What’s a physicist’s favorite food? Fission chips. ADVERTISEMENT Science may have earned a reputation for being dry and serious. However, as we have long suspected at IFLScience, new research suggests that adding a little humor not only makes science more fun but more trustworthy, too. “When used responsibly, humor is a powerful tool that can […]
What Is A Main Sequence Star?
If you get away from city lights and witness the astonishing beauty of the night sky, most of the stars you can see are part of what is known as the “main sequence”. The few that aren’t part of it get attention out of proportion to their numbers, but sometimes we should step back and […]
Male Blue-lined Octopuses Use Venom To Stop Sexual Partners Eating Them
Male blue-lined octopi (Hapalochlaena fasciata) have been found to use venom on their sexual partners, as well as for the usual reasons of defense against predators and subduing prey. Killing the females would be counterproductive, but adaptations mean that they just get sedated instead – moreover, the males would be well placed to plead self-defense. ADVERTISEMENT […]
Chained-Up Nun’s Skeleton Confirms Byzantine Women Practiced Extreme Self-Torture
A skeleton that was found shackled with thick mental chains and weighed down with iron plates has turned out to be female, thus revealing that women as well as men once practiced extreme asceticism. Found in Jerusalem and dated to the fifth century CE, the ancient nun is thought to have tormented herself in the […]
What Is Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, The Disease That Killed Gene Hackman’s Wife Betsy Arakawa?
New Mexico health officials have announced that Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist, businesswoman, and wife of renowned actor Gene Hackman, died from a rare disease known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). ADVERTISEMENT “This tragic death reminds us that hantavirus remains a serious public health concern in our state,” said Erin Phipps, state public health veterinarian […]
Why Is North “Up” On Maps?
When you imagine a map of the world, it’s probably a very particular image that comes to mind; There’s North America, Norway, and the North Pole at the top; and South America, South Africa, Australia (from the Latin australis, meaning South), and the South Pole at the bottom. You know – just how every map […]
Megalodon Likely Gave Birth To Live Young That Were Already Almost 4 Meters Long
A new study into the mighty Megalodon has found intriguing evidence to answer some of the biggest questions about these animals. What was their body size and shape? How did they give birth? And why did they go extinct? All will be revealed… ADVERTISEMENT Megalodon pose a curious challenge to scientists because despite being one […]
The Best Way To Shuffle A Deck Of Cards, According To Math
Card shuffling, assuming a standard deck of 52 cards, is just about one of the most randomizing things you can do, in theory. There are famously so many different possible permutations that it would take more seconds than have elapsed since the Big Bang to deal them all, even if you enlisted the help of […]
Why Is Endometriosis The “Missed Disease”?
There’s a disease that affects millions of people across the world that can cause them debilitating pain, prevent them from getting pregnant, and affect their mental health, and yet we don’t know what causes it, there’s no cure, and many people wait years to be diagnosed. The condition in question? Endometriosis, or as some have […]
Why Do We Get Goosebumps? This “Vestigial Reflex” Holds Untapped Potential
If someone were to run an ice cube across the back of your neck, chances are you’d get a piloerection. Fear not, nobody’s about to shame you. After all, goosebumps happen to everybody. ADVERTISEMENT Thing is, why? After all, it’s hard to imagine a benefit to naked skin going all bobbly like that. The trick […]
Check Digits Are A Little Piece Of Number Theory You Use Every Day
Had you asked G H Hardy – the Cambridge scholar responsible for myriad seminal mathematical results and developments of the early 20th century – what his favorite area of math was, he’d answer without hesitation: number theory. ADVERTISEMENT It is, he wrote in A Mathematician’s Apology, “one of the most obviously useless branches” of math, […]
What’s The Strongest Knot, And How Do We Know?
In 333 BCE, legend says, Alexander the Great entered the city of Gordion, in Phrygia, now Turkey. The once mighty power had by that point been reduced to a mere province of the Persian Empire, and all it had left of its proud history was an old wagon, tied to a post in the town […]
Colossal’s “Woolly Mouse” Advances 2028 Mammoth De-Extinction Goal, Antarctica’s Ozone Hole Is Recovering, And Much More This Week
This week, in a world first, 3D-printed tissue has restored penis capabilities in pigs and rabbits, we ask why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack on science, and humans may have been producing tools made from bones for more than 1 million years longer than we previously thought. Finally, we […]
Influential Women In Medicine
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Long COVID Patients Get Sense Of Smell Back After Surgical Breakthrough
A small group of long COVID patients have successfully had their sense of smell restored, after taking part in a trial where they received surgery that’s typically used to help people breathe more easily. ADVERTISEMENT The surgery, known as functional septorhinoplasty (fSRP), is frequently used to correct problems like a deviated septum and other nasal […]
Woolly Mice, 3D-Printed Penises, And The World’s Worst Sting
This week on Break It Down: Colossal Biosciences creates the “woolly mouse” in their mission to de-extinct the mammoth, scientists 3D-print functional penises (and have the babies to prove their efficacy), that gaping hole in the ozone layer really is repairing, IFLScience asks why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack […]
Watch Cuttlefish Coming In For The Kill One Magnificent Display At A Time
Trying to catch a meal in the animal world can generate a whole host of challenges. You must first find the prey, and then catch it without botching the attempt and losing your dinner. In the cuttlefish world, researchers have identified four impressive camouflage techniques that these mollusks use to help them pursue prey and […]
Light Quasiparticles Have Been Turned Into A Supersolid For The First Time
In condensed matter physics, things can get pretty weird. When temperatures get close to absolute zero, it is possible to put matter in a state called supersolid, a crystal that can flow without losing energy. Under the right conditions, it is also possible to couple light with excited states of matter, creating quasiparticles – interactions […]
Death Of Neanderthal-Like Human Child Linked To “Taboo” Site’s Abandonment
A group of ancient humans with shades of Neanderthal in their physical appearance may have forsaken their home of 300 years following the death of a young member of their clan. As researchers piece together the events surrounding this prehistoric tragedy, it’s beginning to look as though a social taboo may have kept people away […]
Spite May Drive Both Science Denial And Belief In Conspiracy Theories
In recent years, the internet and social media have become awash with various conspiracy theories, especially during times of crisis. In an effort to understand what drives the belief in such bogus narratives, two psychologists have pinpointed the role spite plays in how people engage with misinformation and hold onto conspiracy theories. ADVERTISEMENT Conspiracy theories […]
