Deborah Bloomfield

Physicists have struggled for seven decades with the question of why there is more matter in the universe than antimatter. Analysis of decay of certain subatomic particles observed using the Large Hadron Collider has provided two small pieces of the puzzle, although we’re still some way from the full picture emerging. ADVERTISEMENT The universe has […]

Thousands upon thousands of years ago, humans skillfully crafted a giant subterranean structure beneath a hill in Malta, close to the Grand Harbour of Valletta. Though it later became a cemetery, its original function, size, and method of construction remain shrouded in mystery. ADVERTISEMENT Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is a unique underground burial complex on the […]

If you grew up in the 1990s, there’s a good chance you played such hits as Super Mario World, Star Fox, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the beautiful Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES. ADVERTISEMENT If you still have the console, you may want to pick it up and […]

A snorkeler had a dangerously close call after picking up a stunning seashell, unaware that it was potentially home to one of the ocean’s most venomous sea snails.  ADVERTISEMENT An anonymous Redditor recently shared a photo of a seashell in his hand on r/AnimalID, a subreddit dedicated to identifying animal species from pics and video, […]

If you’ve ever peeked at other people’s shopping in a busy supermarket queue, you’ll know that what we buy says a lot about us. Is the person in front getting all those chips and soft drinks hosting a party? Do we need to be worried about the person behind with flu tablets and wine?  ADVERTISEMENT […]

Saturn has taken an impressive lead in the “who has the most moons” race with Jupiter after the discovery of a further 128 natural satellites orbiting the gas giant. ADVERTISEMENT From 2019 to 2021, the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) repeatedly monitored the space around Saturn for signs of moons and other objects. That first […]

As soon as the cat’s out of the bag that someone is trying for a baby, or is already pregnant, best believe they’re going to hear some tall tales about what they’re going through. “Have you tried doing missionary? That gets you pregnant every time!” or “Oh, [insert bonkers pregnancy myth of choice here] means […]

In recent years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) has discovered around 40 circular structures at the bottom of Lake Michigan. ADVERTISEMENT In 2022, researchers at NOAA were surveying the Great Lake when they spotted strange circular depressions in the lakebed using sonar. The depressions, ranging from 91 […]

Some places on Earth are home to remarkable sites, from the “gates of hell” to caves that hold the only known population of some fish, they have the power to captivate and often keep people returning year after year. ADVERTISEMENT Among them is Rausu on the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, Japan. If you are here […]

Around 30 years ago, Dr Carl Sagan made an eerily prophetic prediction about the future of the US, appearing to foretell the rise of big tech, misinformation, and superstition.  ADVERTISEMENT Sagan is best known as a preacher of science, communicating complex ideas with passion and poetry like no other, but the late astrophysicist was also […]

The world currently stands on the precipice of a sixth mass extinction, and this time, it’s humanity’s fault. That means it’s on us to try and fix things, and work is already well underway to resurrect certain long-lost species as part of an ambitious plan to reverse the situation. De-extinction, they call it. ADVERTISEMENT First […]

In science and mathematics, it has been a fairly common occurrence for two different people/teams to be working on the same problem, and invent the same solution. After all, both fields are concerned with finding underlying rules that govern math and science, it shouldn’t be surprising that these would occasionally be discovered independently. ADVERTISEMENT On […]

It’s five years to the day since the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. For many, life in the immediate aftermath of that moment became unrecognizable; for some, the change was permanent. As well as its direct impact on millions, causing not only deaths but disability in the form of long COVID, […]

NASA has been left without a Chief Scientist and an Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy after the latest rounds of cuts by the new Trump administration.  ADVERTISEMENT On Monday, March 10 the US space agency’s acting administrator, Janet Petro, emailed employees to inform them the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy would be closed […]

There’s a chance the gold ring on your finger or the chain around your neck has a link to the prolific destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. In a new study, scientists have looked at the impact of small-scale gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon and found that it has led to a […]

We live in a world rampant with misinformation, and many of us are just shockingly ill-equipped to defend against it. Luckily, a new study has found a countermeasure – and much like our physical health, it all comes down to maintaining your booster shots. ADVERTISEMENT “Misinformation is a threat to society and the functioning of […]

Officially, the ngudlukanta – also known as the desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) – is one of the many small Australian mammals lost to cats and foxes, but all hope is not gone. If ngudlukantas do indeed live, a project exploring the mechanics of their jaws could be key to finding and protecting the survivors. ADVERTISEMENT The […]

Dogs are undoubtedly humanity’s best friend (sorry, cats, but you just don’t make the same effort). Unfortunately, canine companions are also acquaintances with a bunch of nasty, disease-causing microbes that can be introduced to your home.  ADVERTISEMENT One hotspot for lurgies that pet owners might not be keenly aware of is their water bowl. Take […]

Some species are found once, reported, and then seem to have the ability to remain hidden, only to be rediscovered many years later. From golden moles to birds of prey, these species persist despite small populations and tiny distributions. Now, joining this list of rediscovered species is a frog from Chile that was thought to […]

Around 100,000 years ago, a group of Homo sapiens-like humans buried five of their dead at Timshenet cave, along with grave goods consisting of animal remains and chunks of red ochre. At the same time, neighboring tribes of archaic hominids – including some that were more Neanderthal-like in appearance – adopted similar customs, all of […]