The first molecular evidence for a ginger pigment in the fossil record has been described by palaeontologists at University College Cork. Looking at fossil frogs that date back 10 million years, the team discovered the earliest known molecular evidence of phaeomelanin, arguably making these anurans the original gingers. The discovery will help future palaeontologists to […]
How Is Climate Change Affecting Glaciers And What Are The Consequences?
Glaciers are disappearing around the planet, and the questions of how scientists monitor glaciers and how these glaciers affect global sea level rise are very important for the future. For The Big Questions, IFLScience’s podcast, we spoke to Dr Peter Davis, a physical oceanographer from the British Antarctic Survey to discuss these questions and his […]
First Modern Humans Out Of Africa Didn’t Have To Swim Or Float
Stone tools have been found in a dry river channel in Jordan that may mark the beginnings of humanity’s great migration out of Africa. The tools have been dated to 84,000 years ago, and coincide with a time when these channels would have been filled with water. The findings suggest people left Africa through the […]
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards Are Back For 2023 And Better Than Ever
It’s that time of year again when the team at the Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards rounds up the best and the most hilarious wildlife images of the year for your viewing pleasure. This year’s selection features an owl getting a telling-off, an otter practicing their ballet, and more than one attempt at flying gone wrong. […]
Should We Treat COVID-19 Like Flu? Or Instead Treat Flu Like COVID-19?
Should COVID-19 be treated like the flu? Or is it time we started treating the flu like COVID-19? It’s a question considered by new research from New Zealand where scientists are suggesting that we’ve got things the wrong way around. Rather than downgrading the severity of COVID to that of other infectious diseases, perhaps it’s […]
Mounds On Distant World Arrokoth Open A Window On How It Formed
Back in 2019, NASA’s New Horizons probe flew by Arrokoth, a two-lobed small object in the Kuiper Belt far beyond Neptune. Observations of the object reveal mounds on the surface of the lobes and their size, shape, and composition. They are all remarkably similar, suggesting that these were the original building blocks for this far-away […]
Highest-Energy Light Ever From A Pulsar Is Coming From One Of The Closest To Earth
Scientists have observed some incredibly energetic light coming from a nearby pulsar, the highest-ever from this type of star and close to the highest-ever seen from a cosmic source. Each photon had an energy of 20 TeV which is roughly 20 times the kinetic energy of a flying mosquito – and that comes from a […]
Audience Members At Classical Music Gigs Can Physically Sync Up
Nothing feels quite like the shared experience of hearing live music in a room full of other people. But new research is demonstrating how that experience may go far beyond how we feel, by showing how physiological processes can sync up across audience members at a classical music concert. The study, led by Wolfgang Tschacher […]
NASA Finds “The Very Best Problem” When Opening Up Bennu Sample
When you are firing a spacecraft at an asteroid, touching the spacecraft down on that asteroid very briefly to collect a sample, and then returning the sample to Earth, there are a lot of opportunities for problems. Despite the difficulty of the task, NASA successfully returned a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in late […]
Earliest Human Footprints In North America Verified At 23,000 Years Old
Two years ago, when a team of archaeologists made the mind-blowing claim that they had identified 23,000 to 20,000-year-old human footprints in New Mexico, many were surprised but not everyone was convinced. However, new research has affirmed this dating, indicating that people were wandering around North America during the Ice Age. “The immediate reaction in […]
Over 10,000 Ancient Human Structures Could Be Hidden In The Amazon Basin
According to new research, there are probably more than 10,000 pre-Columbian archaeological sites hidden throughout the Amazon basin. Indigenous societies have lived within the Amazon basin for more than 12,000 years. Throughout their history, these ancient peoples developed various techniques to cultivate and transform the land that surrounded them. They had a profound knowledge of […]
The Moon Has Been Caught Shrinking By 50-Year-Old Lunar Seismometers
The Moon is appearing smaller and smaller in our skies. Over time, the number of total eclipses will decrease until one day, around 600 million years from now, humans (or whichever breed of dog takes over once we’re gone) will look up and see the final total eclipse as the Moon no longer covers the […]
The Most Expensive Spice In The World Is Worth More Than Gold
Did you know that there’s a spice on Earth more valuable than truffles, wasabi, and even gold? You’ve likely seen it, tender red shreds of which you only need the tiniest amount to make a big impact on flavor. We’re talking, of course, about saffron. It comes from the purple flowers of saffron crocus (Crocus […]
Lasers Deflected Using Only Air For First Time Ever
Researchers are now capable of deflecting beams of laser light by using an invisible grating system made of air. The optical system is created using ultrasound and is not damaged by the laser (it is just air, after all), and it doesn’t reduce the quality of the beam. The team has already applied for a […]
Africa’s Animals Fear The Sound Of Humans More Than Lions, Dogs Or Gunshots
Recordings of human voices scare the wildlife of the Greater Kruger National Park more than lions’ growls or even the sound of gunshots. Even in a national park, we’re probably the bigger threat. After all, lions only kill what they can eat – some humans will slaughter an entire rhinoceros so they can turn its […]
Objects Detected Moving Beyond The Kuiper Belt Hint At Second Asteroid Belt
A team of astronomers believe they have detected objects moving far beyond the Kuiper belt, suggesting a possible second asteroid belt within our Solar System. The team has presented the findings at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and is assembling a paper, but the work has not yet been peer-reviewed. NASA probe New […]
New Tiny Wasp Species With Mysterious Antennae Found In 100-Million-Year-Old Amber
It might be dead and encased in a lump of amber (RIP), but there’s a new species of micro-wasp in town and it’s got some pretty odd antennae. The tiny wasp was discovered preserved in a piece of amber from Myanmar and is thought to be from the mid-Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago. […]
This Year’s Ozone Hole Over Antarctica Is A Big Boy
This year’s ozone hole over Antarctica has swelled to one of its biggest extents on record, encompassing an area roughly three times the size of Brazil. Scientists at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service believe the exceptionally large patch of ozone depletion may have something to do with a colossal volcanic eruption that blasted a massive […]
4,000-Year-Old Tablet Shows Teachers Have Reached For The Red Pen For Centuries
If this looks a lot like your homework from back in the day, you can take heart in the fact that teachers have been scribbling all over their students’ work with a red pen for at least the last 4,000 years. This gessoed board, currently held at The Met in New York, shows an Ancient […]
Hero’s Aeolipile: The Ancient Greek “Steam Engine” Used For An Unknown Purpose
If you were asked to guess when the steam engine was first invented, you’d probably guess around the 18th century, powering as it did the Industrial Revolution. And you’d be right to – but well over a thousand years before that, shortly after 0 CE, Hero of Alexandria described a sort of steam engine, used […]
