Deborah Bloomfield

Hundreds upon hundreds of active volcanoes are scattered across planet Earth, but only a small number are currently in the grips of a violent eruptive episode. While it’s difficult to predict when a volcano might blow, geologists are constantly keeping tabs on those that are already neck-deep in an eruption.  There are approximately 1,350 potentially […]

The flavoring of McDonald’s Sweet & Sour dip has sent some TikTokkers into a tailspin after an account revealed which fruit plays a central role in its tang. While some suggested pineapple might be the elusive star of the smooth sauce, others have been left “shaken” by the discovery that it is in fact apricot. […]

In recent years, facial reconstruction technology has allowed us to come face-to-face with our ancient ancestors in a way that had never been possible before. From a 50,000-year-old geriatric Neanderthal, to a medieval man with achondroplastic dwarfism, and the ever-enigmatic “hobbit” hominid Homo floresiensis, our forebears faces can now be revealed in stark relief. In […]

Research on populations of green sea turtles suggests that specific pollutants that accumulate in female turtles could be passed onto their young and may cause them to become feminized. This situation may compound issues for a species that already has fewer male hatchlings.   “Green sea turtles are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red […]

The astonishing discovery of 27 fossil bird footprints dating back 120 to 128 million years is changing the way we view avian evolution and migration. Found in the Wonthaggi Formation south of Melbourne, they were laid down in the Early Cretaceous and created by birds stepping across soft sand or mud. The footprints are so […]

Modern day Texas is home to deer, rattlesnakes, and bobcats, to name a few animals, and – according to news from a de-extinction company – soon, it might also have mammoths. The company behind the ambitious target is Colossal Biosciences, and it’s their goal to have living, breathing mammoths at their Texas-based facility by 2028. […]

If you’ve ever spent time around babies, you’ll know that the main way they communicate their needs and feelings is through crying. New research suggests plants take a similar approach – when they’re thirsty or stressed, they make “airborne sounds.” How to detect a crying plant While you’d be hard-pressed not to hear a tiny […]

When humans get hungry, our stomachs appear to protest with a series of rumbles and growls that can be audible even to those around us. It’s a normal part of being human and something all of us have experienced, but what’s actually going on to make those peculiar sounds? The reason why our stomachs growl […]

If you hear the word “tetanus”, there’s a good chance you’ll have a cringe-inducing vision of stepping on a rusty nail, followed by a swift trip to the hospital. However, this is a bit of a misconception: tetanus doesn’t actually have much to do with rust.  Tetanus is a serious, life-threatening condition caused by the […]

This week Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has shrunk to the smallest we’ve ever seen it, a 71-million-year-old snoozing dinosaur suggests they slept like birds, and one of nature’s “most intimidating spectacles” may become a lot more common. Finally, we investigate how the natural world made ancient warfare pretty weird. Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for […]

The known universe is full of exciting things like black holes, hypernovas, and merging neutron stars. All of those, however, look tame compared to items physicists think might exist but have yet to find. Perhaps chief among these are wormholes, which theoretically join parts of space and time, allowing those who enter them a shortcut […]

Two phase 3 trials of an Alzheimer’s drug have failed to demonstrate significant improvements in cognitive function, throwing doubt on one of the leading theories as to the cause of the neurodegenerative disease. The so-called “amyloid hypothesis” proposes that build-up of a protein called amyloid-beta is responsible for the neuronal death and degeneration that is […]

Gender has a curious effect on pain perception, according to new research from Lund University in Sweden. In one study, it was discovered that male participants needed stronger pain stimulation to reach a required threshold when the scientist inflicting the pain was female. In another, male patients recovering from surgery tended to report less pain […]

Few people have shaped the global population to the same extent as Genghis Khan – a man whose armies killed as many people as his genitals later replaced. In amongst all the slaughtering and siring, however, the legendary warrior-ruler may also have inadvertently sequestered huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, possibly even cooling […]

A fast-moving plant might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but the reality is that our planet’s greenery is far from static. Come with us to discover rapid growers, spore-spreading explosions, and snappy aquatic predators – it’s time to meet the fastest plants on Earth. Growth Traditionally, bamboo has been thought of as the […]

We have all probably heard stories about creative individuals who are brilliant in their field but otherwise haunted by deep inner torment. The late comedian Robin Williams and the iconic painter Vincent Van Gogh are probably among the more recognizable examples. But Is creativity always associated with higher levels of psychopathology? Well, new research has […]

If you live in a long but narrow part of the world, you have an opportunity next month to contribute to a global project exploring one of the most famous and enigmatic stars. That’s because on December 12, on a path running almost half the way around the planet, the asteroid 319 Leona will pass […]