The universe is a spooky place. Besides the lurking Dark Matter and Dark Energy, even some of the things we can see look like they’d go bump in the night if space carried sound waves. Just in time for Halloween, NASA has released an image of one of the most eerie of all, a nebula nicknamed […]
EMERGENCE: Things Are Not As They Seem
EMERGENCE is a new and deeply original performance that is hitting the New York stage this month, and it promises to be unlike anything audiences have experienced before. Is it a musical? No. Is it a rock concert? A Dance? A Monologue? A chemically induced psychedelic trip? It is all of these things and more. […]
9 Spooky Science Stories To Get You In The Halloween Spirit
This Halloween, don’t be afraid of the hammerhead bat, discover the science of scary noises, and learn about the (un)natural history of owls. Finally, watch an interview from IFLScience’s first-ever virtual science festival, CURIOUS Live, where we spoke to the authors of Plague-Busters! Medicine’s Battles With History’s Deadliest Diseases. Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for […]
Surprising Twist To Solar Cycle Revealed In Korean Records Of Rare Red Aurora
During the Maunder Minimum, when solar activity had a 70-year lull, what little activity that did occur operated on a different timeline from the rest of history, Korean astronomical records reveal. The unexpected finding will force a rethink of what was considered a basic feature of solar behavior. Every 11 years, the Sun produces more […]
Cryptosporidiosis On The Rise In UK – Here’s All You Need To Know
The UK is currently in the grip of an “unprecedented” disease outbreak. We’re not talking about COVID this time, or even the usual winter illnesses like the flu. Nope, we’re talking cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic infection that causes – among other nasty symptoms – long-lasting, severe diarrhea. It’s definitely something you want to avoid if you […]
Humans Have No Free Will, According To One Scientist
After decades of studying human and primate behavior, Stanford University neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky has come to something of a controversial conclusion – humans have no free will. Although its existence has been debated by academics, the vast majority of people believe in free will, the idea that we have the capacity to make our own […]
First-Ever Mouse Embryos Grown In Space Unaffected By Lack Of Gravity
For humanity to expand into space, we need to know how reproduction and gestation will happen in microgravity. From reproduction to birth, we do not know what is safe for parents and offspring in such conditions. But new research is slowly challenging our ignorance on the subject – a recent experiment on the International Space […]
Could A Carnivorous Plant Eat A Human?
If you’ve ever had the childish urge to stick your pinky in a pitcher plant, you’ve perhaps also wondered whether a carnivorous plant could ever “eat” a human, should they be so inclined. Fortunately, someone has done the science (in the most ethical way possible). Barry Rice, a professional carnivorous plant grower, runs The Carnivorous […]
Room Temperature Semiconductor Sets New Energy Speed Record
If you are reading this article, you most likely used semiconductors. These materials, usually silicon, underpin most of our technology. They are incredibly useful, as one would imagine, but they are not without limitations. One of them, about the speed of transmission, might have now been overcome in a special superatomic semiconductor. This makes it […]
New Mosasaur Species Was Like A Giant Sea Dragon With “Angry Eyebrows”
A ferocious sea beast that lived 80 million years ago has been discovered by palaeontologists. Defined by its “angry eyebrows” and gargantuan size, the new species of aquatic lizard has aptly been named after a sea serpent in Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, and the tiny city in North Dakota near where the fossil was found, called […]
Biotech Company Seeking To Revive Mammoths Turns To Saving Dragons First
The Victorian grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, made a stunning comeback from the dead when it was sighted this year for the first time since 1969. Conservationists were excited, but know the little lizards are unlikely to survive much longer without assistance, so they have enlisted the help of Colossal Biosciences, the company seeking to restore […]
Can You Buy Real Estate On The Moon?
This article first appeared in Issue 13 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. Would you move to the Moon? It’s probably the cosmic world you’re most familiar with other than, you know, Earth – and where better to brag about having a holiday home? One thing − can you even buy real estate on the Moon? […]
4 Times Scientists Disturbed The Obviously Cursed Items
The Indiana Jones franchise isn’t well known for its accuracy in depicting the average professor-of-archaeology lifestyle. Jones tends to whip the gun out of the hands of a Nazi in the time a proper archaeologist might use for logging artifacts. However, there’s one bit they got right, in his love for discovering obviously cursed items that […]
Funky Geometric Columnar Basalt Revealed In New Deep-Sea Footage
Down in the deep sea, not only can you encounter a whole host of unusual-looking ocean creatures, but also some incredible ocean rock formations. In a canyon north of Moloka’i, in the Hawaiian islands, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hercules captured footage of columnar basalt at around 1,700 meters (5,577 feet) deep. While the columns […]
People Are Surprised At The Astonishing Speed Of The ISS At Ground Level
If you look up at the sky for long enough or take a few seconds to Google its position, you may see the International Space Station (ISS) zipping its way over your head. You may also notice it’s moving quite fast, though you may not be aware just how fast. Though of course it’s not […]
Poison Expert Charged With Fatally Poisoning His Wife
A “poison specialist” in Minnesota has been charged with murdering his wife by allegedly giving her a lethal dose of colchicine, a drug used to treat gout. Connor Bowman, 30, was arrested on Friday, October 20 2023, and charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, according to Olmsted Country court documents. Advertisement Betty, the […]
At 12,000 Years Old, Tasmanian Indigenous Stories Could Be The World’s Oldest
Stories told by Indigenous Tasmanians to white settlers appear to describe the flooding of Bass Strait, which occurred 12,000 years ago, as well as the location of the stars at a similar time. Records of Tasmania’s Indigenous oral traditions are scant, but with the exception of some much more speculative connections, these appear to be […]
Polar Bear Milk Is Extremely Fatty With An Unusual Flavour
You ever think about polar bear milk? Yeah, us neither… but a recent email from the folks over at Polar Bears International got us thinking about their lactation situation. With Polar Bear Week being celebrated every year on the first week of November, now seemed as good a time as any to get into it. […]
Does Chicken Soup Really Help When You’re Sick? Here’s The Science
Preparing a bowl of chicken soup for a loved one when they’re sick has been a common practice throughout the world for centuries. Today, generations from virtually every culture swear to the benefits of chicken soup. In the US, the dish is typically made with noodles, but different cultures prepare the soothing remedy their own […]
Ancient Worms Revived After 46,000 Years Frozen In Siberian Permafrost
An ancient worm has wriggled back to life after 46,000 years frozen in Siberian permafrost. The tiny animals, called nematodes, were revived from a lengthy slumber, which began in the late Pleistocene some 45,839 to 47,769 years ago, radiocarbon analysis has revealed. That’s quite the catnap. As well as being impressively hardy, the microscopic critters […]
