Deborah Bloomfield

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft landed smoothly on an icy runway in a remote part of Antarctica earlier this month, earning the title of the largest plane to ever land on the airstrip near the Norwegian research station Troll. Commissioned by the Norwegian Polar Institute, the giant aircraft set off on its voyage from Cape […]

There are a lot of terrifying things you can find in space, from mysterious massive voids 250 to 330 million light-years across, to tiny droplets of water in your space suit which could very easily drown you. But the moniker of the “most terrifying space photo” is generally given to a photo of astronaut Bruce […]

This article first appeared in Issue 14 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. Big or small, herbivorous or carnivorous, and whether they died of old age, disease, or predation, do we know what a lifespan looked like for dinosaurs? Advertisement We asked Professor Paul Barrett, head of fossil vertebrates at London’s Natural History Museum, and he […]

To whomever it was who first looked at a piece of bread and thought, “hell, let’s cook it again, see what happens,” we salute you. Toast is great: you can slather it with butter and jam, cover it in beans, dip it in eggs, or even make it into its own sandwich, all the while […]

Once upon a time, around 300,000 years ago, numerous human species roamed the Earth. They often crossed paths, intermingled, competed, and almost undoubtedly clashed. Ultimately, just one species prevailed: Homo sapiens.  Aside from the odd nuclear threat and global pandemic, this single species has been doing a pretty good job at remaining the planet’s apex […]

Delve into the comments of a video of a ginger cat acting a little (or very) silly, and you’re likely to find mentions of “orange cat behavior”, or one solitary orange cat brain cell being shared between them all. Although many of these comments are purely in jest, believe it or not, scientists have actually […]

There’s a room in Minnesota that no one has been able to stay in for longer than 45 minutes. It’s so silent inside that the sound level is actually measured in negative units. The anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis is the current Guinness World Record holder for the quietest place on Earth, which […]

The Sun and other stars seldom get near each other. It is estimated that a close passage – closer than 15 billion kilometers (9.3 billion miles) – happens once every 100 billion years, which is more than 7 times the current age of the universe. Due to the evolution of the Sun, the Earth has […]

In 1984, a city in India saw one of the worst-ever industrial accidents on Earth. A pesticide plant in Bhopal spewed over 40 tons of toxic gas into the surrounding city, immediately killing thousands of people and spelling premature death for many thousands more. The tragic disaster is the subject of a new miniseries on […]

Nothing escapes black holes, but over the decades researchers have worked out ways to get some energy out of them. Some happen naturally, and some energy can be stolen in clever ways. Now, researchers have worked out novel approaches to use black holes as power sources, suggesting that they can be used as either batteries […]

Back in the 1800s, there was hysteria over the disease spermatorrhea – the excessive discharge of sperm caused by illicit or excessive sexual activities – and there were some harsh and extreme “cures” for this affliction. Nowadays, it is fairly unlikely you would hear about this disease – is that because we have cured it? […]

Scientists are rejoicing as a species that was believed to be lost for the last 80 years has been rediscovered alive and well. The De Winton’s golden mole was last seen in 1936, but now becomes the 11th of Re:wild’s “most wanted lost species list” to be rediscovered since the Search For Lost Species launched […]

There is a cave in Finland that has long been associated with the supernatural. The folklore surrounding this site is so strong that, even today, practitioners of modern shamanism hold drumming sessions there. But what makes this place so spiritually special? Well, a new study has suggested an answer, which although mundane, is still pretty […]

An amateur astronomer has captured an object slamming into Jupiter, producing a bright flash of light as it disintegrated in the gas giant’s atmosphere. Jupiter is so massive that it technically doesn’t orbit the Sun. With such a gravitational pull, you’d expect it to be regularly impacted by asteroids that make their way to its […]

The Tusk Conservation Awards returned for its 11th year on November 27, 2023, celebrating the inspirational work of conservationists championing biodiversity, wildlife, and the environment. The work of this year’s winners has contributed to the preservation of chimpanzee, gorilla, bonobo, and painted dog populations, and has earned them recognition as some of Africa’s leading conservationists. […]

An early-stage clinical trial of an injectable stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) has shown that the treatment is not only safe, but may also show promise in stopping the disease from progressing. The trial recruited 15 patients with secondary MS – the progressive phase of the disease – aged from 38 to 57 […]

For the first time in aviation history, a passenger jet powered only by alternative “green” fuels has left the tarmac. Currently making its way from London to New York, the Boeing 787 aircraft is carrying 60 tonnes of propellant made entirely from waste fats and agricultural by-products. Operated by Virgin Atlantic, the flight – which […]

As deep-sea weirdos go, they don’t get much more bizarre than anglerfish. But if their nightmarish looks and dangly bioluminescent lures aren’t enough for you, some species of anglerfish have another strange string to their bows: they spend their whole lives upside down. The species in question are ceratioid whipnose anglerfish from the genus Gigantactis. […]

Researchers have built nanowires with a precise 1:2:2 ratio of ytterbium, rhodium, and silicon (YbRh2Si2) in a peculiar phase of matter. This phase is called “strange metal“, and true to its name the quantum material is exhibiting behaviors that have challenged expectations. One of these is that electricity in this material does not move as […]

Nestled beneath the tranquil surface of Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang Province, China, lies a submerged world frozen in time – the ancient city of Shicheng, a 600-year-old remnant from China’s Imperial past.  Often referred to as the “Lion City” (due to its proximity to the nearby Wu Shi Mountain, or “Five Lion Mountain”), conflicting reports […]