Deborah Bloomfield

Bone fragments found near, Ranis, central Germany, prove Homo sapiens were in the area at least 45,000 years ago, possibly the earliest date for our species in northern Europe. The discovery indicates that modern humans and Neanderthals lived side by side for thousands of years, rather than our ancestors’ arrival spelling immediate doom for humanity’s […]

Along the coast of Morocco, archaeologists have uncovered the oldest human footprints ever discovered in Northern Africa and the Southern Mediterranean. Dating to some 90,000 years ago, they are also “among the oldest footprints attributed to Homo sapiens worldwide.”  An international team of archaeologists recently discovered the footprints near the city of Larache on the […]

Since the 18th century, we’ve known that there are special points around two massive bodies in space as long as one orbits the other. There are places that move with the smaller orbiting object, never changing distance from it; they are great places to park spacecraft and telescopes. And it turns out, you can copy […]

Over in the Facebook group Physics is Fun, one member stirred things up a bit by claiming “light takes on the velocity of its source”, meaning that if you were to cycle forwards and turn on your bike light, the light emitted from it would travel at light speed + whatever incredible speed you are […]

The interaction between light from the Sun, charged particles, and molecules in the atmosphere can create a variety of glowing phenomena. The best known are the Northern and Southern Lights. They truly put on a show, but they are not the only ones. A more subtle phenomenon is called airglow, and while it is possible […]

Fossils can tell us a lot about dinosaurs, and sometimes, it can be pretty surprising. That’s certainly the case for a new study that analyzed the bones of everyone’s favorite bipedal predators, the theropods. The research revealed that this group of dinosaurs may have been affected by bone diseases, and that particular types of theropods […]

If worst comes to worst and atomic warfare erupts, seaweed could become the unlikely savior of humanity. In a nuclear war, mushroom clouds and searing hot fireballs are just the start of the problems. Radiation will poison the land and vast plumes of soot will be blasted into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight from reaching Earth’s […]

The tentative detection of the first-ever exomoons – moons orbting planets outside the Solar System – was called into question at the end of last year when scientists using a new detection algorithm said they couldn’t find them. The exomoons have been at the center of plenty of drama over the five years since their […]

TikTok abounds with techniques that will supposedly keep us looking young, which seems a tad odd considering the biggest proportion of its users are under 25. Regardless, it’s full of advice about 20-step skincare routines and “anti-aging” straws (yes, you read that right). And the latest trend? Face yoga. What is face yoga? The idea […]

A tortoise in Brazil has received a new lease of life thanks to a one-of-a-kind 3D-printed prosthesis. Filó the 25-year-old Chelonoidis carbonarius – or jabuti, as the species is known locally – had been left unable to walk following surgery to correct a severe reproductive condition, yet now zips around on wheels. Veterinary doctor Giuliano […]

Baleen whales have paired blowholes, while toothed whales have just one. This has led scientists to suspect that baleen whales, like humans and many land creatures, can use subtle differences in the strength of a scent to detect the direction it’s coming from. It’s not an easy hypothesis to test, however, given that the largest […]

Observing the most energetic events in the universe is not an easy task. They are so energetic that they are excellent at penetrating matter, so the traditional approach of telescopes – mirrors and detectors – has to be adapted to catch the powerful light of X-rays and gamma rays. Now, astronomers have revealed the most […]

Down in the Três Lagoas municipality of Mato Grosso do Sul state, in Brazil lives a very special individual. Alvinho is the world’s only known living albino anteater and he is just as fascinating as he is downright adorable.  Alvin was found on a ranch clinging to his mother’s back in 2022. He is a […]

The world’s largest cruise ship – the Icon of the Seas – set sail from Miami on its maiden voyage last weekend. Not everyone was celebrating the departure of the all-singing, all-dancing colossus, however. Although it’s been pitched as a climate-friendly vessel, numerous environmental groups have raised concerns about the huge amounts of methane that […]

A new vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, has been developed using an innovative DNA delivery system. Tests in mice have shown promising results so far, and the scientists behind it hope this could be the answer to developing vaccines against some of our trickier viral customers, such as flu and HIV. The vaccine […]

As we age, the ways that we sense the world around us start to change with our bodies. Our senses of taste, smell, hearing, and sight become less sharp. Now, new research has shown that even our perception of color dims over time. Researchers from University College London (UCL) recently compared how the pupils of […]

Hybrid hogs — a genetic blend of wild boars and domestic pigs — rocked up in Canadian farms around 30 years ago in an attempt to spice up the country’s livestock produce. Over the past three decades, countless numbers of them have escaped and bred like crazy, earning themselves the title of the most prolific […]

Using a new analytical technique, scientists have been able to study brain images from more than 6,000 children to identify connectivity patterns that are common to people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Most of our behaviors are controlled by coordinated communication between neurons in different areas of the brain. Neuroscientists can get a sense of how […]

The direction of time seems pretty obvious; it goes from the past towards the future, though the reason why that is the case is unclear. This arrow of time has been linked to entropy, the measurement of the disorder of a system. Over time, in an isolated system, entropy always increases. This process is irreversible. […]

It’s hard not to love octopuses – they’re bizarre-looking, hugely intelligent, and get up to plenty of shenanigans. That makes what happens to them all the more tragic; after the females of some octopus species lay their eggs, they stop eating, slowly withering away until they die. The trigger of this process, known as the […]