Deborah Bloomfield

In the 19th century, the discovery of dinosaurs fuelled one of the most heated and ridiculous conflicts ever seen between two scientists. While both bone-hunters were ultimately ruined by their bitter rivalry, their work discovered over 100 species of dinosaurs – like Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Triceratops – and helped to lay the groundwork for our current […]

In 1963, a man in the Nevşehir Province of Turkey knocked down a wall in his basement and ended up discovering a gigantic underground city up to 18 stories deep, complete with chapels, schools, and stables. Known as Derinkuyu, the city had been abandoned for centuries – probably much to the relief of the man […]

Geologists in China have unearthed a new type of ore that’s rich in niobium, a much-prized metal with superconductive properties that is used in everything from steel production to jet engines and particle accelerators.  Dubbed niobobaotite, the ore was recently discovered within the Bayan Obo Mining District of Inner Mongolia in China, according to an […]

An interdisciplinary team of researchers have used digital imaging techniques and scientific instrumentation to answer an enduring question: what did the famous Parthenon sculptures look like when they were originally made? The results reveal these ancient sculptures were elegantly painted, with different colors and multiple patterns and designs.  The Parthenon sculptures, sometimes called the Parthenon […]

In Gryfino, western Poland, there is a forest containing an unusual mystery. Around 400 trees – surrounded by trees growing normally – are bent 90 degrees at their base, with the majority of them bending towards the North. We know that the trees were planted some time in the 1930s, before Gryfino was invaded and […]

It seems there’s a new diet on the scene (another one), which is being touted by various supporters such as Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. But what is this new fad and how does it work? Just another intermittent fasting diet? OMAD stands for One Meal A Day, […]

Astronomers have tracked the sudden brightening of a star in infrared light, and its subsequent optical fade, as a result of an immense collision of two mighty planets. They’ve even spotted light thought to come from the puffed-up planet formed in the collision. In December 2021 the previously unremarkable star 2MASS J08152329-3859234 became substantially fainter […]

This Saturday, clear skies permitting, millions of people across North America will look up to see the Moon edged with what is termed a “ring of fire”. However, there is a much more long-standing ring of fire (in addition to the one Johnny Cash sang about). It surrounds the Pacific Ocean, and includes the most […]

Animal mating strategies and breeding behaviors offer some of the strangest and most impressive feats of nature that can be seen. From singing songs to woo your future mate to helping your mate get undressed, the animal kingdom sets the stage for all kinds of breeding behavior. However, the female frogs of the world have had […]

A “living fossil” that’s persisted on Earth for over 445 million years earned Laurent Ballesta the title of Wildlife Photographer Of The Year for 2023. The Grand Title winner submitted the mesmerizing shot of a golden horseshoe crab as part of a portfolio that took two weeks of diving for six hours a day to […]

It’s no secret that modern humans and Neanderthals regularly got it on, and that these prehistoric trysts had genetic consequences for our species. Now, it seems we can add pain sensitivity to that list of things our rampant interbreeding may have influenced. In a new study involving more than 7,000 people, researchers have demonstrated that […]

OSIRIS-REx dropped its priceless cargo – samples from asteroid Bennu – down to Earth a few weeks ago. The canister containing the material will be opened today in a livestream from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where the precious material will be unveiled to the world. Obviously, the asteroid bits will be opened in a specially […]

Many attempts have been made to find the so-called “Planet Nine”, but all have – so far – been fruitless. In a new paper, a team claims to have their own explanation: our theory of gravity is wrong. For a few decades, astronomers have been puzzled by an apparent clustering of objects, way out in […]

The moment has arrived. Fat Bear Week 2023 has come to a close, and we have our winner. Feast your eyes on Grazer.  Bear 128 Grazer, to give her her full title, has officially been voted best fat bear of the year, beating majestic male 32 Chunk in what can only be described as a […]

Today we recognize that handwriting is unique to each person. From the way we form our letters to the amount of pressure we place on pen and paper, the details of our individual writing can be used to identify us. The same, it seems, is true for ancient runesmiths, which has allowed archaeologists to finally […]

In sports, coin tosses are often used to decide who goes first, or pick who goes to bat for the first part of the game.  It seems fair. You’d assume that as coins have two sides and you introduce a random element (flipping the coin and catching it), the odds of it coming up with […]

Archaeologists have discovered traces of ancient Egyptian wine, which, at 5,000 years old, is some very vintage vino. While exploring the tomb of a First Dynasty queen, the team unearthed hundreds of wine jars dating back to 3000 BCE, which contained remnants of wine. The findings also shed some light on the life and status […]

Earlier this year, China began digging a 10,000-meter (32,808-foot) hole into the Earth, the deepest ever attempted in the country. Digging down through 10 layers of rock, the team hopes to reach rocks from the Cretaceous Period, the layer known as the Cretaceous System, which dates back up to 145 million years. While cool in […]

Over 120 river dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon in the wake of an extreme drought and water temperatures reaching 38.8°C (102°F).  Researchers at the Mamirauá Institute told Reuters that dozens of dolphins had died over the past week in the region around Tefé Lake. They added that roughly 80 percent of deceased dolphins […]

Renting makes you age faster according to a new study that found that the negative impacts it can have on your biology are twice that of unemployment. More bad news for millennials who burned their housing deposits on *checks notes* coffees and avocados, but the good news is that the effects are reversible. The study […]