For decades, astronomers’ estimations for the rate at which new stars are being formed in the Milky Way have been ponderously slow, but a new study argues the true value is ten times that. If so, it would overturn the way we view our galaxy and how it compares to others. Astronomers divide galaxies between […]
Long COVID Linked To Higher Risk Of Cardiovascular Complications, Huge Study Finds
Suffering from long COVID can dramatically increase your risk of cardiovascular complications, a new study and meta-analysis have revealed. More than three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re starting to get a much better handle on the disease which has so far claimed the lives of over a million people in the US alone. Advertisement […]
Situation “Worrying” After Two Cases Of Human Bird Flu Confirmed In Cambodia
The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with Cambodian authorities to investigate two confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the country, officials announced this week. But while the situation has been described by the WHO as “worrying”, experts have noted that there is not yet any evidence that the disease has adapted for […]
“Forbidden” Giant Planet Around Dwarf Star Challenges What We Know About Planetary Formation
Red dwarfs are the most common type of stars out there. They are smaller and less luminous than our Sun and live for much longer. They are also a great place for planets to form, but not every type of planet: current models suggest that they are an unlikely place for gas giants to form. […]
The Surprisingly Gross Reason New York Brownstones Look Like That
New York’s brownstones are practically a city landmark all on their own: those tall townhouses, complete with iconic “stoop” leading up to the elevated door, which are found throughout the city. But have you ever wondered exactly why they have such a particular look? What made a bunch of architects more than 100 years ago […]
When We Turn Down The Default Mode Network, The Ego Dissolves
The ego is a difficult concept to define, but can roughly be equated to an awareness of oneself as a distinct entity from the rest of the universe. It’s through this perspective that we all experience life, effortlessly recognizing the boundary at which we end and the outside world begins at all times. Determined to […]
How The Family That Walks On All Fours Baffled Scientists For Years
One family in Turkey has a way of walking that almost no other person on Earth does naturally – some members of the Ulas family walk on all fours, using the palms of their hands in what’s called a “bear crawl”. Out of the 19 children born to the family, five of them display this […]
TWIS: Discovery Of Unknown DNA In Mars-Like Conditions, 360-Million-Year Old Predatory Fish Was The Length Of Five Corgis, And Much More This Week
This week, knowledge of planetary formation is thrown into question by the discovery of a “forbidden” giant planet, Google reaches the next milestone in the creation of a commercially viable supercomputer, and we investigate Peru’s mysterious “Gate of the Gods” and the legend surrounding it. Bizarre And Unknown DNA Discovered In Mars-Like Atacama Desert If […]
Scientists Identify Something Unexpected That Could Be Responsible For Your Wrinkles
It’s a well-established fact of life that as we age, our skin starts to become wrinkled. What’s less well understood, however, is why exactly this happens. The onset of wrinkles has been attributed to several factors, from genetics to Sun exposure, and even how you sleep. But what if it also had something to do […]
Measurement Of Electron’s Magnetic Moment Could Be Strictest Test Yet For The Standard Model
The standard model of particle physics is both an incredible scientific achievement and a frustrating barrier that physicists are battling against. It has been crucial to understanding and predicting so much but at the same time, we know it is not complete. But finding what’s beyond has proven difficult. The latest measurement adds to this […]
A Giant Destructive Blob Is Headed For Florida, And It Stinks
Steel yourselves, Florida: something massive might be about to beach itself on your shores. Reports are forecasting that a gargantuan blob of sargassum seaweed has accumulated in the Atlantic Ocean and is headed for the US state, bringing with it millions of tons of odorous seaweed. Sargassum is a genus of brown macroalgae (the fancy […]
A 30-Year Garfield Phone Mystery Was Solved By A Discovery In A Sea Cave
A plague of Garfield telephones was set upon the shores of Brittany, France, back in the 1980s that would last for over 30 years. Plastic landline phones the color of American cheese began washing up in the region in their hundreds, but for decades nobody knew where they were coming from. The iconic Tyco Garfield […]
Alien Life On Enceladus Could Be Found By Studying Saturn’s Rings
The E-ring is quite unlike all the other rings of Saturn. It is much wider, roughly the Earth-Moon distance, and much thicker than the other rings. It is also rich in microscopic particles of ice and silica and the Cassini mission identified the icy moon Enceladus as its creator. Underneath its icy shell, Enceladus harbors […]
3D-Printed Hearts Are The Future Of Valve Replacement Surgery
Valentine’s Day may have passed, but it looks like engineers at MIT have found another way for you to give your heart to a loved one in the future – 3D-print it! Every heart is unique. Not only does the organ’s overall shape and size vary from person to person and change with age, but […]
How “We-Talk” Could Be Used As A Predictor Of Long-Term Relationship Satisfaction
As Michael Jackson once famously sang: “I used to say ‘I’ and ‘me’/Now it’s ‘us’, now it’s ‘we’.” Yes, we know he was singing about a rat – but, if you find yourself making this same linguistic choice when talking about your significant other, it could be a sign that your relationship is on the […]
Bright But Obscured Supermassive Early Universe Black Hole Could Represent New Type
The further we peer back toward the Big Bang, the more our theories run into trouble with observations. This is happening a lot right now with JWST, but ground-based telescopes are getting in on the act, including the discovery of a galaxy named COS-87259, found through the COSMOS search and confirmed by the Atacama Large […]
Necropsy Performed On Nearly 3,500-Year-Old Bear Discovered In Siberian Permafrost
A female bear that was discovered in 2020 by reindeer herders in the permafrost on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, part of the New Siberian archipelago in Russia, has undergone a necropsy this week. “This find is absolutely unique: the complete carcass of an ancient brown bear,” said Maxim Cheprasov, laboratory chief at the Lazarev Mammoth Museum […]
Was Earth Already Heating Up, Or Did Global Warming Reverse A Long-Term Cooling Trend?
Over the past century, the Earth’s average temperature has swiftly increased by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). The evidence is hard to dispute. It comes from thermometers and other sensors around the world. But what about the thousands of years before the Industrial Revolution, before thermometers, and before humans warmed the climate by […]
Yes, A Pilot Did Take A Selfie With The Alleged Chinese Spy Balloon
Over the last few days, several accounts across social media shared a very peculiar selfie. An Airforce pilot took a selfie as they flew past the now notorious “Chinese Spy Balloon” that was downed on February 3. The Pentagon confirmed that indeed the photo existed and released it into the public domain. The day before […]
No One Knows What Peru’s Mysterious “Gate Of The Gods” Was For
On the side of the Hayu Marca Mountain, southern Peru, a large, mysterious stone doorway is carved into the rockface. While no one knows the true origins of the Aramu Muru doorway, its existence sheds light on the long and complex history of ancient Peruvian culture. Located near Lake Titicaca, the largest freshwater lake in […]