The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scrapped its plan to end the use of mammals for the safety testing of chemicals by 2035. First announced back in 2019, the plan was considered pretty controversial – and it seems the move to ditch it is no different. Chris Frey, assistant administrator for R&D at the […]
It’s The Year 2075. This Is What It Looks Like On The Moon Now
The year is 2075. The place: the Neil Armstrong International Lunar Base in Henson Crater, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of the moon’s South Pole. Chinese electrical engineer Liu Mei and American astronomer David Scott IV sit side by side inside a pressurized, six-wheeled, fuel cell-powered lunar transporter. They have just exited the station’s […]
Electroconvulsive Therapy Really Works For Depression, And Now We Know Why
Despite its popularity among horror-movie mad scientists, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is actually a legitimate treatment for certain mental health disorders, and is effective for up to 80 percent of depressed patients who receive it. Strangely, however, researchers have until now been unable to explain how the procedure works, yet a pair of new studies has […]
Siberia’s Explosive Craters Are Forged By Deep Geological Forces, New Study Claims
Scientists have cooked up a new explanation for the explosive craters that have recently rocked Siberia. Trapped gas and climate change are still the prime suspects, but the new theory hints that a deeper geological force might be at play. Since 2012, at least eight circular “gas emission craters” (GECs) have formed in the Yamal […]
Why Did “Steam” Appear Over the Chicago River In Freezing Temperatures?
In the last few days, arctic air has brought below-freezing temperatures across many parts of the US, including Chicago and Lake Michigan. There, people noticed a very peculiar phenomenon: “Steam” appeared to form above the Chicago River and the lake. Prompting many to ask (maybe in the style of 4 Non Blondes): what’s going on? […]
“World’s Oldest Dog” Temporarily Stripped Of Title Amid Controversial Claims
The Guinness World Records have temporarily suspended their “world’s oldest dog” title amid claims that the current title holder was not as old as its owners claimed it was. When Bobi passed away, an entry on the Guinness World Records website explained that he had lived to be 31 years 165 days old. While not […]
Meet “ReTro”, A Monkey Successfully Cloned In China That’s Survived For 2 Years
Scientists in China have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey that has managed to survive for more than two years after its birth. Off the back of this feat, the researchers claim their newly refined methods could provide a “promising strategy for primate cloning” in the future. His name is “ReTro”, named after one of the […]
What’s Your Love Language? It Could Be Less Important Than You Think
What’s your love language? Are you particularly receptive to words of affirmation? Or maybe you appreciate spending quality time with your partner, or cherish physical touch, or splashing out on a gift to express your love. Whatever your love language is, it has one thing in common with the others: none of them are supported […]
Rivers On Mars Flowed On And Off For Hundreds Of Millions Of Years
Mars is a frigid desert, but we know in the past that it had rivers, lakes, and even maybe an ocean. Those features are still carved in its rocks today. Most of the valleys and lakes were carved before 3.7 billion years ago, but something that is not clear is how long these water features […]
“Barbenheimer Star” Loaded With Heavy Metals Is Unlike Anything Scientists Have Seen Or Expected
Astronomers have detected a star with such curious composition they conclude it must have been enriched by a supernova that didn’t accord with our current understanding of exploding stars. Their efforts to reconstruct this event reveal we’ve probably been missing something big about the behavior of the first generation of giant stars. In 1999, the […]
Where Does Oil Come From? No, it Isn’t Dinosaurs
You’ve probably been told at some point that oil is made from dinosaurs, thinking that when you are at a gas station you are pumping refined velociraptor directly into your Volvo. As widespread as the belief is, it’s not true. Oil is not made from the decomposed bodies of ancient dinosaurs. “For some strange reason, […]
The Oxygen Bottleneck: Astronomers Find Huge New Problem For Alien Civilizations
A potential problem for any intelligent aliens that could be out there that may prevent them from developing technology has been highlighted by a recent paper: the oxygen bottleneck. Free atmospheric oxygen is, of course, one of the key signs of potential life to look out for. The only planet where we know there is […]
Humans Make The Animal Sounds In Most Nature Documentaries – How And Why?
Wildlife documentaries like the BBC’s recent series, Planet Earth III, are renowned for offering breathtaking images of animals in their natural habitats. You’d be forgiven for thinking these shows offer an unmediated portrayal of these animals – an objective window into their lives as they hunt, rest, and rear their young. But this isn’t quite […]
China Unveils Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery That Lasts For 50 Years
A Chinese startup has developed a tiny nuclear battery that it claims can generate electricity for 50 years without the need for charging. Just the size of a small coin, the company suggests that this technology has the potential to power a smartphone in the future (although there’s a lot of work ahead before that […]
First Ever Proof Of Non-Human Animals Using Old Memories To Solve Problems
For the first time, a non-human animal has demonstrated the ability to recall events from their past and use them to answer an unexpected question. The breakthrough comes after the possibility was first explored six years ago and could potentially unlock new treatment avenues for patients with memory loss. Episodic memory is the string of […]
What Happened When The Hubble Telescope Stared At “Nothing” For 100 Hours
In 1994, the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, pointed the Hubble Space Telescope at a dark and seemingly empty patch of sky for 100 hours. When Hubble was launched in 1990, like with the JWST, its capabilities weren’t immediately clear. Ahead of being turned on, astronomers attempted to analyze what […]
Millions Of Mysterious Seafloor Pits May Have Been Formed By Life
The world’s seafloor is scattered with millions of mysterious pockmarks. It’s commonly held among scientists that these small pits were formed by fluids or methane gas leaking from the depths of Earth’s sediments, but a new study puts forward the idea that they were created by life. And when we say “life,” we’re not just […]
Perpetual Stew, Or Why It’s Safe To Eat A 79-Year-Old Soup
In Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok), there is an award-winning restaurant called Wattana Panich, where you can order and then eat a beef and goat soup that is 49 years old. The soup, which is described as “delicious and aromatic” as well as having a “real depth of flavor that’s hard to explain”, has been […]
Key Molecules To Origins Of Life May Have Been Bubbling Away In Ancient Hot Springs On Primordial Earth
How did life start? It’s a question that has intrigued humans ever since we became conscious of ourselves and our place in the world. Now, researchers from Newcastle University in the UK may have an answer. By investigating the conditions that may have allowed living systems to emerge from inert geological materials 3.5 billion years […]
Doomed Private Moon Lander Now On Path To Crash Back To Earth
Private American space company Astrobotic has announced its doomed lunar lander is now on a path back towards Earth. Peregrine has been leaking fuel since last week, and any hopes for a “hard” landing on the Moon have been dashed. Instead, Astrobotic is aiming for a controlled burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. After a successful […]
