Deborah Bloomfield

China is trying to make maritime history by announcing its plans to develop the “world’s first” nuclear-powered container ship. And it’s not trivial; if successfully built, this thing would be huge and could represent a new era of nuclear-powered vessels. The KUN-24AP was unveiled at the Marintec China 2023 exhibition in Shanghai by Jiangnan Shipyard, […]

Time to end a year of animal stories on a high with some good conservation news from the keepers at Chester Zoo. Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) lemur mother Beatrice has welcomed a new arrival after a five-month pregnancy. The baby weighs just 120 grams (4.2 ounces) and was born at Chester Zoo, the only zoo […]

Anyone who has ever fueled their car has felt The Fear: did I just fill up with the diesel pump, or the gasoline? Get it wrong and you’re in big trouble, but why are these two fuels so different? Both diesel and gasoline can be used in internal combustion engines, but they have distinct chemical […]

A plant believed to be extinct for 30 years has been found in Japan. The “fairy lantern” is an otherworldly species of bioluminescent plant that doesn’t need the Sun to make energy. Instead, it parasitizes other underground organisms, meaning its survival is highly dependent on the health of the environment. The rediscovered species of fairy […]

Ohio’s Serpent Mound might just be one of the most fascinating prehistoric sites in North America. Located in Adams County, it’s the largest known surviving example of a prehistoric effigy mound in the world. Its origins remain unclear. Who built this amazing monument and why? Fortunately, modern science is helping to shed light on the […]

After several sea otters washed up dead along California’s shores, scientists dug into the mystery and uncovered an unlikely pair of culprits: a strange strain of a brain-controlling parasite and feline poop.  The four sea otters were found stranded between February 2020 and March 2022. It’s known that this species can be especially vulnerable to […]

Death might be what first springs to mind when we think of cemeteries, but research has found that these often green, quiet, and undisturbed places can provide a valuable habitat for wildlife in urban areas. A new study has found that they can even be a hit for non-native species, as it revealed how the […]

Marine animals face lots of threats that could result in trauma to their body parts. A predatory animal may attempt to take a chunk out of them; they could be injured during mating behaviors; or those that live in more coastal, urban environments can come into contact with boats that can cause scars and injuries […]

Batteries that make use of quantum phenomena that appear to mock our conventional understanding of the laws of physics could be harnessed for energy storage. Although these batteries have only been produced on a small scale in laboratories, one day they might offer advantages over conventional batteries that could see them be the preferred choice […]

After shockingly low water levels revealed dead bodies along Lake Mead’s shores in 2022, the southwestern reservoir saw a brief recovery in 2023. However, authorities are still concerned that this gargantuan lake is facing an uncertain future and, if worst comes to worst, could be approaching a disastrous tipping point. Lake Mead is a large […]

The Crypt of Civilization was sealed 83 years ago. It won’t be opened again until the year 8113 CE. While studying ancient Egypt, Dr Thornwell Jacobs was struck by how little accurate information about ancient civilizations had survived to the present day. He realized that virtually all our knowledge of life in ancient Egypt came […]

A section of the Great Wall of China that extends into Mongolia has been analyzed for the first time, allowing researchers to present some speculative insights into the history and function of this enormous structure. Spread over 405 kilometers (252 miles), the wall has been dubbed the “Mongolian Arc” due to its curved trajectory. Running […]

Raw dog food has been a trend that has been growing in popularity in recent years, with doggy parents feeding their beloved furbabies raw foods like bones, fruit, vegetables, and meats. Now, researchers are warning that there may be dangers lurking in this diet. Scientists delved into the poop samples of over 600 healthy pet […]

NASA has conducted a reassessment of Earth-sized planets around nearby stars and the authors have concluded that 17 of these could resemble some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Rather than being the rocky worlds we have imagined, they probably have icy shells, with liquid oceans beneath. Like the moons Europa and Enceladus, these […]

As the year draws to a close, we can now look back at the scientific stories that helped shape it. From groundbreaking discoveries that challenged the boundaries of our understanding, to technological marvels set to reshape our future, join us as we take a look at the dynamic world of science in 2023. Download this […]

So-called “Zombie Deer Disease”, also known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), is currently spreading among deer, elk, and moose in the USA. Hundreds of animals are estimated to have been affected by the disease last year – and as it spreads, experts are questioning if the illness could spread to humans. As a prion disease, […]

With cases of COVID reaching relatively high levels once again, here are the symptoms to keep an eye out for.  The JN.1 COVID variant had a rapid spread throughout December 2023 and has now become the most common strain of the virus spreading across the US, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and […]

New species are found every year, some are hiding in plain sight, some are camouflaged into the world around them, and some have been identified after painstaking hard work and genetic analysis. The team at the Natural History Museum London has named 815 new species this year, making 2022’s 351 species look a little paltry in […]

As NASA struggles to access the treasure obtained by the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu, it has also had to decide what to do with the valuable and still-operating spacecraft responsible. Now that decision has been made, confirming a long-standing plan, with the target set for an even more-famous Earth-crossing asteroid, 99942 Apophis, and a tweak […]

It’s difficult to fathom a wave taller than the Empire State Building, but a tsunami that big struck Alaska in 1958. The megatsunami remains the tallest ever recorded, but it wasn’t the most destructive as it hit Lituya Bay, a remote spot along the Gulf of Alaska where not many people live. Five people are […]