Deborah Bloomfield

The Balangoda man were a prominent and populous group that inhabited parts of Sri Lanka during the late Quaternary period. The earliest evidence of this group dates back 38,000 years, where archaeological sequencing of artifacts has helped paint a detailed timeline of their settlements. With an appearance similar to that of a neanderthal – a […]

In a lot of ways, the internet is like the Wild Wild West. There’s very little regulation, it can be hard to decipher true information and it seems like there’s a bad guy — also known as malware or a dangerous ad — at every corner. You shouldn’t leave protecting yourself and your family online to […]

The first non-injected COVID-19 vaccine has been approved in China, and its manufacturers claim it provides excellent immunity against the virus after just one dose. The vaccine, called Convidecia Air and made by CanSinoBIO, is inhaled through the mouth in one breath, delivering an aerosolized version that is very similar to their injectable vaccine.  While […]

After a stunning photo of a rainbow-colored ice cave inside Mount Rainier went viral, the National Park Service (NPS) put out a stark warning: ice caves may look pretty, but they can be deadly. Nature photographer Mathew Nichols recently snapped the ice caves of Mount Rainier in Washington state (image below). When the sun hits […]

In the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way’s biggest galactic companion, there’s a well-known star-forming region called 30 Doradus or, more commonly, the Tarantula Nebula. JWST has now delivered its first observations of the cosmic region and they are outstanding. The nebula has a very primitive composition, hardly polluted by the heavy elements that make […]

It is difficult to estimate how many asteroids have hit Earth. In most cases, the craters are eroded and erased by our changing planet, unlike the surface of the Moon where many are still visible. But researchers have found a new way to confirm an impact, approaching it like a crime scene investigation. The team […]

Five and a half thousand years ago, residents of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides were eating a porridge made by mixing milk with cereals, traces on their pots suggest. Although oats subsequently came to be seen as the archetypal Scottish cereal product, at the time it appears wheat played an unexpectedly large role in the local diet. […]

Viking poop is helping to tell the story of humankind’s long and difficult relationship with one of the most prolific parasitic worms found in the world – the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura).  By creating the first in-depth and complete genetic mapping of the whipworm, researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have revealed how the […]

Brasilodon quadrangularis now takes the title of the world’s oldest (known) mammal species, thanks to investigations into its fossilized teeth. Confirmation of its mammalian status, and its emergence around 225.42 million years ago, put it 20 million years ahead of the runner-up mammal, Morganucodon. The teeth of the extinct and ancient shrew-like animal prove it […]

Could you survive on a remote, deserted island, 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles ) from any large body of land in either direction? In all likelihood, the answer is no – but one group of sailors were forced to make one of the world’s most remote islands their home after a mutiny, and their descendants live […]

This summer, a citizen scientist released a few images of Jupiter that look just like what our eyes would see if we were flying over the planet. And they are magnificent. Wider images show the creams, browns, whites and reds of the Jovian atmosphere, but in these images is a region that is less colorful, […]

Like many people, I have recently become fascinated the lives and loves of the ruling classes of the people of Westeros, where the occasionally charming inhabitants spend a lot of time bickering about who is in charge. Game of Thrones is very entertaining – but don’t get attached to any of the characters, as the […]

The Thwaites glacier in Antarctica – known as the “doomsday glacier” because of its high risk of collapse – is “holding on today by its fingernails,” according to a new survey.  Marine geophysicists have recently carried out the first-ever high-resolution mapping of the seafloor in front of the Thwaites glacier, a chunk of ice on […]

The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is an aquatic salamander renowned for its ability to regenerate its spinal cord, heart and limbs. These amphibians also readily make new neurons throughout their lives. In 1964, researchers observed that adult axolotls could regenerate parts of their brains, even if a large section was completely removed. But one study found […]

BBC’s Frozen Planet II will soon make some of Earth’s frostiest and most remote regions accessible from your living room. The series returns with narrator Sir David Attenborough, who has worked closely with the BBC’s Natural History Unit to bring some of the most eye-opening moments in wildlife filmmaking history to our television screens (remember […]

The Internet can be a pretty negative space sometimes but every now and then a person rises above the negativity to deliver nuggets of joy that can make the digital space all that more bearable. Want to know how we’ve been distracting ourselves from the news of late? With animals being interviewed with a tiny […]

A Russian taxi company that manages more than 700,000 drivers across Russia was hacked last week, causing a huge number of cabs in Moscow to be routed to the exact same location. When the taxis arrived, there were no passengers waiting there, just blocked streets and utter chaos from the angry drivers and police attempting […]

BBC’s Frozen Planet II will soon make some of Earth’s frostiest and most remote regions accessible from your living room. The series returns with narrator Sir David Attenborough, who has worked closely with the BBC’s Natural History Unit to bring some of the most eye-opening moments in wildlife filmmaking history to our television screens (remember […]

There are some things in the world that feel like they’ve been around forever – but when you actually dig down into it, you find they’re barely old enough to vote. Take airport security, for example. Today, a TSA patdown and a full-body scanner seems not just normal, but necessary before a flight. Ask anyone […]

A human has won first place at an art competition at the Colorado State Fair, using an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image. Jason Allen – who goes by the username Sincarnate on Discord – announced on the Midjourney channel that he had won the Colorado State Fair fine arts competition, in the digital arts category.  “After […]