Deborah Bloomfield

After several sea otters washed up dead along California’s shores, scientists dug into the mystery and uncovered an unlikely pair of culprits: a strange strain of a brain-controlling parasite and feline poop.  The four sea otters were found stranded between February 2020 and March 2022. It’s known that this species can be especially vulnerable to […]

Death might be what first springs to mind when we think of cemeteries, but research has found that these often green, quiet, and undisturbed places can provide a valuable habitat for wildlife in urban areas. A new study has found that they can even be a hit for non-native species, as it revealed how the […]

Marine animals face lots of threats that could result in trauma to their body parts. A predatory animal may attempt to take a chunk out of them; they could be injured during mating behaviors; or those that live in more coastal, urban environments can come into contact with boats that can cause scars and injuries […]

Batteries that make use of quantum phenomena that appear to mock our conventional understanding of the laws of physics could be harnessed for energy storage. Although these batteries have only been produced on a small scale in laboratories, one day they might offer advantages over conventional batteries that could see them be the preferred choice […]

After shockingly low water levels revealed dead bodies along Lake Mead’s shores in 2022, the southwestern reservoir saw a brief recovery in 2023. However, authorities are still concerned that this gargantuan lake is facing an uncertain future and, if worst comes to worst, could be approaching a disastrous tipping point. Lake Mead is a large […]

The Crypt of Civilization was sealed 83 years ago. It won’t be opened again until the year 8113 CE. While studying ancient Egypt, Dr Thornwell Jacobs was struck by how little accurate information about ancient civilizations had survived to the present day. He realized that virtually all our knowledge of life in ancient Egypt came […]

A section of the Great Wall of China that extends into Mongolia has been analyzed for the first time, allowing researchers to present some speculative insights into the history and function of this enormous structure. Spread over 405 kilometers (252 miles), the wall has been dubbed the “Mongolian Arc” due to its curved trajectory. Running […]

Raw dog food has been a trend that has been growing in popularity in recent years, with doggy parents feeding their beloved furbabies raw foods like bones, fruit, vegetables, and meats. Now, researchers are warning that there may be dangers lurking in this diet. Scientists delved into the poop samples of over 600 healthy pet […]

NASA has conducted a reassessment of Earth-sized planets around nearby stars and the authors have concluded that 17 of these could resemble some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Rather than being the rocky worlds we have imagined, they probably have icy shells, with liquid oceans beneath. Like the moons Europa and Enceladus, these […]

As the year draws to a close, we can now look back at the scientific stories that helped shape it. From groundbreaking discoveries that challenged the boundaries of our understanding, to technological marvels set to reshape our future, join us as we take a look at the dynamic world of science in 2023. Download this […]

So-called “Zombie Deer Disease”, also known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), is currently spreading among deer, elk, and moose in the USA. Hundreds of animals are estimated to have been affected by the disease last year – and as it spreads, experts are questioning if the illness could spread to humans. As a prion disease, […]

With cases of COVID reaching relatively high levels once again, here are the symptoms to keep an eye out for.  The JN.1 COVID variant had a rapid spread throughout December 2023 and has now become the most common strain of the virus spreading across the US, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and […]

New species are found every year, some are hiding in plain sight, some are camouflaged into the world around them, and some have been identified after painstaking hard work and genetic analysis. The team at the Natural History Museum London has named 815 new species this year, making 2022’s 351 species look a little paltry in […]

As NASA struggles to access the treasure obtained by the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu, it has also had to decide what to do with the valuable and still-operating spacecraft responsible. Now that decision has been made, confirming a long-standing plan, with the target set for an even more-famous Earth-crossing asteroid, 99942 Apophis, and a tweak […]

It’s difficult to fathom a wave taller than the Empire State Building, but a tsunami that big struck Alaska in 1958. The megatsunami remains the tallest ever recorded, but it wasn’t the most destructive as it hit Lituya Bay, a remote spot along the Gulf of Alaska where not many people live. Five people are […]

Exercise can be amazing for you: regularly getting active can reduce your risk of a whole host of ailments, such as heart attacks and strokes, and simply getting out for a walk can reduce your risk of death (although the infamous 10,000 steps goal is pretty arbitrary). Indeed, the World Health Organization states that those […]

Joining the ranks of newly discovered species in Asia is a snazzy-looking iguana with a bright orange tongue. Researchers have been looking closely at what they initially believed to be one species of iguana found in the subtropical evergreen forests of South China and Northern Vietnam. On further inspection, however, the team found that the […]

Archivists have stumbled across a walking cane that’s believed to depict a suspect in the case of Jack the Ripper, the notorious serial killer who raised hell in the East End of London in the autumn of 1888. Jack the Ripper was responsible for the murders of at least five female sex workers in the […]

When the Manhattan Project set out to research and develop nuclear weapons during World War II, it became apparent to the scientists involved that they would need to better understand the effects of the radioactive materials they were going to be working with on the human body. To find out, they conducted Human Plutonium Injection […]

When it comes to the most unkillable beasts out there, a jellyfish the size of your pinkie fingernail probably doesn’t leap straight to mind. However, not only is this subphylum responsible for producing the only known case of natural immortality, but it’s also home to the species Cladonema – a jelly with the ability to regrow […]