Here’s something we haven’t come across before: some people are apparently confused why there are marine fossils at the top of Mount Everest. At the summit, there is the sedimentary rock limestone known as the “Qomolangma Limestone“. Within it are a number of fossilized marine creatures from the Ordovician Period 488.3 million-443.7 million years ago. […]
Which Is More Painful: Childbirth, Or Getting Kicked In The Balls?
In the battle of the sexes, there’s one fight that never seems to die: who bears more pain? Childbirth is pretty much the gold standard of “this hurts” in everyday conversation – but ask someone with testicles, and they may well think that a swift kick in the balls simply must hurt more. Heck, even […]
Why Doesn’t Paint Dry Faster On Dry Days Than On Wet Ones?
Imagine this: it’s the summer and you’ve just been painting your garden fence when it starts to rain. At the same time, and not too far away, a friend has just finished doing the same, but their weather is far nicer, so their freshly painted fence is surrounded by dry conditions. Which fence will dry […]
Reindeer’s Freaky Eyes Give Them In-Built Night Vision For Spotting Snacks
During the chilly and long twilight hours of winter, reindeer make a bizarre change unique amongst daytime mammals – their eyes change color. Researchers now believe this oddity gives them specialist night vision, helping them to seek out a tasty lichen dinner. The discovery that the surface of reindeer eyes changes color from golden-orange in […]
First Prehistoric Charcoal Cave Art Discovery In France’s Dordogne Could Be Revelatory In Dating Other Finds
The Dordogne region of southern France is home to some of the oldest known artworks in the world. Across the walls and ceilings of over 200 caves in the region are an array of colourful paintings created by our ancient ancestors. But despite their significant age, it is not completely clear just how old they […]
Coming Soon: First-Ever Supercomputer To Match The Human Brain’s 228 Trillion Operations Per Second
For something we’re all just toting around without a second thought, the human brain has some very impressive capabilities. So impressive, in fact, that even the most sophisticated computers cannot yet replicate all its functions. But that could be about to change. Scientists at Western Sydney University just unveiled their new supercomputer DeepSouth, the first […]
What Would Kill You First If You Jumped In A Hole Through The Earth?
Digging a hole straight through the Earth is an extremely popular thought experiment. It can teach people about so many properties of our planet as well as some pretty cool physics. However, the process of digging such a hole is impossible, and not just because the interior of our world goes through molten and liquid […]
Iceland Volcano Spectacularly Erupts In 4-Kilometer-Long Fissure
At 10:17 pm UTC last night, a major eruption shook Iceland. The event has been expected for a while, but that makes it no less spectacular. It started with a series of strong quakes, and about an hour later lava fountains appeared from cracks in the ground. The fissure is currently about 4 kilometers (2.5 […]
Another Fanny-Tastic Thing That People With Uteruses Sometimes Have To Deal With
If you are someone who has a uterus and menstruates then bleeding between periods can be a bit unsettling, however, there are many different reasons for this happening. From vaginal discharge to bleached patches on your underwear, there always seems to be something being expelled from down there that makes you scratch your head. Now, […]
An 8.5-Year-Long Wobble Means Earth’s Core And Mantle Are Not Aligned
Something peculiar is going on a long way beneath our feet. The rotation of the Earth’s inner core is not aligned with the rotation of the mantle, creating a wobble that affects the motion of the poles and even the length of the days that our planet experiences. The variations are small – so they […]
Some Stars May Have Tiny Black Holes Hiding In Their Cores
You’ve got to love a scientific paper that includes the line, “The Sun is formidable and destroying it is generally considered to be a difficult problem.” Rather than a primer for a Bond villain, the study in question instead explores the possibility the Sun could be hiding a black hole inside, and whether doing so […]
10,000 Research Papers Were Retracted In 2023, Breaking Annual Records
It was a bad year for science publishing with more than 10,000 research papers being retracted, setting a new record for the most retractions in a single year. The results suggest this is just a fraction of the dodgy papers still out there. According to recent analysis conducted by Nature, the number of retractions issued […]
First-In-Human Trial Begins For Hormone-Free Male Birth Control Pill
After successful preclinical studies in mice, researchers have this week begun the first human trials of a hormone-free male birth control pill. YCT-529, the drug being tested, is the first of its kind to reach Phase I clinical trials. Whilst scientists have been working away for decades in an attempt to create contraceptive options for […]
Earth Just Received Laser-Beamed Cat Video From 19 Million Miles Away
The first streaming video carried by laser beam from beyond the Moon has been received from 31 million kilometers (19 million miles) away. For extra points, it’s ultra-high definition (and very cute). Among the technical challenges required for human colonization of the Solar System, improved communication systems may not be top of mind. However, when […]
Stop Planting Trees, Begs Guy Who Urged World To Plant A Trillion Trees
The man whose research sparked a global tree-planting frenzy has urged world leaders to end their obsession with reforestation, arguing that the practice may be doing more harm than good. Speaking at COP28 in Dubai earlier this month, ecologist Thomas Crowther said his initial findings had been misinterpreted and seized upon to support “greenwashing” initiatives, […]
Baby Owl Found Living In Family’s Christmas Tree After 4 Days As A Stowaway
Many families across the world will be busy decorating for the holiday season. Whether that includes hanging fairy lights, lighting candles, or decorating a Christmas tree. One family in Lexington, Kentucky, even got a bonus on their tree this year, as it came with a free owl. Michele White said that the family had decorated […]
Your STEM Barbie Is Terrible At Her Job And Needs To Branch Out, Career-Wise
Barbie may have a PhD, an MD, a DO, an OD, a DNP, a DDS, a DVM, a JD, an MSc, and an MBA to her name, but it seems there are some pieces of basic lab and hospital safety that have passed her by, according to a new study published in the Christmas issue […]
The Great Attractor: Our Galaxy Is Being Pulled Toward Something We Cannot See
1929 brought the discovery that how redshifted a galaxy is is proportional to its distance, giving us a way to measure distant galaxies, leading to the discovery that the majority are moving away from us (and giving support to the idea of an expanding universe). This knowledge, as well as helping us learn about the […]
Your Parents Are So Old They Probably Saw The Remains Of The Big Bang On TV
In 1964, physicist Arno Allan Penzias and radio-astronomer Robert Woodrow Wilson noticed an unusual noise always humming away in the background of their radio telescope observations. The noise – like static on a radio – seemed to be there, no matter what direction they pointed the telescope in the sky. At first, the two believed […]
The Moon’s Far Side Is Inexplicably More Conductive, Korean Lunar Orbiter Reveals
There’s something odd about the far side of the Moon, scientists have concluded based on data from the Korean Pathfinder Lunor Orbiter. The results are yet to be published, but suggest a discrepancy between the conductivity of the near and far sides, which so far lacks a plausible explanation. Lunar exploration is becoming a global […]
