owl Monkey: The World’s Only Nocturnal Monkey Species
Just once in a while, zoologists like to combine the names of animals – something like the parrotfish or the dragonfly. This time, they’ve done it for good reason. Meet the owl monkey, also known as the night monkey, the world’s only nocturnal primate species. What is an owl monkey and where do they live? […]
NASA To End Chandra After 24 Years Due To New Budget, Hubble May Not Be Far Behind
We are used to space missions ending due to the challenging environments of exploration. They run out of fuel or coolant, they are covered in dust and lose power, or they are killed by the cold lunar night. But it feels almost sadder or, at least, less inevitable when the decision to end the mission […]
This Virus Infects Around 95 Percent Of Us – And Its Weak Spots Have Now Been Found
Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) has no available vaccine or cure – but that may not be the case forever. New research has uncovered some of the virus’s vulnerabilities, opening the door to the possibility of targeted treatment. You are probably infected with EBV. It’s overwhelmingly prevalent in the human population, estimated to have infected around 95 […]
Dune: What The Climate Of Arrakis Can Tell Us About The Hunt For Habitable Exoplanets
Frank Herbert’s Dune is epic sci-fi storytelling with an environmental message at its heart. The novels and movies are set on the desert planet of Arrakis, which various characters dream of transforming into a greener world – much like some envision for Mars today. We investigated Arrakis using a climate model, a computer program similar […]
