Deborah Bloomfield

Thinking of X-rays might trigger memories of broken bones or dental check-ups. But this extremely energetic light can show us more than just our bones: it is also used to study the molecular world, even biochemical reactions in real-time. One issue, though, is that researchers have never been able to study a single atom with […]

The Moon has one of the largest preserved craters in the Solar System, the South Pole-Aitken Basin, located on the far side of our satellite. The area is central to many investigations, with India’s first lunar lander aiming for the region, Artemis 3 hoping to land humans at the South Pole, and perhaps most curiously, […]

The science of super glue is nothing like watching paint dry. Within this situation-saving liquid, there’s some fascinating yet relatively simple chemistry going on.  Like many other good discoveries, super glue was invented by accident. The person credited with its creation is Dr Harry Coover, a chemist from the US who was attempting to make […]

On October 28, 2021, the Sun released a coronal mass ejection. A large swathe of plasma, electrically charged particles from the Sun, was thrown into the Solar System. The material spread out, fanning out and reaching the planets. And for the first time, it was detected on Earth, on the Moon, and on Mars, as […]

A special algorithm designed to spot dangerous near-Earth asteroids appears to be so good it has spotted its very first one during an initial test. The Vera C. Rubin Telescope is expected to come online in August 2024. Among the many incredible observations and surveys that it will conduct will be a 10-year survey of […]

Do sauropods live in the Congo? No, but that didn’t stop the idea from circulating in the not-so-distant past. The “dinosaur” in question was said to be a long-necked rotund sauropod-like herbivore that waded through swamps and rivers. It’s big in the cryptozoology circles, but its origins, like many cryptids, are murky. The mysterious animal […]

In Doctor Who, an alien species called the Silurians exists – technologically-advanced humanoid reptiles who lived long before humans, going into hiding and being basically undiscovered again until everyone’s favorite time-traveling alien came along in his phone box. So far, so not science. However, in 2018 two University of Cambridge scientists named their paper – The […]

A metal that fills in cracks in itself without human intervention could be the key to making self-healing machines and infrastructure that could save trillions in repairs and maintenance. Things get more alarming if you think about applying it to robots, but maybe we’re there already.  Metallic parts develop small cracks under repeated stress, known […]

Last week, with no major fanfare, a paper appeared on the pre-print server ArXiv claiming that the holy grail of superconductivity has been achieved. Korean scientists claimed that they had created a superconductor – materials that conduct electricity perfectly without losing energy – that can work outside lab conditions at room temperature and ambient pressure. […]

An unusual earthquake that damaged villages in France’s Rhône Valley appears to have been caused by heavy rain. Although no one was killed in this event and its impact was quite localized, the findings show that human effects on climate can have unexpected indirect consequences we haven’t taken into account. Most earthquakes, particularly larger ones, take place […]

Watching birds in the wild has been found to have positive effects on your mental health as well as allowing you to spend time appreciating the great outdoors. Whether you see a snowy owl in Central Park or a bird that’s been missing since 1882, there is always something to be enjoyed. Recently, birders in […]

Last week, you might have seen a bunch of news stories about a new study that found the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), “the conveyor belt of the ocean” that carries warm water from the tropics northwards to the North Atlantic, is potentially facing collapse within the century. Some fairly sensational reporting of the study […]

One of the blackest animals on Earth is a chicken. In Java, Indonesia, where the bird is native, it’s known as Ayam Cemani. Across the internet, the majestic hyper-melanistic bird is known as the goth chicken. Black bones, tissue, and organs are rare in the animal kingdom, and the Ayam Cemani chicken is one of […]

While the meat paradox explains how people are able to be both animal lovers and meat eaters, the cheese paradox outlines a complex process of cognitive dissonance that allows those who practice ethical vegetarianism to still consume animal products sourced through wholly unethical means. Inspired by the meat paradox, a new study by researchers in […]

Scientists of the world, we have a request: please investigate the claim that some people can detect the smell of ants while others can’t. It’s painfully urgent.  Everyone now and again, a viral post will go around in which some people claim they can smell ants. In one TikTok video sharing the apparent fact, the […]

This article first appeared in Issue 10 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. Have you ever seen the color yellow-blue? No, we don’t mean green – we’re talking about a color that’s simultaneously blue and yellow at the same time. OK, it’s hard to picture, as is the idea of a color that’s exactly as red […]

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way employees work, with much more of the workforce working from home or adapting to a hybrid home/office schedule. However, the modern world is full of distractions, from watching videos on TikTok to queuing for Eras tour tickets, there always seems to be a reason to put off sending that […]

When it comes to the climate crisis, political discussion often rests on the assumption that a technological solution will save us from ourselves and the greenhouse emissions that we continue to pump into the atmosphere. These solutions are far from ready to be deployed, but progress and proposals are being made. Now, scientists have put […]

Leprosy has made a surprising (and wholly unwelcome) comeback in Florida, as per a new report published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Worse still, the new report suggests that the infectious disease could be endemic in the Sunshine State, meaning it’s there to stay.  The case report cites that 159 […]

Thirty-nine million years ago, a majestic sea potato for a whale was drifting along coastal habitats off Peru. Following the discovery of 13 vertebrae and a few ribs, researchers now estimate it may have been the heaviest animal ever to exist, topping even the gargantuan weight of living blue whales. Gigantism became a big hit […]