Deborah Bloomfield

For thousands of years, Baltic amber – otherwise known as succinite – has been recognized as the finest in the world, and has been sought after for use in jewelry since Roman times. Despite other amber deposits existing across Europe, ancient people from far and wide were keen to get their hands on the Baltic […]

Earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains – some of the most spectacular and devastating features of Planet Earth are the result of tectonic activity. But what exactly are tectonic plates, and how many are there? What are tectonic plates? Earth, like an onion and everyone’s favorite ogre, has layers. Tectonic plates are made up of the outermost level, […]

Spider silk is incredibly strong, and their webs can be very sticky, ensnaring prey in an instant. It seems like a treacherous terrain to spend your life on, but spiders have evolved to navigate their silken traps that catch out so many other species. When we think about spiders getting stuck in their webs, we’re […]

Never underestimate the power of the eyebrows. Sitting on your lower forehead, these two strips of hair are like bold beacons of social information, as well as tiny little sweatbands.  In humans, eyebrows serve a couple of key functions. Firstly, they help to keep sweat from dripping into our eyes and hazing our vision.  Advertisement […]

If asked to name the hardest thing in the universe some might suggest that subject they failed in second year or making a Flat Earther acknowledge reality. Specifying that we mean the hardest substance would probably lead to most people saying diamonds, but as with so many questions in this series, the answer isn’t quite […]

Jupiter is one of the best-studied planets in the Solar System, and yet the gas giant is still hiding plenty of surprises and mysteries. One was discovered at a distance, thanks to the keen infrared eye of JWST. There is a high-speed jet stream over Jupiter’s equator about 40 kilometers (25 miles) above the main […]

New research claims that the world may have crossed a “tipping point” that will make solar power our main source of energy by 2050.  The research, led by teams at the University of Exeter and University College London (UCL), was based on a data-driven model of technology and economics that showed how solar photovoltaics (PV) […]

Scientists have discovered that transplanting the gut microbes of people with Alzheimer’s disease into healthy rats causes the animals to develop symptoms of the disease. The result could pave the way for new treatments and confirms what many have long argued: that the intestinal microbiome plays a key role in Alzheimer’s. The study was the […]

If you go down to the limestone karsts of Laos you could be in for a big surprise. If you can see it that is. A new species of “dragon lizard” has been discovered living only on a very specialized landscape in Laos. The lizard is so well camouflaged that only two individuals have ever […]

Cache Valley virus – a mosquito-borne infection that primarily affects sheep – may be more of a threat to humans in the US than previously thought, health officials report, possibly infecting up to 18 percent of the population. In findings presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene meeting, which have not yet […]

Everybody knows (or should do, at least) that ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun had a dagger containing iron from a meteorite. The dagger, found in the pharaoh’s tomb, was examined through portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometry and found to have a composition that closely matches iron meteorites.  Further analysis of how the blade was forged, as well […]

Life on Earth wouldn’t exist without the Sun. Its light is the energy that powers so much of our planet, from photosynthesis to changes in the atmosphere. However, like everything else in the universe, the Sun is not static – it changes. Its better-known cycle lasts around 11 years and is marked by a period […]

Interspecies breeding is creating a slippery problem in Florida’s conflict with invasive pythons. A few years ago, scientists discovered that a significant number of the giant snakes stalking the Everglades are hybrids created as a result of breeding between two different species: Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) and Indian pythons (P. molurus). Remarkably, these hybrids appear […]

We talk a lot about eating insects but not so much about insects eating. However, a new study is set to change that as it puts to bed an enduring mystery surrounding cicada’s dietary habits. “Do adult cicadas eat?” is the question at the center of the long-standing scientific debate – and, as it turns out, […]

Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the inner Solar System and it was visited by the Dawn mission last decade. NASA’s spacecraft revealed that the world hosts complex organics, possible volcanism where salt erupted, and plenty of water ice. The origin of organics was not fully understood: were they native to Ceres or were […]

Who is ready for some duck-based confusion? As we dive into the world of duck breeding and hybrids, get ready to meet the mallard, the moulard, and the mulard. Try saying those five times fast! The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is what we would call the true wild duck species, found worldwide in parks and ponds, […]

Ancient Maya know-how for providing clean drinking water to vast numbers of people could provide a solution to future water shortages, according to a new study. Outlining the steps taken by the pre-Hispanic civilization to keep people hydrated, study author Lisa Lucero says well-managed reservoirs acted in much the same way as modern constructed wetlands, […]

It seems such a simple idea it’s surprising no one has done it before: plot everything from subatomic particles to superclusters on a chart of mass and radius. Now that someone has, the results raise some very intriguing, and possibly a little disturbing, questions. The chart is the work of Dr Charles Lineweaver and graduate […]

One of the most iconic Pharaohs ever to rule Ancient Egypt has been resurrected in digital form, as both a middle-aged powerhouse and an ailing elderly king. Using Computed Tomography (CT) scans of his mummy, researchers have reconstructed the face of Ramesses II as it would have appeared at the age of 45, when he […]

Helium-3 is a strange and rare isotope. The gas, most of which formed during the Big Bang, is, aside from protium, the only stable isotope of any element that contains more protons than neutrons. As well as intriguing, due to its potential for use in fusion reactors, it is also highly sought after. We know […]