According to new research, 40 percent of people would prefer not to know the consequences of their actions – choosing ignorance – so that they have an excuse to act selfishly. “Examples of such willful ignorance abound in everyday life, such as when consumers ignore information about the problematic origins of the products they buy,” […]
Origins Of Last Pre-Human Primate To Inhabit North America Explained
The family tree of the last primate to inhabit North America before human arrival has been revealed, thanks to a comparison of teeth and jaws half a world apart. Humans have a lamentable history of leaving extinction behind when we reach new lands, North America included. However, at least in that case, we don’t have […]
How “Blue” And “Green” Entered An Amazonian Language Without Words For Them
It’s well-established that learning a second language can broaden your horizons, but it may also radically alter the way you perceive the world, even with seemingly simple concepts like color. In a new study, cognitive scientists and linguists looked at the way colors are perceived and expressed by Tsimané people, an Indigenous Amazonian group native […]
There’s A Dark Side To Keeping Your Lawn Lush And Green
When you wander through your local neighborhood or out in the suburbs, how much attention are you paying to the green spaces within? While neat front lawns might look aesthetically pleasing, new research suggests that there is a much more dangerous side to these perfectly preened green rectangles than meets the eye. Grass lawns cover […]
Suck It, Super Gonorrhea – “Game Changer” Treatment For Drug-Resistant Infection Passes Trial
The incredibly drug-resistant “super gonorrhea” may have finally faced a foe it can’t best in the form of first-in-class antibiotic zoliflodacin. In a Phase III trial, the results of which were announced last week, the drug was found to treat the bacterial infection, making it the first new antibiotic in decades for targeting gonorrhea. Gonorrhea […]
How Helping US Navy Dolphins Is Contributing To Healthy Aging In Humans
You think of essential fatty acids and you may think of omega-3 or omega-6, but there is a new kid on the block, and it was discovered while helping US Navy dolphins. These dolphins are fascinating creatures. They have been taught to wear cameras so marine biologists can take a peek at various behaviors, such […]
The EURion Constellation: What Happens If You Try To Photocopy Money?
In 2002, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge’s industrial labs was given the chance to play with a new Xerox color photocopier. As a PhD student, he naturally chose to photocopy money. But when he did so, he discovered something odd. Instead of a fresh pile of notes printed on paper which would […]
Blocking “Jumping Genes” Could Be The Key To Increasing Lifespan
There are a multitude of ways we’re told that could help us to live longer – exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, minimize stress. A new study in roundworms has instead taken a more molecular approach and found that controlling “jumping genes” could be the key to extending lifespan. “Jumping genes” are also known as […]
First Sample Of Asteroid Bennu Goes On Display To The Public
Space rock fans can now gawp at NASA’s first-ever sample collected from an asteroid, as a rocky fragment from asteroid Bennu goes on display at the National Museum of Natural History. Launched in 2016, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) probe successfully touched down briefly on asteroid Bennu in 2020, finding […]
China Might Need To Build Another “Great Wall”
The Great Wall of China was built centuries ago to defend against nomadic tribes from the north. While this threat is now dead and buried, a new menace is lapping at China’s frontiers: rising sea levels. Could another great wall be the solution? Climate change has raised the average global sea level by around 24 […]
This Is Why Belly Flops Hurt So Much
As anybody who’s ever got slightly tipsy near a pool, squinted up at a diving board, and thought to themselves, “I’ve seen the Olympics, it doesn’t look that hard,” can tell you, doing a belly flop into water can hurt. But have you ever wondered why that is? Well, grab some arnica gel and a […]
Oldest Black Hole Discovered Dating To Just 470 Million Years After Big Bang
Astronomers have found the most distant supermassive black hole yet. Its light comes from when the universe was just 470 million years old, and the record-breaking object certainly is supermassive. Its discovery provides new insight into how these gargantuan objects came to exist. The object is called UHZ1 and it was discovered thanks to the […]
“Blood of Earth” Photographed By Astronauts Onboard The ISS
When astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) are cruising over 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth’s surface, it’s not unusual to see the bloody sight of the planet oozing with a gory red fluid. There are a bunch of causes behind this phenomenon (none of which involve the spilling of blood, to our knowledge). […]
Astronauts Accidentally Drop Tool Bag While On Repair Job During Spacewalk
We’ve all been there; you’re fixing some tricky object and you drop one of the tools you brought that isn’t currently in use. Sometimes it’s the whole tool bag. For most of us, however, the main danger is gravity causing it to land forcibly on a toe. Things are trickier if you’re in microgravity, and […]
Have Archaeologists Discovered Noah’s Ark?
There is a geological formation in Turkey that some believe could be the site where Noah’s legendary ark came to rest after the Biblical flood. Now, a team excavating the area thinks it has evidence that confirms the ancient vessel landed there. But before we all get excited about this potential revelation, is it as […]
Scorching New 7-Planet System Discovered – And You Can Even Hear Them
The first and second missions of NASA’s Kepler are long ended but astronomers continue to refine the data of the game-changing planet-hunting missions. Astronomers have gone through old Kepler data, creating the most precise list of exoplanets and candidate worlds – among them is the hottest seven-planet system yet. At the center of this system, […]
The Great Sphinx May Not Have Been Carved By Humans Alone
Like the pyramids, the Great Sphinx of Giza is shrouded in mysteries that have kept archaeologists busy for centuries, yet new research suggests the answers may be blowing in the wind. After replicating the weather conditions that existed at the time the monument was constructed, the study authors found that the landmark’s basic form may […]
Fiendishly Difficult Party-Planning Problem Finally Cracked Nearly A Century After It Was Posed
Sometimes, dramatic breakthroughs in niche areas of mathematics are like buses: you wait the best part of a century for one, and then three turn up altogether. At least, that’s the case for Ramsey Theory – a branch of combinatorics devoted to finding pockets of order within overwhelming randomness. Following hot on the heels of […]
The World’s Largest Waterfall Is Actually Underwater
Did you know the world’s largest waterfall is underwater? Us neither – every day’s a school day as they say. The tallest waterfall on Earth stands at a massive 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles), next to which Angel Falls, the tallest uninterrupted waterfall over land, pales in comparison. So, where is this underwater behemoth? Where is […]
How Paradoxes Reveal Logic’s Flaws
This article first appeared in Issue 13 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. If I asked whether the Earth was spherical, most readers would say yes. Only the pedantic would point out it is an oblate spheroid, but technically speaking those who agreed with the proposition would be wrong. Clearly, however, they’re nowhere near as wrong […]
