Deborah Bloomfield

An unexpected companion has been discovered in the tomb of an ancient Chinese emperor: the complete skeleton of a giant panda. The animal is unlikely to have ended up here by accident in a bamboo hunt gone awry. Instead, the archaeologists who discovered the remains believe the bear was buried alongside the esteemed leader to […]

An enormous femur was retrieved from the Stonesfield limestone quarry in Oxfordshire, England, back in 1676. It’s thought to have belonged to the first dinosaur ever described, Megalosaurus bucklandii, but its discoverers didn’t know what they were dealing with at the time. That meant when it was later depicted in the first known published illustration […]

Scientists, and many others, would love it if people would “trust the science” when faced with important public or personal decisions. However, only a tiny proportion of the population will have a deep knowledge of research on any topic, so most people most of the time have to rely on what scientists say about it. […]

Researchers have reported the first evidence of quantum superchemistry. This is a special type of chemical reaction where the atoms and/or molecules in the reaction are all in the same quantum state, leading to a collective and accelerated reaction. This effect had theoretical backing, but proof of its feasibility has been elusive. The team used […]

An astonishing new ecosystem has just been announced following a discovery inside volcanic caves off Central America. It took the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s (SOI) research vessel Falkor (too) 30 days to complete its expedition, and brought home one of the biggest discoveries in 46 years of studying hydrothermal vents. Here, on the East Pacific Rise, […]

The South Pole may seem like it’s enduring and immutable, but a new review has shown how Antarctica has undergone “staggering” extreme changes in the face of the deepening climate crisis. Among the many concerns highlighted in the new paper, the researchers warn there’s a possibility that Antarctica could eventually lose its cooling effect on […]

Human-induced changes to animal populations are never more apparent than in the case of the northern white rhino. Only two female individuals remain anywhere in the world after poaching, armed conflict, and political instability decimated the population. So how do we go about saving a species on the very brink of extinction? We spoke with […]

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is very common, infecting at least 95 percent of adult humans. Infection doesn’t always cause symptoms, but it can cause infectious mononucleosis (aka glandular fever) and is linked to various conditions including multiple sclerosis and certain cancers. There’s currently no vaccine against EBV infection – but a new study has now presented […]

NASA’s InSight might have stopped working after four intense years on Mars last December, but its data will keep scientists busy for a long time. The multifunction lander studied marsquakes and the internal properties of the Red Planet. Scientists were able to work out that the rotation rate of the planet is increasing by 4 […]

Evasive sneezes have got to be one of the most irritating afflictions, but for some of us, there can be a simple solution. In the case of photic sneezing, simply looking at a bright light can be enough to elicit a satisfying sneeze. The reason is due to pupil dilation, the nervous system, and a […]

Extinction is becoming a real threat faced by countless creatures across the animal kingdom. Famously, there are an estimated just 10 vaquitas remaining in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Now, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has issued the first-ever extinction alert in its 70-year history, to spur action to help the world’s tiniest and most […]

The dream appears to be over. After a few intense weeks of speculation and drama, more and more labs have been able to recreate LK-99, also known as modified lead-apatite. The material was touted as the first-ever room-temperature ambient pressure superconductor, a claim that was met with healthy skepticism and excitement. After all, extraordinary claims […]

Air pollution may make antibiotic resistance worse, according to the first detailed global analysis of the relationship between the problems. Disturbing as it is that two major killers could be reinforcing each other, it also means that we can tackle both at once, if only we can find the will. It’s a strange thing that […]

What happened to crop circles? There was a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when you couldn’t stroll through a sci-fi field without encountering the odd patterns pressed into the crop. From The X-Files and M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs to alarmed media reports from rural spots in North America, the UK, Russia, Japan, and […]

Eris – a new COVID variant – is emerging in the UK amid a nationwide rise in cases and hospital admissions. First classified as a variant last month, Eris, or EG.5.1, is a subvariant of Omicron and has since been added to the World Health Organization’s “variants under monitoring” list. According to data from the […]

Amongst the remains of the Neanderthal inhabitants of a cave in France, researchers have uncovered a hip belonging to a modern human baby. However, after noticing differences between the ancient ilium and that of more recent neonates, the authors of a new study say the infant may represent a previously unknown early lineage of Homo […]

There’s a well-worn stereotype that women cry more often than men. It’s not a fantastically helpful stereotype, but it certainly is persistent. And, as it turns out, there could be a biological reason behind it: some research has suggested that higher levels of testosterone could inhibit crying. Crying as a response to strong emotions appears […]

Scientists have exploited the properties of a material to create an “extra dimension” that allows them to better control waves passing through it. Using the concept of synthetic dimension, scientists have developed a new metamaterial that can better control mechanical surface waves, with very interesting applications. As the name implies, these waves travel along the […]

Last December, for the first time, researchers had a controlled nuclear fusion reaction that put out more energy than needed to be started. It has been reported that the National Ignition Facility (NIF) team did it again in a second test on July 30, where they achieved an even higher energy output. The second experiment […]

It’s the topic of the moment. Whether you thought it meant something NSFW (naughty naughty) or whether you just find it maddening, there’s no escaping it: “phubbing” is a definite candidate for Word of the Year (according to the very unofficial IFLScience rankings). But, in case you’ve missed out, let’s take one last voyage of […]