Deborah Bloomfield

A new study has found a curious connection between human corpses that seems to be universal regardless of the location or environmental conditions in which they break down. It looked at the microbial network and found key bacterial and fungal decomposers that are rare in the wider environment, but consistently present in decaying human flesh. […]

The entire collection of literary works belonging to Charles Darwin has been reassembled for the first time, and is now available to view online. Researchers spent 18 years tracking down every book, article, pamphlet and journal owned by the legendary naturalist, revealing the staggering extent of his private collection. Introducing the assemblage, Darwin Online founder […]

Sit down and brace yourself, for we have disturbing news. Blueberries – the fruits that dedicate 36-44 percent of their name to telling you they are blue – don’t actually contain any blue pigment. “Blueberries are observably blue; however, the pigments found in blueberries are not,” as a team from the University of Bristol put […]

While the offspring of various animal species can look like mini versions of their parents, or even resemble something completely different before they start turning into the adult version, there’s one species that has got something else going on. Paradoxical frogs (Pseudis paradoxa) have tadpoles three to four times larger than the final adult form. […]

An award-winning photograph of a polar bear’s unusual napping spot has captured global attention following the announcement of the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year People’s Choice Award. Ice Bed by Nima Sarikhani shows a polar bear that’s carved out a place to sleep from a small iceberg off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, and it’s really got […]

Mars and Earth are dramatically different planets. The complex and wildly different environments of our world are not comparable to the sandy frigid desert that is Mars today – but billions of years ago, the two worlds were a lot more similar. New research suggests that it was not just a superficial likeness but rather […]

If you live in areas where tornadoes can whirl their way into existence, you likely are aware that the advice is to take shelter in a basement, or other rooms away from windows.  This is because an exploding window could seriously injure or kill anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby. The advice on windows has […]

Along the murky coast of the Baltic Sea, archaeologists have found the submerged ruins of a megastructure that was built over 10,000 years ago. Measuring almost 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in length, the immense structure was likely created by hungry Stone Age hunters with a taste for reindeer. If workings are correct, it would make […]

There’s a persistent myth that sex is a young person’s game – a myth that has been roundly debunked, we hasten to add. In fact, we know that age alone need present no barrier to a fulfilling and adventurous sex life, although some of the side-effects of aging can put a dampener on things in […]

A peculiar new approach to extracting renewable energy from the oceans has been deployed successfully, and it uses a method that might be familiar to many people. It copies the movement of a kite to transfer energy from tidal and ocean currents efficiently. And, it is currently providing electricity to the grid in the Faroe […]

For the Earth to become as cold as it was during the “Snowball Earth” era, and stay there, required a combination of a reorganization of the Earth’s continents and the weathering of a vast volcanic province, scientists have argued. Another team, coincidentally publishing simultaneously, blames an asteroid instead. However, at this stage, they have less […]

NASA scientists claim to have identified the source of the trouble preventing humanity’s most distant emissary, Voyager 1, from sending back its scientific data. However, finding the problem’s exact location, let alone fixing it, is still proving frustrating. A 45-hour round-trip for messages to get through doesn’t help, nor the fact that only one radio […]

There’s an invader lurking beneath our feet. Slimy, slender, and faceless, they’ve colonized the soil of North America and have the potential to cause disruption. No, that’s not the plot of a low-budget sci-fi movie, but instead the story of non-native earthworms, which a new study suggests are an overlooked threat to native ecosystems. Though […]

Dragons are probably among the most recognizable and ubiquitous fantasy beasties in history. Across the world, from Europe to China, as well as the Americas and Australia, ancient and completely independent cultures have depicted and described similar creatures in their stories, art, folklore, and mythologies. Given the widespread appearance of these iconic creatures across enormous […]

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us and this year, it comes with a potentially hazardous asteroid. Do not worry, it is not gonna ruin anyone’s plans with country destruction but if you need an excuse to get out of some plans, saying that you are watching an asteroid is a pretty good one in our […]

After solving some of the scientific hurdles associated with commercial octopus aquaculture, a Spanish seafood company has set their sights on building the world’s first octopus farm. However, the plan is meeting waves and waves of resistance from animal rights groups that argue it will be a disaster for animal welfare. Nueva Pescanova plans to […]

If you thought humans were going to be the first species invaded by mushrooms (thanks to The Last of Us for that recurring nightmare), we’re sorry to tell you that our amphibious friends appear to have pipped us to the post. In what’s thought to be the first documented case, researchers have discovered a live frog with […]

COVID-19 and long COVID could be detrimental to women’s sex lives. New research suggests that infection with coronavirus may be linked to sexual dysfunction in cisgender women – with levels of desire, arousal, lubrication, and satisfaction all appearing to be negatively affected. Plenty of studies have highlighted the impact that COVID can have on our […]

First introduced in 1945, the practice of adding fluoride to public water supplies has since become a common practice in many places around the world. It doesn’t come without controversy, however – and though unfounded, it’s not unusual to come across concerns about its safety. But why is it put into water in the first […]