The collarbone of an unknown hominid that lived in East Africa around 1.8 million years ago is remarkably similar in length and curvature to that of a barrel-chested modern man. Discovered in Tanzania in 2005, the ancient fossil provides evidence that our ancient ancestors may have been as broad as we are, despite differences in […]
Simulation Shows How Aliens Should Be Expanding Throughout The Universe
The more we learn about planets inside and outside our Solar System, the more difficult the question “Well, where the hell are aliens then?” seems to become. As well as finding a slew of planets in the habitable zones around their stars and locating new classes of exoplanets that may be good candidates for life, […]
When An Essential Substance Used In Chemistry Turned Out Not To Exist
In 2018, a team of researchers attempting to investigate the use of sulfide solutions to reduce mercury emissions from alumina refineries made another, bigger discovery: an ion once considered an essential part of chemistry calculations simply does not exist. While investigating the use of sulfide solutions to reduce mercury emissions, the team began looking at […]
Cosmonauts Find Growing Blob Outside International Space Station
Cosmonauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) conducted a spacewalk in order to fix a leaking radiator on Wednesday. The leak, confirmed earlier this month by Russian space agency Roscosmos, came from the backup radiator mounted on the outside of the Nauka module launched in 2021. The main radiator remains operational, but Rosmocos scheduled […]
Hundreds Of Roman Empire Forts Revealed By Cold War Spy Satellites
Declassified imagery from Cold War-era spy satellites has revealed hundreds of long-lost Roman forts across Syria and Iraq. Ancient forts were first documented in the Near East in the 1920s when Jesuit priest Father Antoine Poidebard undertook one of the world’s first aerial archaeological surveys. His studies counted a line of 116 forts, suggesting that […]
Strange Noises Explained By Spider And Exoskeleton Inside Woman’s Ear
A woman who began hearing strange noises turned out to have a spider living in her ear, alongside an exoskeleton it had shed while occupying her head. The 64-year-old showed up at an otolaryngology clinic after four days of abnormal beating, clicking, and rustling sounds keeping her awake. She had a pretty clear idea of […]
Papyrus Containing Egyptian Book Of The Dead Found Alongside Mummies At Ancient Cemetery
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered an exceptionally long papyrus scroll containing excerpts from the legendary Book of the Dead alongside the mummified inhabitants of an ancient cemetery. Located within the Tuna el-Gebel necropolis, the newly unearthed graveyard served as the final resting place for senior officials and priests during the New Kingdom, which existed between […]
Two Deep-Sea Coral Reefs Have Been Discovered Off The Galápagos Islands
Two pristine coral reefs have been discovered deep underwater off the Galápagos Islands, surprising Schmidt Ocean Institute scientists piloting the remote-operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian. The discovery was made during an expedition that had set out to study underwater cliff ecosystems and came away with two new coral reefs and some previously uncharted sea mounts to […]
Spooky Green Foxfire Could Be Lighting Up A Forest Near You
In a weird quirk of the natural world, lots of species glow. From dormice to puffins, they are lighting up under UV light for reasons scientists still aren’t sure about. While the sea has a bioluminescent glow created by dinoflagellates, known as sea sparkle, fungi are also joining the glow up, with their own bioluminescence […]
Lasers Power A Particle Accelerator That (Almost) Fits On A Coin
Medieval philosophers debated how many angels could dance on the head of a pin; modern scientists are getting close to sticking a particle accelerator on one instead. Particle physicists have announced the demonstration of a nano-accelerator that uses lasers to push electrons to high speeds. Naturally tiny machines like this are not going to replace […]
The Hammerhead Bat Is Real, But You Don’t Need To Be Scared
Some animals look more like Pokémon than Pokémon do, and this is surely true of the hammerhead bat. With the intimidating species name Hypsignathus monstrosus, it sounds like a villain, but the hammerhead bat is a fruit-slurping sweety. Also known as the hammer-headed fruit bat, or – our personal favorite – the big-lipped bat, it […]
Infrared Aurora Seen On Uranus For The First Time
An infrared aurora has been spotted on Uranus for the very first time, providing insights into the strange magnetic fields that can be found on the solar system’s distant icy giants. Down here on Earth, aurorae are caused by solar winds clashing with highly energetic charged particles in the atmosphere, resulting in the particles emitting […]
A Ghoulish Face Has Been Spotted In Jupiter’s Swirling Clouds
Just in time for Halloween, NASA has just released this image of a ghoulish face that emerged on the planet Jupiter. The image was taken on September 7, 2023, during the 54th close flyby of Jupiter by NASA’s Juno mission. It was snapped up over the gas giant’s far northern regions, called Jet N7, when […]
130-Million-Year-Old Jewel Wasps Captured Perfectly In Amber
Thought to have originated around 162 million years ago, jewel wasps now represent one of the most diverse groups of insects on the planet. However, their fossil record only went back 100 million years – until now. A lump of amber has revealed a 130-million-year-old family of jewel wasps, and with it, insight into their […]
The Biggest Millipede In History Was Over 2 Meters Long And Half A Meter Wide
Life On Our Planet has landed on Netflix, introducing some of the biggest and beastliest creatures from the history of life. Its narrator Morgan Freeman was amazed to learn that millipedes have existed for more than 300 million years, and of all the varieties they’ve churned out in that time, the most impressive has to […]
How Many Friends Does The Average American Have?
How many close friends would you say you have? Ever wonder if that number is smaller or bigger than the average? Well, wonder no more, because new data from the Pew Research Center has you covered. They asked a panel of US adults to talk about their friendship groups, and some of the results may […]
Deep-Sea Football From Your Nightmares Washes Up On California Beach
Sometimes the creatures of the deep find their way onto our shores, ready for some poor passerby to get an early morning jumpscare. The latest to wash up? A Pacific Football Fish, aka the freaky, teethy anglerfish of nightmares. Quite aptly, the sharp-mouthed marine monster washed up on the shores of Crystal Cove State Park, […]
New Evidence Mars Was A Planet Of Rivers Is Exciting Sign For Ancient Life
What was Mars like billions of years ago? The presence of liquid water is undeniable, but there are many open mysteries about how the water moved around the planet. New research argues that Mars might have been a planet of rivers, suggesting that there are more fluvial structures on the Red Planet than previous observations […]
Two Super-Cute New Pygmy Squids Discovered Hiding In Japanese Coral Reefs
Just meters from the shores of the Japanese islands of Okinawa, a colorful array of coral reefs plays host to a wealth of amazing sea creatures. Two new species of pygmy squids have recently been discovered amongst them, and they’re pretty adorable to boot. The new species were dubbed the Ryukyuan Pygmy Squid and Hannan’s […]
Meteorite Quake Reveals Mars’s Core Is Smaller And Denser Than Thought
Having NASA’s InSight on Mars has delivered a completely new understanding of what the Red Planet is like. Its seismometer used quakes as sonograms to study the interior of Mars. Initial data from weak close-by quakes suggested a preliminary, but incorrect, picture. Mars was believed to have a larger and less dense core. New data […]
