A new study has used an alternative method to work out how much Mercury has shrunk since its formation, finding that the planet has gotten significantly cooler in its first 4.5 billion years. Back in 1974, NASA’s Mariner 10 mission flew by Mercury and discovered evidence that, already the smallest planet in the Solar System, […]
The Salt Mines Of Maras: 6,000 Salt Ponds Carved Into Peru’s “Sacred Valley” That Predate The Inca
A sprawling landscape of some 6,00 salt wells can be found arranged in stepped terraces on the hillside of the Qaqawiñay mountain, Peru. Known as Salineras de Maras, or the Salt Mines of Maras, they are located 52 kilometers (32 miles) northeast of Cusco city and sit at an altitude of 3,200 meters (10,500 feet) […]
Part Desert Lynx, Part Jungle Curl: Meet The New Highlander Cat
Meet one of the world’s newest feline breeds: the Highlander cat. Breeding of these unusual-looking felines began in 2004. The goal? To craft a domestic cat that resembled big wild cats without the wild behavior. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. Originating […]
How Long Can A Human Hold Their Breath? The New World Record Shows It’s Way Longer Than You Think
Whatever your answer, there’s a very high chance it’s not as long as some divers out there. Whether through culture, evolution, or just one dude’s strangely specific obsession, there are plenty of people in the world who saw the classification of humans as a terrestrial animal and thought, “nah” – and sometimes, the limits they […]
Next Month Is Your Last Chance To See Titan’s Shadow Transit Saturn For 15 Years
We are in a special time where Earth and Saturn’s tilts create two wonderful illusions for lovers of the night sky. Not only have Saturn’s rings disappeared from view, but its largest moon has cast its shadow upon the planet a handful of times this year, something you only have two more chances to see; […]
What Happened To Eyes During The Mummification Process? And Why Sometimes It Involved Onions
The mummification process is perhaps one of the most talked-about aspects of Ancient Egyptian life. It’s a complex process that we’re still trying to understand, not least because trying to step into the mindset of people living thousands of years ago is tricky when you’re burdened with the cultural norms of the 21st century. Still, […]
Everyday Magnets Could Be The Surprising Key To Producing Oxygen In Space
The availability of oxygen beyond Earth is a crucial factor for human exploration of space. We do need it to breathe after all. Already, there have been tests for extracting the precious element both in microgravity and on Mars. There is a major challenge when it comes to microgravity production, and researchers now report an […]
Psychedelics May “Switch On The Mind’s Eye” In People With Aphantasia – But What Are The Risks?
Psychedelic drugs like LSD, DMT, and psilocybin are known for their ability to trigger kaleidoscopic visual hallucinations, raising interesting questions about how people with aphantasia – or the lack of a “mind’s eye” – experience these trippy substances. Astonishingly, research is beginning to reveal that some individuals with this condition may actually acquire visual mental […]
Physicists Create The Smallest Cat Video Ever Made Of Just 2024 Atoms
Physicists have demonstrated they can move atoms with incredible reliability, both in 2D and in 3D – and to really show it off, they created the world’s smallest cat video: a movie of 2024 rubidium atoms showing the famous quantum cat thought experiment first suggested by Erwin Schrodinger. The approach employs a machine learning algorithm […]
The World’s Rarest Whale Has 9 Stomachs, “Wisdom” Teeth, And Has Never Been Seen Alive
The rarest whale in the world is the spade-toothed whale (Mesoplodon traversii), with only seven confirmed specimens to date since first reported in the 1800s, and nobody’s ever seen one alive. All but one of them have been reported in the seas around New Zealand. Last December saw the first-ever dissection of one after it […]
These Fish Have Two Eyes On One Side Of Their Face, But They Don’t Start Out That Way
Congratulations! It’s a bouncing baby flounder. Look at its sweet, symmetrical eyes. Adorable, aren’t they? Well, take a picture, because they won’t stay there for long. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. For flounders and other flatfish, it’s a rite of passage […]
Very First Humans To Make And Use Tools Imported Their Stones 3 Million Years Ago
The very first humans to make and use stone tools may have sourced their raw materials from distant locations, demonstrating a surprisingly sophisticated resource-management strategy. Previously, it was thought that the cognitive capacity for such behaviors didn’t arise until 2 million years ago, yet evidence from a prehistoric site in Kenya suggests that our ancestors […]
300,000-Year-Old Skull Shows Neanderthals Lived Alongside Another Ancient Human Ancestor
A nearly complete human skull that was discovered in a Greek cave in 1960 has remained at the center of a major anthropological debate for over six decades. However, researchers have finally settled the matter by revealing that the cranium belongs to a species that’s more primitive than both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, yet existed […]
“An Underwater Photographer’s Dream”: Watch Big-Bellied Seahorses Passing Eggs Between Each Other
Down beneath the ocean waves are all manner of secret surprises, from mysterious-looking new species to gentle seahorses floating in the current. One diver was lucky enough to capture a key moment as she witnessed eggs being passed between two seahorse parents. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or […]
The Largest Moon In The Solar System Could Be A Dark Matter Detector
The Solar System’s largest moon could be a dark matter detector, according to a new paper. All we have to do is look. As far as astronomers studying the observable universe can tell, only around 5 percent of it is made up of matter. The rest, or the overwhelming majority of it, is made up […]
First Insect Proven To Use Milky Way For Orientation Uses Its Superpower To Push Big Balls Of Poop
The sky at night. It inspires awe. It inspires thoughts of an existential nature: Who are we? Why are we here? And, perhaps most importantly of all, in which direction should I roll this big ball of shit? That is, if you’re a dung beetle. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please […]
How An Eclipse And One Of The World’s Most Dangerous Volcanoes Changed Chemistry For Good
If you think of helium, you are probably thinking of party balloons and squeaky voices. That doesn’t do the element justice. It has a large number of technical and industrial applications, and is the second most common element in the universe. On Earth, though, it is pretty scarce, and the fact that it is lighter […]
Earendel: The Most Distant Star Ever Seen Might Not Be What We Thought
Back in 2022, the Hubble space telescope appeared to have found the most distant star ever discovered. Named Earendel – morning or rising star in old English – a new paper suggests it might not be what we thought. Earendel was spotted by Hubble due to a fortunate case of gravitational lensing, where light from […]
Unique White Dwarf Heavier Than The Sun Is Hiding A Merger In Its Past
Astronomers report the finding of a unique new object that doesn’t fit with categories that were only established in the last few years. They have observed an ultra-massive white dwarf with an outer layer of hydrogen and helium, 10 billion times thinner than other white dwarfs. This object is believed to be the product of […]
Ancient Crater Lakes Rewrite Saharan Climate History, And Possibly Civilization’s Origins
Deep lakes in the Sahara lasted until more recently than previously thought, fed by an unexpected water source. The discovery indicates that some of the Sahara was a welcoming place for humans more recently than anyone had realized, painting a different picture of the region at the time the first civilizations appeared. The world’s largest […]
