The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published data this week showing a significant increase in the number of measles cases in the UK. There have been 49 cases in the European country between January 1 and April, a significant increase compared to last year. In 2022, there were 54 cases in total. Of […]
Is The “Woolly Umbrella” The New Cannabis?
A plant that is totally unrelated to cannabis has been found to produce large numbers of cannabinoids, the compounds responsible for the various pharmacological effects of weed. Known as the woolly umbrella (sometimes spelled “wooly”), the plant makes several of the same molecules present in cannabis as well as dozens of previously unknown cannabinoids, some […]
Why Is Himalayan Pink Salt Pink, And Why Do We Care?
Himalayan pink salt, not so long ago solely the preserve of rather bougie establishments – at least, in the West – has exploded in popularity, being touted as everything from a tastier or healthier version of regular salt to an honest-to-goodness miracle panacea. The truth, as ever, is far more complex. Aside from its pretty […]
Skyrim ChatGPT Mod Lets Player Talk To NPCs And Gives Those NPCs A Memory
“I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee.” If that sentence is forever seared into your brain through sheer repetition, you may have played Skyrim a little too often. Games can only contain so much recorded dialogue and so many dialogue options, so even in huge games […]
Woman Spends 500 Days Alone In A Cave – How Extreme Isolation Can Alter Your Sense Of Time
A year and a half alone in a cave might sound like a nightmare to a lot of people, but Spanish athlete Beatriz Flamini emerged with a cheerful grin and said she thought she had more time to finish her book. She had almost no contact with the outside world during her impressive feat of […]
Martian Meteorites Don’t Take Much To Be Launched Off The Red Planet
Martian meteorites found on Earth provide crucial insight into the Red Planet. Until the Mars Sample Return missions come back next decade, they are the best way to study Martian materials. They are believed to have been sent flying into the solar system and eventually to Earth by asteroid impacts. Now, new research reveals that […]
Previously Unknown Form Of Electrical Activity Inside Cells May Power Key Reactions
The connection between electricity and life has been known since Luigi Galvani made frogs’ legs twitch. Cells harnessing electricity to communicate is one of the things that makes complex life possible – cells’ insides, however, were thought to be predominantly electricity-free zones. New research challenges that, and suggests electrical activity may be the basis for […]
“Mad Honey” Once Poisoned An Entire Roman Military Column, With Deadly Consequences
In one of the most cunningly brutal ambushes of all time, an entire Roman military column was once slaughtered by enemy soldiers who poisoned the legionaries with a type of hallucinogenic honey that is produced by bees living along the Black Sea coast. Known as “mad honey“, the intoxicating treat causes severe yet temporary discombobulation […]
A Deadly Plague Strain Was Once Found In A 4,900-Year-Old Tomb
As the biological bomb that was King Casimir’s tomb taught us, structures built to house the dead can be home to more than just human remains. Certain pathogens have been found in tombs aged from a few years, to a few centuries, to even a few thousand years old, though whether they still carry a […]
Why You Shouldn’t Charge Your Phone Overnight
Charging your phone at night might seem like the most logical time, but did you know that doing this can actually negatively affect your device’s battery life over time? Nothing is more frustrating than charging your phone only to have it drop off seemingly instantly and protecting your battery is the best way to avoid […]
Art Historian May Have Solved Mystery Of The Mona Lisa’s Location
An Italian art historian claims to have identified the bridge in the background of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, solving the mystery of where it was painted. Silvano Vinceti, who worked on the project with the Le Rocca cultural association, looked at newly discovered historical documents and compared the current landscape with the painting using […]
Giraffes May Have Smaller Brains But They Can Do Stats Just As Well As Primates
There are a fair few examples in the animal kingdom of species that have mathematical abilities, some fish can count, bees can tell apart odd and even numbers, and now giraffes can make decisions based on statistical information. Four giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) at Barcelona Zoo have taken part in a new study testing whether they […]
First-Ever Brain Surgery Within The Womb Successfully Treats Deadly Fetal Disorder
Surgeons have successfully performed the first brain surgery on a fetus still in the womb, repairing a potentially deadly vascular malformation from deep within the developing brain. Using ultrasound to guide the surgeons, the fetus was operated on at just 34 weeks and two days gestational age, marking a huge leap forward in the treatment […]
Surreal World War II Photo Shows Trees “Floating” Over A Road In Finland
An old photograph from the Finnish Defence Forces’ photo archive occasionally resurfaces on social media, largely because of how eye-catching it is. Taken by Finnish photographer Osvald Hedenström, the photo shows a type of camouflage used by Finland during World War II, to disguise the road from Soviet forces. The trees would not hide the […]
Mount Everest Makes Some Horrifying Sounds At Night
Standing at a height of 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) above sea level, Mount Everest is the planet’s highest peak (though not strictly the highest mountain). Having claimed over 300 lives so far, climbing this mountain is already a daunting concept, but even more so once you hear the eerie groans it makes in the night. […]
Map Of The Universe’s Growth Says Einstein’s Gravity Is Right – But A Major Issue Remains
An international team of researchers have been able to track the distribution of matter across the universe over its whole age. The work used the first light that shone freely in the universe, the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), to study the unseen matter of the cosmos and confirm that observations agree with our models. Now, […]
World Meteorological Organization Warns El Niño Is Likely, And We Should Prepare
April and May temperature records have been smashed across Asia this year, and in many other places as well. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned that it’s likely to be just the start of a series of heat waves everyone needs to prepare for now. Along with the rising trend caused by the build-up […]
Condor Time Capsule Made Of Poop Offers 2,200-Year View Of The Past
For thousands of years, condors have been breeding and nesting in the same sheltered spot in the Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentina. Over the centuries, their poop has been piling up to form a dense defecation cake that is packed full of valuable information, not only about the birds themselves, but how they respond […]
World’s First RSV Vaccine Gets FDA Approval
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the world’s first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), officials announced Wednesday. Called Arexvy and developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the vaccine is authorized for those over 60 years old, marking a huge turning point in the decades-long search for a shot against RSV – an illness […]
Photosynthesis Uses A Process Surprisingly Close To Bose-Einstein Condensate
You might think that given how ubiquitous and essential photosynthesis is, we’d have long ago discovered how it works. Instead, major parts of the process remain a mystery. New research suggests one of these stages has considerable parallels with exciton condensates, something physicists have had to go to great lengths to produce in the lab. […]
