Deborah Bloomfield

The Curiosity rover is not just studying Martian rocks, sometimes it finds time to look at the sky. This has allowed it to capture images of the rare Martian clouds, expanding our knowledge about the Red Planet’s atmosphere. On February 2, it was rewarded with the image above, the clearest image ever taken of sun […]

A study has looked into human penis size as depicted in paintings throughout the centuries, finding that the appendage has grown significantly over the last seven centuries, particularly in the 20th century. The team wanted to assess the ideal penis size throughout the ages, and how the male ideal has been altered by cultural differences. […]

A new study has detailed the unusual case of an unborn twin that was discovered in the brain of a 1-year-old girl in China. While this case is extraordinarily rare, it’s not the first time it’s been reported in the medical literature. Doctors at Fudan University in Shangai explained that the young girl presented with […]

When you’ve had one too many, staying on your feet can feel like an impossible task. In a new study, mice under the influence of alcohol were able to recover their balance and coordination thanks to the effects of the hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Mice, just like humans and other animals that consume […]

At last count, there are 118 confirmed elements in the periodic table – yet, out of that huge number, you’re more than nine times more likely to come into contact with just five than the other 113. That’s because, out of all of the dozens of elements found in the Earth’s crust, it’s those five […]

The Japanese government has recently announced controversial plans to release over a million tons of water from the remains of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. While the move has raised concerns and anger from local fishing communities and neighboring countries, how safe is this decision? On 11 March, it will have been 12 years […]

Fossilized dinosaur bones are always an incredible discovery, but it’s a true treat when scientists manage to unearth hints of soft tissue that have somehow managed to remain intact until the present day.  A few years ago, scientists from North Carolina State University discovered blood vessel-like structures in the 80 million-year-old fossil of a hadrosaur […]

Wild waterways in Canada are under siege from a fleet of giant wild goldfish that have been introduced as invasive species, often by humans looking to get rid of pets. Goldfish may look pretty innocuous, but as hardy animals they can grow to enormous sizes in their surprisingly long lives. There are many breeds of […]

In David Attenborough’s TV career he has ventured to the heart of Papua New Guinea in search of birds-of-paradise. He’s sailed through the treetops in Croatia to admire some of Earth’s most impressive botanical species, and even plunged into the deep in submersibles to explore coral reefs. For all that distance and ambition, however, he’s […]

A Florida man digging for shellfish on a beach was surprised to discover an abnormally large clam – and it turns out the clam is thought to be over 200 years old. Discovered on Alligator Point in Florida, USA, by Blaine Parker, the clam is a species known as the ocean quahog (Arctica islandica). In a […]

Florida’s shorelines will likely be covered in dead fish for the foreseeable, as a toxic “red tide” returns. The environmental disaster that’s becoming a near-annual tradition is deadly to marine life, but it can also bring on unpleasant symptoms in humans walking along the shore. The harmful algal bloom is known as a “red tide” […]

Is our universe all there is, or could there be more? Is our universe just one of a countless multitude, all together in an all-encompassing multiverse? And if there are other universes, what would they be like? Could they be habitable? Advertisement This might feel like speculation heaped upon speculation, but it’s not as crazy […]

Research by data analytics firm YouGov has found that nearly half of respondents don’t believe oral sex counts as “having sex”. YouGov asked respondents whether a variety of sexual acts counted as having sex, from fingering to blow jobs. Hand jobs and fingering were generally not seen as counting as having sex, with 52 percent […]

A study of images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope finds that more than one in 40 are crossed by satellite trails. In some cases these interfere with the science, wasting the exceptionally valuable time spent taking the image. Although the affected proportion is small, it’s growing, refuting the claim we can solve the problems […]

Folks in North America should keep their heads to the skies this morning as the full “Worm Moon” will soon reach its fullest. If clouds are well-behaved, the full moon will be its fullest and most visible Tuesday morning, March 7, 2023, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 7:40 AM EST, according to […]

King Charles will not be smeared in the intestinal wax of sperm whales or civet secretions at his coronation, in an animal-friendly break from tradition. Ok, look: a lot of traditions in the UK are odd. At the opening of parliament, for instance, the King or Queen’s hat is coached to the House of Commons […]

Port and Starboard, the now (in)famous orca pair who were previously recorded hunting and killing great white sharks, have recently killed at least 17 sharks in a single day. The orcas, named for the directions in which their dorsal fins flop, have been known to feed on various species of sharks in South Africa. In […]

We’ve all been there: you put your keys, glasses, or some loose change down, only to completely forget where you left it within a few moments. Usually, it’s nothing to write home about – but for one person, traveling through what is now the very north of Germany about 800 years ago, it couldn’t have […]

Noble false widow spiders are a widespread species living across Europe, North America, South America, and West Asia. With a large range and density across southern Britain, noble false widows have a range of adaptations and traits that have allowed them to be successful across four continents.  While noble false widow spiders (Steatoda nobilis) are […]

The first study of the effects of plastic on the stomach tissue of seabirds has encountered a new condition, which the discoverers named “plasticosis”. Although not immediately fatal, the condition threatens birds’ capacity to obtain the nutrients they need to grow, and eventually to survive. Most disturbingly, the discovery comes from a place that should […]