Deborah Bloomfield

According to a new review, the recreational use of nitrous oxide can have serious and sometimes permanent neurological impacts. Although this drug is becoming increasingly popular, the findings are worrying. It is hoped the results of the survey will help doctors identify the signs of nitrous oxide toxicity.  Nitrous oxide (N2O), also known as laughing […]

Updated COVID vaccines will reportedly be available in the US next month amid rising numbers of the new variant “Eris”. However, some public health experts are not expecting this batch of vaccines to be taken up with the same gusto as in previous years. Also known as EG.5, Eris is a subvariant of Omicron. It […]

An ancient weapon known as an atlatl may have been used by prehistoric women to launch projectiles with the same force as men, thereby enabling them to take over hunting duties. Watching a group of students operate the archaic spear-thrower in a field, researchers found that the atlatl “equalized” the performance of male and female […]

A short walk outside the city walls, archeologists have discovered an apartment for the slaves who used to serve the people of Pompeii. The rare discovery is a reminder that Roman life in the big city wasn’t all pizza, parties, and picturesque villas. The room was found at the Civita Giuliana villa, some 600 meters […]

There are many baffling stereotypes about pirates, from how they buried their treasure for no fathomable reason, to how they all talked like English farmers.  One of the most firmly embedded in popular culture, along with hook hands and parrot companions, is that they wore eye patches in numbers not usually seen outside of eye […]

Research has shown an easy method to help investigators weed out liars: ask a suspect to carry out an additional task while being questioned, and you’re more likely to accurately tell whether they are telling the truth or not. Previous studies have shown that being dishonest and deceptive can strain the brain, requiring considerably more cognitive energy […]

The Russian space agency Roscosmos has admitted its Luna 25 spacecraft, intended to mark a new era in space exploration, has crashed into the Moon after entering an uncontrolled orbit. The disaster probably reflects the mistake of trying to hurry the mission in order to beat  India’s Chandrayaan-3 to the coveted region. However,  it’s also […]

Due to the versatility of gold, its conductivity, durability, and good looks place it firmly in the top five most expensive metals. Gold prices stand at over $1,850 per ounce at the time of publication – impressive, but nothing compared to rhodium. Currently the most expensive precious metal and one of the rarest, the price […]

Fresh evidence suggests that early humans in Europe were mastering fire around 245,000 years ago. If this latest assessment is on point, it indicates our distant relatives may have been sat around a campfire, perhaps sharing food and building social bonds, up to 50,000 years earlier than previously thought.   In a recent study, researchers […]

One of the oldest burial chambers in the Iberian Peninsula has been identified in a cave in northern Spain, with bones from within the pit dated to over 7,000 years ago. Representing some of the earliest Neolithic human remains ever discovered in the region, the find provides a rare insight into the funerary customs of […]

Africa is slowly but surely splitting in two. The east of the continent is scarred by one of the largest rifts in the world. Despite its colossal size, scientists know surprisingly little about the complex movement of this unusual deformation. In a new study, researchers used GPS mapping and computer models to change that.  The […]

Have you ever noticed that when the remains of ancient civilizations are found, they are often dug up or unearthed, and never found “lying around” or “just sort of sat there”? Well before you go assuming the obvious (an order of mole people, dedicated to hiding knowledge of the past) you should know there are […]

The Wizard of Oz got a hat tip from scientists poking around in an ancient and underwater volcano chain in the Pacific Ocean, as they discovered what looked like a “yellow brick road”. The natural brickwork was actually the result of volcanic geology which has fractured the rock in a curiously uniform way. E/V Nautilus […]

In the deserts of the Middle East, you can find vast megastructures known as desert kites that were carved into the rocky landscape over 8,000 years ago. In a recent study, archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest architectural plans detailing how ancient humans managed to construct these colossal structures. Desert kites were only identified in […]

This week Cherenkov light was observed for the first time during a fusion reaction, changes in the Earth’s orbit may have facilitated a bit of hominin hank-panky between Neanderthals and Denisovans, and scientists simulated black hole recoil speeds for the first time. Finally, we dove into the topic of neurodiversity to explore what it means […]

The star HD 45166 has puzzled astronomers for a century. Dr Tomer Shenar got so fascinated with its existence that he has spent years trying to explain its nature. In the process, he may have solved an even bigger mystery: the source of the universe’s most powerful magnets. HD 45166 is a Wolf-Rayet star. These […]

Aboriginal Australians are the world’s oldest continuous living culture, yet one of their traditional cornerstones of communication – the message stick – is not widely understood today. Nevertheless, it’s a tradition that’s still wielded as a potent symbol of Aboriginal rights. Message sticks are solid pieces of wood of varying length, typically between 10 to […]

A closer look at a collection of cave art in Spain has revealed a number of long-lost animal figures and shapes that haven’t been appreciated for thousands of years. The researchers say their work highlights the importance of how rock art is often a three-dimensional medium that can’t always be understood in a two-dimensional image.  […]

Around 125 million years ago, a small dromaeosaurid dinosaur started moving around the Earth. Not all that surprising given it was the start of the Cretaceous, the last period of the Mesozoic that we know as the “Age Of Dinosaurs” – that is, until you find out it had four wings. And yes, it was […]

If you go down to San Diego today you could be in for a big surprise. Creeping out of holes and cracks in Southern California are two species of tarantula that are setting off for their annual mating ritual. The California black tarantula (Aphonopelma eutylenum) and the San Diego bronze tarantula (Aphonopelmus reversum) are the […]