Deborah Bloomfield

For the first time, archaeologists have used cutting-edge imaging techniques to understand the unusual Roman burial practice of pouring gypsum over the remains of loved ones. By delving into this mystery, the team stumbled across a “poignant family tragedy” they weren’t expecting.  In this obscure form of burial, a liquid form of gypsum – a […]

Lying beneath Africa and the Pacific in the lowermost part of the Earth’s mantle, surrounding the Earth’s core, there are two gigantic blobs that occupy around three to nine percent of the volume of the Earth.  There are of course no direct ways of seeing the Earth’s core, at least without being burned to a […]

Tourists visiting Yellowstone and doing something life-threatening – name a more iconic duo.   An Australian woman recently captured footage of not just one, but several people walking off the designated path and onto a hydrothermal feature, putting them dangerously close to scalding steam. Belle Jaeschke, the photographer, said that the people made the illegal […]

While most of us love a trip to the seaside and a refreshing dip in the ocean, have you ever stopped to consider how old these giant bodies of water actually are? Far predating the dinosaurs, we explore the world’s oldest ocean. The mighty Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the world’s ocean […]

Climbing Mount Everest is incredibly, mind-bogglingly dangerous. It relies on a combination of intense Sherpa knowledge, faith in Mother Nature, and the hope that you don’t get caught in the huge queues to the summit, and that’s before your skill as a climber is even factored in. Every year climbers perish attempting to reach the […]

Whether it’s the classic nightmare about having to take a test you haven’t studied for, or the surprisingly common one about all your teeth falling out, dreaming is an almost universal human experience. But while we might know quite a bit about what goes on in the brains of slumbering mammals, birds have so far […]

If you’re confused as to why we have started measuring asteroids in giraffes, ferrets, and other wonderful units then we have no explanation for you. On the other hand, new research reveals that body parts like feet, hand spans, and arm-lengths are actually more useful yardsticks than most standardized units of measurement, which may account […]

Oh you think you’re good at sex? Maybe the best in the world? Well you may finally have a chance to put your money and several other things where your mouth is, because the Swedish Sex Federation is attempting to launch a competitive international sex competition. According to several viral posts and a few recent […]

According to an unusual claim circulating in the dark corners of social media, some people may be aliens and not even know it. The evidence, they claim, is in their blood. More specifically, people with the rhesus-negative blood type may be descended from extraterrestrials. So what’s going on here? The “aliens” did it? A TikTok […]

Ketamine is emerging as a promising treatment for depression in adults, with some studies indicating that the drug alleviates mental suffering in as little as 24 hours. Understandably, however, there are concerns over the pediatric use of the drug, although a new review study suggests that repeated doses of ketamine may in fact be safe […]

A recent Joe Rogan podcast has spawned viral TikTok videos promoting a strange (and false) theory about climate change, first proposed in a book that also claimed that Jesus Christ lived in India for 18 years and was abducted by aliens following his crucifixion. In an episode released on January 18, the Joe Rogan Experience featured […]

Caltech engineers claim to have successfully transmitted energy from solar panels in space back down to earth in a possible breakthrough for the future of energy generation. Powered by an experimental solar probe, the energy was wirelessly transmitted in space before being beamed back down to a receiver on earth, proving that an orbital solar […]

Shirley Bassey sang Diamonds Are Forever and she might very well be right when it comes to the Enigma diamond. The Enigma is a carbonado type black diamond and is the largest cut diamond in the world according to Guinness World Records, weighing a very impressive 555.55 carats or 111 grams with 55 faces. While […]

In further evidence that the proverb “Hard work never killed anyone” is deceitful employer propaganda, a conference has learned the most deadly form of heart attacks are most common on Mondays, at least in Ireland. Although Monday being the most dangerous day confirms what many of us have suspected, the data come with a twist, […]

After two decades in prison, Kathleen Folbigg has been pardoned and released thanks to new genetic evidence that suggests she did not kill her four children. Tabloid newspapers branded Folbigg as “Australia’s worst female serial killer.” In October 2003, she was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering her three […]

It can be hard to see snails as a threat, but did you know that they’re among the five most dangerous animals to humans on Earth? Freshwater snails claim the most human lives for the diseases they carry, but out in the ocean, cone snails carry harpoons laced with a complex cocktail of neurotoxins that can […]

There has been a surge in brain abscess cases in children in the United States, beginning in mid-2021 and peaking last winter, according to two recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. While cases have remained rare, there has been substantial variation since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a rise following […]

Countries in the Global North have historically been responsible for a larger amount of greenhouse emissions, and there has been a call for them to redress the balance by helping middle- and low-income countries financially towards climate readiness and decarbonizing their economies. Researchers have looked at a scenario where all countries in the world would […]

Biologists spend a lot of time trying to prove an animals’ presence and abundance, but according to a new study the evidence is often easily obtainable in a place no one thought to look. Thousands of air quality monitoring stations are collecting particulates around the world, and these often come with DNA attached. A study […]

The four gravitational wave observatories that are working around the world have so far discovered these particular signals only from binary systems: the collisions of two extremely dense objects, such as neutron stars, or black holes. But singular bodies also emit gravitational waves, and now researchers think that one particular class of objects has waves […]