Deborah Bloomfield

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 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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 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 […]

Humanity has never observed the very first stars that shone in the universe. They lived fast and died young, but they were the ones that created the heavier elements that eventually ended up making us. Astronomers now suggest that some recent observations of very distant galaxies can only be explained by the presence of enormous […]

A direct connection between levels of nitric oxide in the brain and autism has been established for the first time in a new study. The breakthrough findings, from a team led by Dr Haitham Amal at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, offer an insight into a previously undiscovered mechanism underlying the development of autism, which […]

Yellowstone National Park law enforcement officers are appealing for more information after an encounter between an unidentified man and a newborn bison calf led to the animal’s death.  On the evening of May 20, a man in his 40s or 50s approached a calf that had been separated from the herd while crossing the Lamar […]

A woman in Washington state is continuing to wander around with untreated tuberculous, evading a warrant out for her arrest. The anonymous woman, known only as “VN” in court documents, has been defying court orders for over a year that demands she stays in her home and seeks treatment for TB, which is both contagious […]

A new study has found that you create your own echo chamber, not algorithms from Google Search. The research found that individuals actively sought out information that fits their beliefs, not search engine algorithms, bursting the idea that Google is actively exacerbating a specific belief system.  Since the rapid emergence of social media and search […]

The Montreal Protocol was a landmark international agreement for the benefit of all humankind. It is among the only United Nations treaties ratified by every country in the world, designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out harmful chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons. And it is working. Since it entered into force in 1989, the […]

The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) is one of the most endangered carnivore species in Africa. There are thought to be only around 500 individuals left in scattered populations across Ethiopia’s Bale and Simien mountains. Until now, the entry of the Ethiopian wolf into Ethiopia from Eurasia has not been known from the Pleistocene fossil record, […]

Planes come in all shapes, sizes, and roles, from fighter jets to single-engine propeller planes, but every single one of them has one thing in common – a black box. A flight data recorder, known as a black box, must be installed in every aircraft nowadays and looks rather unassuming, but it is the most […]

If you’ve spent too long on the Internet – and let’s face it, we all have – you may have come across the story of the Philadelphia Experiment. According to the urban legend on 28 October 1943, Naval destroyer the USS Eldridge conducted a top secret experiment. There’s no sugar-coating just how stupid the conspiracy […]

The day we have all feared is upon us: Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing has arrived on the shores of the UK, the US, Australia, and dozens of other countries. If you have a Netflix account in these countries and you share the password with loved ones who live outside your household, it’s going to […]

A newly-described species of pachycephalosaurid called Platytholus clemensi that lived around 68 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous may have rocked some fabulous keratin headgear, a recent paper detailing the analysis of a partial skull has revealed. Named MOR 2915, the skull was found in 2011 by study author John R. “Jack” Horner, of […]

Very few Earthlings are aware that their planet’s oceans hold a significant amount of gold – perhaps upwards of quadrillions of dollars worth, in fact. Unfortunately, if you’re thinking of heading to the beach in a hasty get-rich-quick scheme, you might be in for a challenge. Scientists have estimated that there’s around one gram of […]

A man whose legs had been paralyzed for a decade due to a spinal cord injury has been able to walk again, after treatment with a revolutionary new implant. The device helps to bridge the gap between the brain and the spinal nerves that control movement, restoring communication that was interrupted by the patient’s injury. […]