Deborah Bloomfield

A new paper has outlined potential problems we may face in contacting advanced alien civilizations: the potential existence of “fishbowl worlds”. If you haven’t heard of the Fermi Paradox, it goes something like this: given the vastness of the universe, the sheer amount of time it has gone on for, and the septillion stars out […]

As we’ve learned more about the SARS-CoV-2 virus over the last four years, we’ve discovered that far from being just a respiratory illness, COVID-19 can affect many different body systems, including the brain. Despite the advances that have been made, we still have a lot to learn about the damage COVID-19 can cause, particularly in […]

Meteorites that have impacted our planet over the years have brought with them a mystery: Earth’s atmosphere appears to be missing large amounts of xenon. Meteorites – some of which are older than Earth – give us insights into the early Solar System and our own planet. Rocky planets formed from these smaller bodies clumping […]

For the first time, photographers have recorded two humpback whales copulating. When they showed their footage to a marine mammal expert, she confirmed both participants were males, confirming once again that same-sex sexual behavior is widespread among animals. There are, however, questions about whether in this case, both whales were happy about the situation. Whales […]

Seeing wild elephants on safari might be high on the bucket list of many, but tour operator Theo Potgieter and his guests recently had a 1 in 10,000 experience when they witnessed an albino elephant calf playing in the water. Potgieter managed to capture video and images of the young bull, which he estimates to […]

Pythagoras is famed for the theorem that probably gave you a headache in high school, clever cup designs, and his… erm… unusual beliefs about legumes. But the “father of numbers” had his fingers in all sorts of pies, and one other area where he made great strides was in the world of music. All these centuries […]

Marlin and sailfish are some of the oceans’ top predators and some of the fastest fish on the planet. Marlin have been known to hunt in groups, taking it in turns to stun and then snatch sardines from the middle of a school. Now, using new drone technology, researchers have revealed a surprising insight into […]

Chinese carmaker BYD has unveiled its first all-electric supercar model, capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in just 2.36 seconds. With a top speed of 309.19 kilometers (218 miles) per hour, the vehicle can rack up speeds faster than some models of Ferrari and Lamborghini – but it runs […]

Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole of exceptional proportions in the early universe. Its light comes to us from when the cosmos was just over 764 million years old. And yet this black hole is a big one, estimated to weigh 40 million times the mass of our Sun. The team was able to […]

When it comes to the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids, they’re often thought of in relation to how they can help out us humans. A new case report, however, suggests that these compounds could be used to treat our poorly pooches too, after cannabis oil was successfully used as a treatment in a dog with […]

A fossil claw belonging to a new-to-science species of crab that lived 8.8 million years ago has just snipped the ribbon on quite the crustacean certification: it’s the largest fossil crab claw ever found. The hefty specimen’s enormous size has scientists figuring it could well be the precursor to today’s Southern Giant Crab, which can […]

A drug designed to reduce allergic reactions to more than one type of food has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time, the organization announced on February 16. Plenty of treatments targeting individual food allergens have been trialed in the past – but this is the first drug […]

King Arthur, the ruler of Camelot, champion of Britain, wielder of Excalibur, and seeker of the Holy Grail, is surely the stuff of legend. There are probably few in Western societies who have not encountered some aspect of his story through various media, from books to television shows, to video games and so on. But […]

Scientists have a found new avenue that could lead to the development of a male contraceptive that’s both non-hormonal and reversible. Although only tested on mice so far, the researchers believe their “promising” approach could lead to human clinical trials soon. The discovery comes in the form of a protein complex that regulates gene expression […]

The discovery of a vampire squid specimen from the Early Jurassic could help reveal the poorly understood ancestry of this unique species. The fact it was buried holding prey adds unusual additional insight into its place in the ecosystem. Vampire squid are not true squid, being more closely related to octopuses than the creatures they […]

A new study has found that certain types of clouds disappear during solar eclipses, and offered an explanation. The finding could have implications for attempts to engineer the climate. During solar eclipses, people have noticed that common cumulus clouds over land tend to dissipate almost instantly. Advertisement “From Earth, you can count the clouds and […]

Polar bears are the world’s largest land carnivore, growing up to 3 meters (10 feet) in length and weighing over 800 kilograms (1,700 pounds), but did you know that they begin life no bigger than a stick of butter? With a birthweight of around 500 grams (17 ounces), polar bear cubs pop out about 1/400th […]

The first human megasites may have been completely egalitarian, with social equality helping to attract thousands of people to these massive prehistoric settlements. According to a new analysis, the eventual demise of this parity and the emergence of a more stratified social order might have triggered the abandonment of these ancient metropoles. Located on the […]