Issue 18 (January 2024) of CURIOUS is out now, bringing you science highlights for the month plus deep dives into intriguing topics, interviews, exclusives, diary dates, and explanations for some of Earth’s most perplexing natural phenomena and landscapes. In This Issue… Advertisement OUR COVER STORY: What Does The Universe Smell Like? From cocktails to gunpowder, […]
The Color Or The Fruit: Which Word “Orange” Came First?
What came first, oranges – the plump citrus fruit – or orange – the name of the juicy red-yellow color? Perhaps surprisingly, the fruit came first. The first time the word “orange” was documented in the English language was around the late 14th century CE, when it was used to refer to the fruit, according […]
UV Nail Polish Dryers Can Damage The DNA In Your Hands
Ultraviolet (UV) nail polish dryers, typically used to cure gel manicures, could damage DNA in our hands and cause mutations, new research finds. The dryers are a common fixture of beauty salons – but despite their widespread use and the fact that some spectrums of UV rays are known to be carcinogenic, there has never been formal […]
Gasoline Has A Shelf Life, And It’s Shorter Than You Think
The gasoline in your car began its life (for want of a better term) around 360 million years ago. That’s long before even the first dinosaurs wandered the Earth; despite the popular image of the typical automobile being “fueled by exploding T. Rexes”, it’s actually ancient algae and plankton. Given how long it’s been hanging around so far, […]
Largest-Known Lithium Reserve Discovered Beneath Ancient Volcano In The US
The planet’s largest-known lithium deposit may have been found hiding beneath an ancient supervolcano along the Nevada–Oregon border in the US. Given the skyrocketing demand for lithium, this deposit could be a treasure trove – although obtaining it could come with a bunch of challenges and dangers. An estimated 20 to 40 million metric tons of […]
First Extinction Of A Marine Fish As A Result Of Human Activity Declared
The Java stingaree (Urolophus javanicus) has become the first marine fish species to go extinct as a result of human activity according to scientists at Charles Darwin University (CDU), Australia. It was declared following an update to the Red List of Threatened Species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in December. […]
Unexpected New COVID Symptoms Arise As JN.1 Variant Continues To Spread, OSIRIS Mission Sets Sights On “God Of Destruction” Asteroid At Crucial Time, And Much More This Week
This week we take a closer look at the “Great Wall of Mongolia”, the quest for better energy storage takes a leap forward in the form of time-bending quantum batteries, and a 150-year-old pliosaur skull is examined by Sir David Attenborough as part of a new series for the BBC. Finally, we take a look […]
Did Scientists Find Another Reason To Avoid Sharing A Bed With Our Partners?
With the number of people these days opting for a sleep divorce, it’s clear that sometimes, sharing a bed with a significant other is not the pathway to restful slumber. As much as we may love them, sleeping alongside a partner (or indeed, a furry friend) can sometimes do more harm than good. Now, a […]
Our Cells Have Resonant Frequencies, And We Might Be Able To Hear Them
Although it’s been long suspected, researchers now appear to have confirmed that human cells have resonant frequencies – rates of vibration matching their natural frequency that causes the cells to vibrate with a larger amplitude. This research has centered around observing the movement of microcantilevers, tiny beams that are unsupported at one end. They can […]
Will 2024 Be The Year Of The Anthropocene?
As we approach the end of the year, we may not only be saying goodbye to 2023, but also the geochronologic unit of time we have been living in to date. In 2024, scientists will be making a decision on whether we have entered the Anthropocene, a new epoch marked by human impact on the […]
Really Cool Facts About The Moon That You May Not Know
2023 was an exciting year for the Moon, which made a new friend as India became the fourth country to successfully land on the lunar surface. NASA, meanwhile, announced the crew for its upcoming Artemis II mission, which will see humans visit the Moon for the first time in half a century. Emerging from this […]
Viking Dentistry Was “Surprisingly Advanced”, Finds Analysis Of Over 3,000 Teeth
Vikings have played an important role in popular culture over the last decade. Increasingly, we are learning intricate details about the lives of these seafaring people that reveal them to be far more complex and interesting than simple invading warriors. Now researchers have added to this textured image by examining their dental health, and it […]
The Largest Wooden Wind Turbine In The World Has Been Switched On
Staying true to the Swedish tradition of flatpack furniture, the world’s tallest wooden wind turbine has started turning near the town of Skara, not far from the city of Gothenburg. With a total height of 150 meters (492 feet) including the blades, the turbine features a 105-meter (345-foot) tower constructed out of wood, according to […]
Golden Orbs, Megalodon Teeth, And Seal Scientists: Some Of The Strangest Things That Happened In The Deep Sea This Year
The deep sea threw up some pretty strange goings on in 2023, and while we stumbled across mystery orbs and strange pizza-box-like rocks, scientists were learning all sorts with the aid of remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) and *checks notes* seal scientists wearing funky hats. One of the ocean’s weirdest critters, the football fish, washed up on […]
What Is The Space-Time Continuum?
The “space-time continuum” is one of the concepts that came out of relativity theory that most people have heard of, but do not fully understand, like the related formula E=mc2. Science articles maintain an awareness of both, but science fiction and resulting memes do more to keep each in people’s consciousness. Alas, spacetime is considerably […]
How Come The Leaning Tower of Pisa Hasn’t Toppled Over?
To understand why the Leaning Tower of Pisa never toppled, you must look back at its 850 years of history involving jelly-like land, decades of war, and some radical changes of plans. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the 57-meter (186-feet) tall bell tower found in the Piazza del Duomo of Pisa Cathedral. Advertisement The […]
China Reveals Plans For “World’s Largest” Nuclear-Powered Container Ship, But Will It Make A Splash?
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, […]
Critically Endangered Rare “Dancing Lemur” Born At UK Zoo
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 […]
What’s The Difference Between Diesel And Gasoline?
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 […]
Bioluminescent “Fairy Lantern” Back From The Dead After Being Presumed Extinct For 30 Years
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 […]
