Scientists do a lot of important work, from tackling Parkinson’s disease to trying to figure out when Betelgeuse will go supernova. But sometimes they also try to figure out how to roll your joints in order to get you highest, as was the case from one team who presented their findings at the Canadian Chemistry […]
Monday Was The World’s Hottest Day On Record, But Tuesday Probably Beat It
Monday, July 3, was the hottest day since measurements began, and almost certainly long before then. The break from the previous record, set seven years ago, was unusually large in a category where advances usually come in hundredths of degrees. Sadly, however, it is very unlikely this record will stand for long, and may even […]
India’s Ingenious Living Root Bridges
This article first appeared in Issue 9 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. Jungle living can be treacherous, and if The Never Ending Story taught us anything it’s that horses and wet floors don’t go well together. In the jungles of Meghalaya in Northeast India, the Indigenous Khasi and Jaintia tribal communities have come up with […]
When Someone Dies, What Happens To The Body?
Upwards of 2.8 million people die every year in the United States. As a funeral director who heads a university mortuary science program, I can tell you that while each individual’s life experiences are unique, what happens to a body after death follows a broadly predictable chain of events. In general, it depends on three […]
Are Taxidermy Drones Made Of Dead Birds The Ultimate Spies?
This article first appeared in Issue 9 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. The BBC’s Spy In The Wild demonstrated the unique insights into animal behavior that can be observed when we hoodwink wildlife into thinking that a hidden camera is just one of their own. More recently, Spy In The Ocean applied this concept to sea-dwellers, […]
New Source Of CBD Found In Wild Brazilian Weed (No, Not That Kind)
Cannabidiol (CBD) is well-known as an active ingredient in cannabis that’s derived from the hemp plant, but scientists have now discovered this potentially useful compound is also produced by a plant that grows wildly in the Americas: Trema micrantha blume. Molecular biologists at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro managed to obtain CBD from […]
Pretty Pink Dolphins Lurk In The Amazon River
This article first appeared in Issue 9 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. In the murky waters of the Amazon lurk strange, toothed whales with long, narrow snouts and pink skin. Advertisement They start their lives gray but as they age more blood shows through, deepening the color, which also flushes pink when they’re excited. Subscribe […]
A Supermassive Black Hole Has Been Caught Turning On
Astronomers spotted an unusual signal while hunting for the counterpart of gravitational wave event S190930t. They were looking for the collision of a neutron star with another object, which should result in a kilonova. Instead, they stumbled upon a completely different type of transient event. While kilonovae redden and fade over a few days, this […]
Tachysensia: Understanding The Mysterious Phenomenon Of “Fast Feeling”
“Sounds are much louder and time contracts so everything feels like it is happening faster.” That’s the description of tachysensia given by a Reddit community formed as a gathering place for people who experience this mysterious, once-nameless, sensation. That community now has over 5,000 members, and research is only just beginning to catch up and […]
Small Planets May Form “Like A Sandwich”, According To Unusual New Method
Astronomers have found a new and unusual way for planets to form, potentially explaining why planets such as Mars and Uranus end up forming sandwiched between much bigger neighbors. And “sandwich” is the name of the game: The team are calling the method “sandwiched planet formation” and it is about the formation of smaller planets […]
The Chemistry Of The Perfect Barbecue
It’s barbecue season, and just the thought of the distinct smoky scent of sizzling food is enough to get many mouths watering (mine is watering as I write these words). And while the idea of cooking food on the grill may seem straightforward, there is actually a lot of chemistry taking place that results in […]
Southern US Reaches Dangerous “Wet Bulb Temperature”. Here’s What That Means
Well, we’re halfway through 2023, so in keeping with increasingly terrifying tradition, the Northern Hemisphere is melting. As several southern states – including nearly all of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas – as well as some states in the Midwest, have reached “wet bulb temperature” and received an “extreme threat” level designation, you may be wondering: […]
Spiders The Size Of Basketballs Lurk Deep Inside Abandoned Mines In Mexico
Mine spiders have seen a surge in popularity recently as many are realizing for the first time that some of the planet’s most impressive arachnids live their whole lives in dark and remote places. While there isn’t just one genus of cave-dwelling arachnids, there’s a host of impressive spiders to be found in caves and […]
Paradoxical Undressing: Why People Get Naked In The Final Stages Of Hypothermia
In 2015, a 69-year-old woman was reported missing by her son, after she hadn’t been heard from for the past four days. When police investigated, they found her inside the crawl space on the outside of her own house. She was wearing nothing but white shorts and a t-shirt, pulled up high and exposing much […]
Firefighters Sometimes Use “Wet Water” Rather Than Water To Put Out Fires
If you’ve ever had the misfortune to witness a fire or just watch Fireman Sam, you may have wondered whether the water fire brigades use to extinguish the flames is in any way different, or special, when compared to ordinary water. Well, it is. Since the first fire brigade in 6 CE, fire brigades have […]
Thank Your Krause Corpuscles, They’ve Just Been Linked To Sexual Pleasure
A dusty old group of nerves just got a sexy makeover in a preprint paper that’s suggested the long-known Krause corpuscles found in mammalian genitals may do a lot more than sense temperature changes. Instead, the mouse study suggests they act as vibrotactile sensors that are crucial for normal sexual functioning of the penis and […]
Dolphin Duo Trapped For Two Years In Pond Released Into Gulf Of Mexico
Wildlife rescue stories always tug at the heartstrings. From chimps seeing the sunshine, to seals exploring the local town, helping animals in distress is as rewarding as it is tricky. Never more so than when dealing with marine life, as the latest rescue of two dolphins after more than two years has revealed. Thought to […]
Lake Vs Pond: Do You Know The Difference?
Have you ever looked at a body of water and thought: is this a pleasant pond or a luscious lake? Just exactly what is the difference? Well, it all depends on who you are asking. If you are asking from a regulation point of view, there really is no difference between a lake and pond, […]
China’s 2,000-Year-Old Longyou Caves Will Blow Your Mind
The Longyou Caves are among the most mysterious ancient sites in world history. Built around 2,000 years ago, these human-crafted caverns lay in obscurity for centuries until they were accidentally discovered by farmers in the 1990s. The sandstone caves are located near the village of Shiyan Beicun on the Qu River in Zhejiang province, eastern […]
Physicists Made A Block Of Rubber That Can Count To 10
If you’ve ever called someone “dumb as a block of rubber,” you may wish to upgrade your insults, because it turns out a lump of rubber with some holes punched in it can count. It doesn’t even need fingers and toes. If this sounds like a remarkable, but useless, achievement, the designers think it might […]
