NASA has conducted tests on the rockets that will become the first to launch from the surface of an alien planet. The rockets will be used as part of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which will help return samples from the Red Planet to Earth. Mars Sample Return is set to launch in June 2028, […]
Chimpanzee Washoe Was The First Animal To Learn A Human Language
Fascination with language and communication between humans and apes is never more apparent than in the story of Washoe the chimpanzee and the primates that came after her. When teaching spoken language to primates proved unsuccessful, scientists switched to American Sign Language (ASL) and taught Washoe over 250 signs. It all started in West Africa […]
“Forgotten” Organ Thought To Be Futile In Adults May Actually Protect Against Cancer
The thymus gland, integral in childhood immunity, is generally thought to be non-functional in adults. However, recent research suggests this may not be the case, and that the organ might in fact be crucial to our health and cancer prevention as we age. Once considered a kind of “graveyard” for dying cells and deemed “an evolutionary accident […]
Man’s Legs Turn Purple In Rare Complication From Long COVID
Doctors have described the case of a man whose legs turned purple, believed to be a rare complication resulting from long COVID. The 33-year-old was referred to a specialist clinic after experiencing the unusual symptom for six months. Upon standing, his legs would begin to feel heavy, itchy, and tingly, while also turning an unusual […]
Brain Circuit For Male Libido Identified In Mice, And Humans Might Have One Too
The quest to locate the brain centers responsible for sex drive in males could be one step closer to its goal, as a new study has mapped a dedicated brain circuit that gets all fired up when a male mouse is in the presence of a potential lady friend. “We’ve singled out a circuit in […]
8,000-Year-Old Stilt Village Guarded By Spikes Found Beneath Ancient Albanian Lake
The oldest lakeside settlement ever found in Europe has been discovered beneath the waters of a million-year-old lake in Albania. Dated to around 8,000 years old, the ancient village was built on stilts and once sat above the surface of the lake, while a fortress of wooden spikes surrounded the settlement to protect it from […]
Where Is The World’s Biggest Wind Turbine?
China has proved to be one of the planet’s strongest trailblazers in the field of wind energy (while simultaneously doubling down on its massive reliance on coal, the most polluting of all fossil fuels). The East Asian giant host the world’s largest wind turbine, as well as the world’s largest wind farm complex, but it’s […]
People Are Just Now Learning How Vinyl Records Work
People are once again discussing the mystery of vinyl records, and how they are probably really created by magic. But without invoking wizards, how do vinyl records contain music which can then be played back? The first ever sound recording was made in 1860 by French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. His device, which he […]
100-Year-Long Storms And Effects Of Planet-Sized Hurricanes Seen On Saturn
Saturn’s atmosphere might not be as featureful as Jupiter’s but it is not as quiet as first impressions might suggest. There is, of course, the unique color-changing hexagonal polar vortex, but deep beneath the clouds of methane, water, and ammonia lies a turbulent environment where incredible megastorms can form, change, and alter the planet for […]
Can Breathing Exercises Make You Physically And Mentally Healthier?
Breathing occurs so automatically that we rarely think about it, yet given the obvious impact it has on our health (just try not breathing if you need a demonstration), it’s not unreasonable to wonder whether it might be a useful tool to improve our overall wellbeing. With that in mind, a range of techniques collectively […]
The Driest Place On Earth Probably Isn’t Where You Expect
If you picture the driest place on Earth, your mind – trained by decades of cartoons – likely goes to a desert expanse in some hot region, like the Sahara. This isn’t a bad guess. One of the driest places on Earth is the Atacama Desert in Chile, with some areas receiving only 1 to […]
Did A Comet Really Wipe Out A Native American Culture 1,500 Years Ago?
None of the claims purporting to provide evidence for an astronomical end to North America’s Hopewell Culture stack up, according to experts from many relevant fields. Whatever caused the decline of the remarkable trade networks centered on the Ohio Valley 1,500 years ago, the authors of a response study are quite sure it wasn’t an […]
What Are The Claims of “New” Physics From The Muon g-2 Experiment All About?
On Thursday, August 10, the Muon g-2 experiment reported follow-up results to its 2021 measurements. There is something wrong with the muon, the heavier sibling of the electron. This fundamental particle is not behaving in the way it is predicted to by our best theory of the fundamental universe: the Standard Model of Particle Physics. […]
Watch A Humpback Whale “Tail Sailing” In Incredible Video
Imagine gliding smoothly across the surface of the ocean in a beautiful transparent kayak when you come across the tail of a humpback whale perfectly poised above the surface of the water. That is exactly what happened to Brodie Moss when he came across a phenomenon known as “tail sailing”. Whales have all kinds of […]
We May Not Be Ruling Out Finding Life Around TRAPPIST-1 After All
The frequently changing tale of the quest for life in the most studied planetary system beyond our own has had another twist, this one in an encouraging direction. Taking into account previously neglected factors, new research rejects the theory planets like TRAPPIST-1 e were once so hot their crusts turned into magma oceans and vented […]
Offshore Wind Turbines Get Giant Bird Boxes To Protect Rare Gulls
In the hopes of making offshore wind farms a bit more seabird-friendly, a trio of first-of-their-kind artificial nesting structures have been planted off the coast of Britain in the North Sea. By providing shelves for nests, the giant bird boxes aim to help with the protection of one of the UK’s most troubled seabird species, […]
Alien-Like Antarctic Feather Star With 20 Legs Joins Four New-To-Science Species
The 20-legged Antarctic strawberry feather star, Promachocrinus fragarius, is one of four new-to-science species described in a paper that explores the cryptic diversity of a genus of free-swimming stemless crinoids. Looking a little like a face hugger that got a leggy upgrade, these alien-like organisms are related to starfish, sea cucumbers, and other echinoderms. Antarctic […]
Real Paleo Diet: Early Hominids Ate Just About Everything
Reconstructions of human evolution are prone to simple, overly-tidy scenarios. Our ancestors, for example, stood on two legs to look over tall grass, or began to speak because, well, they finally had something to say. Like much of our understanding of early hominid behavior, the imagined diet of our ancestors has also been over-simplified. Take […]
Understanding Carcinization: The Evolutionary Trend Toward Crab-like Forms
If you’ve been on the Internet for long enough, you’ve probably come across the meme that – sooner or later – everything turns into crabs. According to the meme, sooner or later – be you a fish or Sean Penn – you are to become a crab. While this is of course just a fun exaggeration, […]
Plastic Rocks, Plutonium, And Chicken Bones: The Markers We’re Laying Down In Deep Time
Rocks keep time. Not on our human-scale time, but deep time: the almost unimaginable span of billions of years which have already come and gone. Let’s say you’re in the far future and you’re looking for evidence of previous civilisations. Where would you look? The first place would be in the rocks. Advertisement For decades, […]
