Deborah Bloomfield

You may think of granite as little more than a fancy material for making kitchen countertops out of, and that’s… not wrong, exactly. But it’s not the whole story. Granite is born in the Earth’s molten mantle, and turns up just about everywhere on the planet. It’s hard and durable, so good for building; it […]

Over on Reddit, one user has an unusual question about their vision: why is it improved by looking through the holes in Country Cheese crackers? “I was just in bed eating crackers and decided to look at the TV through the holes in the cracker,” the Redditor explained in the AskScience subreddit, “low and behold […]

A new study has identified a protein that, when it persists, appears to be linked to the symptoms of long COVID. As a result, it could represent an easier way to diagnose the condition and potentially even a new avenue for treatment. Researchers first recruited 55 patients with long COVID, all of whom were experiencing […]

There have been a number of ancient fossil dolphins discovered over the years that are famous mostly for their big teeth, though one species lost theirs to slurp up squid. Most believe the teeth of these ancient dolphin species were used for thrusting forwards towards large prey; however, a newly described dolphin called Aureia rerehua […]

Three and a half billion years ago life had not only found a way, but diversified, so that all these years later we can observe differences in what was left behind. The Earth has undergone so many cycles of geologic uplift and destruction that there is very little left of the rocks from the time […]

Working in a zoo presents challenges of all kinds, from working to engage the public with conservation issues to making sure every animal has the highest standard of care and welfare. Over at Houston Zoo, the team is doing just that – down to some of the smallest residents. In the Bug House, a Peruvian jumping […]

When animals are killed by predators on land in the wild, there’s a good chance scavengers will descend upon the carcass pretty quickly, saving everybody the problem of burial. The same is true in the ocean. Essentially, if there are predators out there who do not finish the whole meal, you better believe something will […]

NASA hopes to have astronauts on Mars in the near future. It is not going to be an easy journey and being on another world will be extremely dangerous. The space agency wants to be there as prepared as possible. And part of that requires volunteers who want to take part in a 12-month-long simulation […]

Today is the day! In just a few hours, Intuitive Machines might be making history. They could become the first private company to soft-land on the Moon. The company’s lander, named Odysseus (also known as IM-1), launched last week, and it is scheduled to land on February 22 at 17:49 EST (22:49 UTC) inside Malapert […]

More than 100 new species have been discovered on an underwater mountain range off the coast of Chile. Among the never-before-seen critters seen on the expedition are corals, glass sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, lobsters, plus a gaggle of peculiar fish and squid that are already known to science (but no less strange). The discoveries come […]

In the Cretaceous Period, dinosaurs were big, and mammals were small. At least, that’s been the general view – until very recently, when a slew of larger ancient fuzzies started turning up in the fossil record. None, however, come anywhere close to the size of Patagomaia chainko: a brand-new Late Cretaceous mammal reckoned to have […]

Around 26,000 light-years from Earth, at the center of our galaxy, lies Sagittarius A* – a supermassive black hole 4.1 million times the mass of the Sun. While it poses no threat other than to the nearby stars it demolishes, it’s still nice to know where it is at all times. A new app for […]

Breathing liquids is generally a bad idea. In fact, few ideas could be worse for anybody who enjoys breathing. But there is a concept – which has been tested on animals and humans – that we should be able to breathe in certain liquids that are rich in oxygen. It sounds like the stuff of […]

If all goes well, Intuitive Machines might be making history tomorrow, becoming the first private company to soft-land on the Moon – one of the many attempts to get to the Moon this year. Theirs will be the closest lander to the Moon’s South Pole, an area of extreme interest for future human settlement of […]

A type of complex adhesive found on stone tools made by Neanderthals has provided researchers with new insights into the intelligence of this extinct human species. Made of a mix of bitumen and ocher, the multi-compound glue resembles that employed by early Homo sapiens in Africa, indicating that our ancient cousins may have had a […]

One of the concerns in the transition from petrol-based to electric vehicles (EVs) is range. How far can you go on a single charge? Researchers believe that they have a formulation that expands on traditional design massively. They claim they can push the average range of EVs beyond 1,000 kilometers (600 miles). The secret is […]

A rare and ancient box retrieved during an excavation in the City of David is being revealed to the public for the first time at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Dating back to the Second Temple period, it was found within the Jerusalem Walls National Park during excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The […]

In 1994, geologists mapping the stone quarries of Ancient Egypt identified a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) stretch of limestone and sandstone slabs leading from one basalt quarry to Lake Moeris. Using pottery found at the site, likely left by workers of the quarry, and an ancient worker camp, researchers were able to date the discovery to around […]

Evidence has emerged for the evolutionary benefits of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in paleolithic times, potentially explaining its presence today. Indeed, in the study done, ADHD proved so advantageous it’s fair to ask why not everyone has it. The presence of genetic conditions considered to be disadvantageous has posed a puzzle at least since […]

Microplastics have been found pretty much everywhere from the oceans, to food, and even in our bodies. That includes human placentas, and a new study shows just how pervasive these tiny pieces of plastic can be – they were found in every single placenta tested. Though microplastics were discovered in placentas for the first time […]