Many animals spend their days munching on grass, so why don’t you see humans in a field on all fours enjoying some of that good green stuff? Well, there are a few good reasons why you shouldn’t eat grass (aside from the social stigma thrown your way). Grass is technically non-toxic, but it holds little-to-no […]
The Secret To Finding Alien Life Could Be Broccoli Gas
Astronomers finally have the tools to search for signs of life on other worlds. One team of scientists think their best shot lies with methyl bromide (CH4Br), in the hope alien vegetation has a similar waste removal scheme to the one widespread on Earth. The capacity of telescopes like the JWST and future giant Earth-based […]
Farming Group Lobbies For Killing Method Described As “Blatant Cruelty”
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been asked to potentially make “ventilation shutdown plus” – a method that animal rights groups call “blatant cruelty” – the “preferred” method for culling poultry infected with bird flu. Ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+) is a method of killing that involves turning off the airflow in a barn and […]
Gloomy Octopuses Caught Flinging Shells and Silt At Each Other For First Time
Jervis Bay, Australia, might just hold the world’s most moody octopuses. Wild gloomy octopuses (Octopus tetricus) in this area frequently hurl silt, shells, and algae through the water using their arms by creating a water jet from their siphon under their arm web. This throwing behavior is sometimes aimed at other individuals, with the material […]
How The Nazis Used Language To Pave The Way For The Holocaust
New research has shown how Nazi propaganda exploited language to dehumanize Jewish people and help pave the way for the Holocaust. While the study only looked at this particular blot on 20th-century history, the researchers argue their work also provides some insight into how politics and racism still function today; perhaps it could even prevent […]
Hidden Structure Discovered Behind The Milky Way’s “Zone Of Avoidance”
Being inside of a galaxy certainly has its perks, given that planets capable of sustaining life would be unlikely to form in intergalactic space. But it means that there is a big chunk of the universe we can’t see because it is blocked by the central region of our own Milky Way. Now astronomers have […]
The Population Of The Moon Is About To Skyrocket
The single robot inhabitant of our Moon, Yutu-2, is about to get some well-deserved company in the form of over a dozen multinational rovers and landers. Our moon will join Mars in becoming the second celestial body in our solar system to be positively teaming with little robot scientists. The Moon is currently inhabited by […]
72-Foot Fusion Gun Fires Projectiles At 4.3 Miles Per Second Trying To Create Limitless Energy
Meet the BFG – that’s Big Friendly Gun, though the original word probably wasn’t “friendly” – a 22-meter (72-foot) prototype steel gun that fires a projectile at an astronomical speed towards a fuel pellet to create nuclear fusion reactions. Designed by UK startup First Light Fusion, the gun is designed to achieve fusion without using […]
Before We Knew About The Magnetic Field, People Had An Adorable Explanation For Why Compasses Worked
The world map you are likely familiar with is based on the Mercator projection, a revolutionary way of representing the 3D world on a 2D map created by cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. World-changing though the map was, there are a few strange details on there – like a phantom island labeled “Rupes Nigra” (or […]
NASA Leaves $4 Billion Rocket Outside During Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm Nicole is currently affecting the Bahamas and is expected to make landfall in Florida very soon. The southern states, including Florida, are still recovering from the devastating impact of hurricane Ian. NASA had the Kennedy Space Center under Hurricane Condition III status, securing its facilities as well as deploying the ride-out team. But […]
What Is Greenwashing? And Why Should It Really Annoy You?
Whenever there’s a climate change conference around, there’s one term you can never get away from: “greenwashing.” What Is Greenwashing? Greenwashing is the practice of using media campaigns, PR spin, and distraction to deceive the public into believing an organization’s products, aims, and policies are more environmentally friendly than they actually are. Advertisement It’s an […]
Tales Of A Black Dead Sun Survive Generations After A Total Eclipse
Astronomers are filling in gaps in our knowledge of ancient events by deciphering descriptions from folklore and ancient texts. In accounts of three solar eclipses from the island of Hokkaido, they have found one description that is both poetic and potentially quite scientifically important. Before the mid-19th century, written astronomical records from Hokkaido are sparse, […]
Nine People With Paralysis Walk Again As Neurons Responsible For Recovery Identified
A group of neurons involved in recovery from paralysis has been identified in mice, shedding light on the mechanism that underpins rehabilitation of the spinal cord in response to electrical stimulation. This breakthrough could help in the development of targeted treatments for people with spinal cord injuries. The new study also recruited nine individuals with […]
Don’t Lick The Mystic Toad: National Park Service Asks Visitors To Stop Getting High On Toxins
The National Park Service is begging people to not lick the toxic toad that might make you have a psychedelic trip, no matter how much you want to try it. The Sonoran desert toad, Incilius alvarius, is a large toad that can be found in the southwestern United States and Mexico and is known to […]
Timeline Of A Star Going Supernova Captured In Incredible Single Image
Astronomers have found three observations of how one supernova explosion looked over different days – in a single image. The incredible snapshot did not require a special telescope setup or some cool processing software. The seemingly impossible event is the result of a particular astronomical phenomenon: gravitational lensing. Anything that has mass warps space-time. Big […]
Twitter Has A Solution To The Blue Tick Problem: Add A Second, Uglier Tick
Twitter is making changes to the blue tick verification system for the third time since Elon Musk took over as CEO two weeks ago. The latest change gets the system a little closer to what verification meant before Musk took over, while making people question what a Twitter Blue subscription is for. Shortly after taking […]
Newly Discovered Brain Circuit Explains How Maternal Behaviors Are Learned
New research in mice has identified the brain circuitry involved in the learning of maternal behaviors. The findings could be a first step toward treatments for conditions such as postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. The study, led by a team at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, analyzed the behavior of female mice that had […]
There’s A Good Chance You’re Misremembering The January 6 Capitol Riot
The Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, was a pretty significant historical US event which (unless there are any babies out there reading this) we all lived through – but can your memories of the event be trusted? A new study says no, and your memories of the event can be affected by your political […]
Amazingly Preserved Statues Retell History Of War And Peace In Ancient Rome
The discovery of 24 bronze statues in an ancient thermal spring in Tuscany could redefine our understanding of the beginnings of the Roman Empire. Dated to around 2,300 years ago, the incredible figures provide new evidence that the ancient Romans may have prayed alongside their old enemy the Etruscans, even in times of war. Though […]
The 14th Century Was An Utterly Horrific Time To Be A Human
What was the worst time in history to be a human? You could put forward the case that the 20th century was pretty awful, considering it had two world wars and one of the worst pandemics in history. The 17th century was certainly no joke either, and the year 563 CE was pretty dire. But of […]
