Deborah Bloomfield

The composition of a tiny grain within an Antarctic meteorite alerted astronomers it predated the Sun. On further investigation, they have concluded the mix of isotopes present requires the grain to have been formed from the output of an unusual type of supernova, which seeded the galaxy with some very distinctive isotopes. Although most meteorites […]

With April’s total solar eclipse fast approaching, we’ve had our fair share of warnings already, from potential air travel disruption to expected difficulties accessing food, water, and fuel. Now, according to new research, we may also need to beware of potentially fatal road traffic crashes. Looking at 2017’s total eclipse, researchers found that fatal road […]

The size of the human brain has been increasing each decade since at least the 1930s, new research has revealed. According to the study authors, this cerebral growth is likely to be the result of improved early life environmental factors and may act as a buffer against the threat of dementia as we age. Researchers […]

It was only in 2015 that Professor Adam Zeman first came up with a term to describe the peculiar condition of having no mind’s eye. He called it aphantasia, and before it had a name many who resonate with the description had no idea others processed information differently. Now, almost 10 years on, Zeman has […]

Has Pierce Brosnon taught us nothing? Far from how we should order our martinis, the former Bond actor was recently in court and later fined for trespassing in Yellowstone National Park and it appears the cautionary tale did not reach everyone. Now a man has been convicted for taking a shovel to the sands at Sleeping […]

Unless we take action, global timekeeping could be heading toward a major problem that will upset everything from computer networks to financial markets. The culprit, oddly enough, is melting polar ice caused by climate change.  The world uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to ensure there’s a consistent, standardized measure of time across the world to […]

Astronomers have found a way to measure the jets produced by an accreting neutron star. It is hoped that once a large sample of such measurements have been made it will be possible to answer a question that has bugged astronomers since the jets were discovered: what is accelerating these jets so spectacularly? According to […]

Earth is riddled with millions of tonnes of explosive bomb material, particularly from the two world wars that struck the 20th century. While most have remained buried and forgotten over the past decades, new research is showing that many are loaded with a chemical that’s making them increasingly prone to blowing up as time goes […]

Ancient ocean sediments have revealed the fluctuations in the strength of the Atlantic Circumpolar Current (ACC) over the last 5.3 million years. Comparisons with climatic conditions paint a complicated picture, but in more recent times, the current has been strongest when the Earth is at its hottest. Consequently, it’s no surprise that it’s happening again […]

Rare reptiles and amphibians can now be found lurking in a new exhibit at ZSL London Zoo which aims to showcase some of the conservation work going on behind the scenes to return rare and endangered species to the wild. Mountain chicken frogs, big-headed turtles, and giant salamanders make up just a few of the […]

For many people, total solar eclipses are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So if you are, or you are going to be, on the path of totality on April 8, you might want to consider not just safely watching it but snapping photos of the incredible event. You will have several minutes of totality, so you have […]

“Almost everyone wishes to modify their personality in some way,” is the straight-shooting opener to a new paper that promises to detail four mechanisms by which you too could achieve lasting change. But we wouldn’t want you to go in with lofty expectations – the scientists say that small adjustments are the most you can […]

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In a world that changes as rapidly as ours does, it can be hard to imagine much that stands the test of time. Trees, however, seem to be pretty damn good at it (unless we keep chopping them down, of course) – and there’s even one that’s seen us through since the Ancient Egyptians were […]

The team that gave us the first-ever image of a black hole has released a new image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, this time seen in polarised light for the first time. The image has captured the magnetic field structures spiraling around the black hole, similar […]

One of the world’s rarest plants just grew in number by 30. Cotoneaster cambricus was once on the brink of extinction with just six known individuals in the wild, but that number has now been boosted to 110, including the secret release of 30 plants reintroduced to a mystery location. C. cambricus is known only […]

A YouTuber has recreated the trolley problem, the moral philosophy conundrum in which you are asked whether it is morally justifiable to kill one person in order to save five. The original problem was posed by philosopher Philippa Foot, and later popularized in an article by philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson. Advertisement “Suppose you are the […]

How many fish does it take to make a school? The answer may vary, but for the much-studied zebrafish, the answer is three. Put a triad of the little fish together and they will display the same schooling behavior that can save their lives in larger numbers. Two zebrafish act quite differently. Some birds have […]

Think of all the famous psychopaths you know, both real and fictional. Chances are, for every Bonnie you’ve got about 10 Clydes. That’s because we tend to think of psychos as being criminally insane men – an image that has been continually reinforced by on-screen maniacs like Norman Bates (Psycho), Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of […]

Keeping wild animals as pets is a strange one. On the one hand, properly reared exotic animals can thrive as domesticated pets, and they can be looked after with all due care and attention. However, there comes a time when some people can no longer look after their pets, and it becomes difficult or even […]