Warm, fluffy, steamy rice is delicious, but unfortunately, it also provides the perfect conditions for cultivating potentially nasty bacterial growth. Bacillus cereus, among other bacteria, are common on uncooked rice, and boiling alone isn’t sufficient to kill them off as they produce spores that can tolerate the heat. Once the cooking is over, rice left […]
We Just Took A Step Closer To Building The First Nuclear Clocks
High-precision measurements of time have the potential to provide a new way to study the universe by testing both quantum mechanics and our theory of gravity. In the last few years, optical clocks have broken record after record, but there is a way to get even more precise and that is to build a nuclear […]
Biblical Toilets Reveal Earliest Known Case Of Diarrhea-Causing Parasite
The ancient residents of Jerusalem may have been beset by dysentery, according to new findings from a pair of Iron Age latrines near the Old City. Dating back to biblical times, the two Levantine lavatories were found to contain traces of a bacteria species called Giardia duodenalis, which causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal issues. […]
The Strange Myth That Bees Shouldn’t Be Able To Fly According To Physics
Whether from a friend or even from Bee Movie, you may have heard of the idea that bees shouldn’t be able to fly according to the laws of physics. “According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its […]
Rare Syndrome Leaves Man Living In “Groundhog Day”
Doctors have documented the case of a man in his 80s who developed severe Déjà Vécu, a feeling that new encounters and situations are in fact repetitions of previous experiences. The man was seen by the doctors after he started acting unusually. The retiree believed that his eBook reader was malfunctioning, giving him the same […]
What Does The Sun Sound Like? Immensely Noisy, Apparently
For such an unbelievably mighty force, the Sun seems to be awfully quiet from Earth. However, we only perceive it as a silent ball of white heat because sound can’t travel through space. If it could, the noise of our Solar System’s centerpiece would be very, very annoying. The Sun is essentially a giant nuclear […]
A Sunspot Is So Large Right Now You Can See It Without A Telescope
A sunspot four times the size of the Earth is making its way across the Sun at the moment. The spot is so large you can see it without a telescope, though of course you should use protective equipment. Sunspot AR3310 should be visible to you using solar viewing glasses, those cool disposable shades you […]
Llama Vs Alpaca: Do You Know The Difference?
If you’ve ever taken a walk around a petting zoo, chances are you’ve come across llamas or alpacas, or even both in the same trip. But can you tell these four-legged fluffy creatures apart? Can you sort your camelids from your camels? Let’s start with alpacas Alpacas are the smallest member of the camel family. […]
Long-Lost Medieval Church Found In Sunken Town That Vanished In 1362
The remains of a long-lost medieval church that sunk over 600 years ago have been found beneath the mud of northern Germany’s coast. The submerged site of Rungholt is located in the Wadden Sea, the world’s largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats, running from the Netherlands to Germany. Advertisement Sometimes known as […]
It’s Possible To Create A Hibernation-Like State By Pinging Ultrasound At The Brain
If, in the depths of winter, when the nights draw in and the temperature drops all the way down to “screw this” degrees, you’ve ever found yourself wondering why humans can’t just make like so many chomnky bears and spend the whole season snuggled up in bed, then believe us: you’re not alone. So, a […]
Two Monkeys Cured Of HIV Counterpart, Opening Path To Widespread Human Treatment
Stem cell transplants have been used to cure two monkeys of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), the HIV-relative that infects 45 primate species. Although some human cures have already been achieved, the technique has had far too many side effects for widespread application. In the monkey cases, however, the researchers responsible think they understand why the […]
JWST Reveals Plume From Enceladus’s Geysers Is Much Bigger Than We Knew
The JWST is hundreds of thousands of times further from Enceladus than the Cassini spacecraft once got, but that hasn’t stopped it from revealing things about the small but fascinating moon the probe missed. Indeed, scientists have revealed at a conference that Cassini failed to take in the full scale of Enceladus’s water plume, spotting […]
Goodbye, WinRAR: Windows Is Finally Adding This Much-Wanted Feature
Rejoice, all ye free WinRAR trial users, for Windows has finally caved. According to a new blog post outlining new features for Windows 11, Microsoft stated that Windows will soon natively support RAR and 7-zip files without the need for third-party apps, making it much easier to unpack downloaded content. If you’ve been downloading files […]
Non-Binary People Existed In Prehistoric Europe, Burial Site Study Suggests
Gender identity isn’t always based on the binary model of biological sex, and new research indicates that this fluidity may have existed since prehistoric times. After analyzing the contents of over 1,200 ancient graves from seven sites in central Europe, the authors of the new study determined that up to 10 percent may have belonged […]
Are You A “Godless Owl” Or A “Devout Lark”?
Are you someone who likes to rise with the morning sun – a lark – or are you a night owl who prefers to stay up late? Or perhaps you are like most of the population who fall somewhere between the two. Well, new research suggests that there may be a relationship between morning people, […]
Earth Has Received An “Alien Message” From Mars. Here’s How To Try And Decode It
If you want to know what receiving an alien message would be like, you are in luck. A team of artists and scientists used a spacecraft around Mars to send a complex message to Earth, simulating what an alien message would be like. And now, it is up to everyone to decode it. The project, A […]
Early Life Depended On Lightning, But Probably Not For Long
It‘s still debated whether lightning provided the energy needed to get life started. Either way, bolts were crucial to the emergence of life on Earth by converting nitrogen into a form the first living things could use. However, new research indicates this dependence didn’t last long; microbes evolved the capacity to break molecular nitrogen’s bonds […]
Biological Cause Of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome May Have Been Identified
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) may have a biological mechanism that could, at least in part, help explain the condition’s cause. Researchers have identified a brainstem abnormality affecting serotonin receptors, which they believe, alongside other biological and environmental factors, may increase an infant’s risk of SIDS. Also known as “cot death”, SIDS is the sudden, […]
2,700-Year-Old Saddle Found In Ancient Chinese Tomb Is Oldest Ever Discovered
Archaeologists working in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China have discovered what may well be the oldest known saddle for horse riding – and we’re betting its ancient owner isn’t who you’re expecting. Made from cow leather and filled with a mix of straw and hair from deer and camels, the saddle was made […]
Krubera Cave Is The Most Impressive And Terrifying Cave We’ve Ever Seen
Krubera Cave is a special and terrifying cave, one that is so deep and expansive, we still haven’t reached the bottom. Cave exploring doesn’t usually go hand-in-hand with claustrophobia, but this is one cave where that won’t be a problem – some of the steep vertical pits are so large, the Statue of Liberty wouldn’t […]
