Deborah Bloomfield

A single species of eyelash viper already sounds cool – the prominent spiny scales above their eyes give them a distinctive and, dare we say it, iconic look. Now, after a decade-long study, the number of species is about to multiply, as researchers have discovered that what was thought to be one species of eyelash […]

Water is common across our planet and it’s crucial to life but it is always a rare commodity elsewhere in the inner Solar System. The discovery of ice in the craters of the Moon or buried in deposits on Mars is extremely intriguing. Researchers have looked further now, at the asteroid belt, and investigated if […]

A cannabis extract called PHEC-66 possesses what researchers are calling “remarkable” anti-cancer effects, according to a new study from Australian researchers. In in-vitro trials, the extract was shown not only to slow the growth rates of melanoma cancer cells, but to also prompt their death. The results “suggest that PHEC-66 triggers apoptosis in these melanoma […]

There’s a bit of a mystery going on at the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville, North Carolina, after a stingray became pregnant despite no male stingrays being present. While an interesting mystery in its own right, the case has drawn extra attention after suggestions by the head of the aquarium that the stingray could […]

Many people will be familiar with the Mediterranean diet – your doctor might even have recommended you try it out. Inspired by the traditional cuisine of regions along the Mediterranean coast, the combination of lean meat, seafood, nuts and seeds, olive oil, and plenty of fruits and vegetables has been associated with many health benefits. […]

Until relatively recently, there was a bold plan to replenish the shrinking Dead Sea by connecting it to the Red Sea through a pipeline stretching for 177 kilometers (110 miles) through the Middle East.  The engineering megaproject was shelved in 2021 amid mounting tensions between Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. Now, with relations in the Middle […]

Worried about AI-generated voices being used to con you or your loved ones over the phone? The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled on February 8, effective immediately, that robocalls using AI voices fall under restrictions on “artificial or prerecorded voice” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which also restricts telemarketing calls and […]

A timelapse of photos captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover shows a spectacular solar eclipse as doomed moon Phobos crosses the Sun. Solar eclipses on Earth right now are spectacular to look at – we happen to be living at just the right moment in time to observe the Sun and the Moon appearing roughly the same […]

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 […]