Deborah Bloomfield

New research has taken a look at an odd phenomenon first observed in the artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM), Claude Opus 4. The so-called “spiritual bliss” attractor state occurs when two LLMs are left to talk to each other with no further input, and show a tendency for the chatbots to begin conversing […]

In Senegal, an elephant so rare they’re considered near mythical has been caught on camera for the first time in half a decade. Known as “ghost elephants”, it’s thought there are only five to 10 left in Niokolo-Koba National Park, a place where there were once hundreds of elephants. “Ghost elephant” is an umbrella term […]

The Sun is the closest star to us and the most studied by humanity. There is a lot we still do not know about it. Among the unknowns, until today, were the Sun’s polar regions. We simply had not seen them before. Now, the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter has delivered our first-ever look at […]

In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager probes to study the Solar System’s edge, and the interstellar medium between the stars. One by one, they both hit the “wall of fire” at the boundaries of our home system, measuring temperatures of 30,000-50,000 kelvin (54,000-90,000 degrees Fahrenheit) on their passage through it. There are a few ways […]

It’s a hard life, being a shark. You’re already fighting off extinction at all hours; you’re working against a 50-year-old bad rap that’s left millions of people convinced you’re a soulless ocean psychopath; and everything from orcas, to humans, to those same humans’ tiny pets, think you’re little more than a swimming snack-in-waiting. And to […]

“Crossing the Rubicon” is a way of saying “no turning back”, a decisive action to take control of your destiny and pass a point of no return with unstoppable resolve. But getting across the Rubicon itself is a pretty easy feat, physically speaking, so why does this idiom have so much weight? The Rubicon still […]

Lots of animals like to keep themselves clean and free of nasty parasites and old skin cells. However, given most species’ lack of hands or opposable thumbs, these itchy creatures have to find something else to use. Previously, whales have been seen with seaweed masks or even rolling around in sandy shallows, but now researchers have […]

The remains of a Viking woman and what was presumably her pet dog have been unearthed in a ceremonial boat grave on an island in Northern Norway.  The small dog appears to have been placed at the woman’s feet “with real care”, archaeologist Anja Roth Niemi told Science Norway, something which, while not completely unprecedented, […]

What do you do if the greens in your garden just won’t grow? Well, it might be time to dust off your old radio and crank the dial to the nearest classical radio station, because according to some recent research, a bit of Bach could help plants grow heavier and leafier. In a study published […]

An asteroid discovered last year and briefly thought to be a threat to Earth has a 1-in-23 chance of hitting the Moon, according to updated NASA estimates based on JWST data. Asteroid 2024 YR4 was first discovered on December 27, 2024. Astronomers have been keeping a close eye on it ever since, as initial observations […]

The results of a new analysis into the decline of emperor penguins are in, and they aren’t good. Using satellite imagery, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) says that their numbers appear to have dropped by 22 percent over a 15-year period, from 2009 to 2024. This decline is only based on one region of the […]

The “Gates of Hell” have been furiously burning away in Turkmenistan for decades, but scientists now have reason to believe that it’s giving up the ghost.  Officially known as the Darvaza gas crater, or the Shining of Karakum, this infamous site is a massive pit filled with fiercely burning flames, casting an orange glow across […]

Here’s something to reassure anyone thinking of getting into extreme sports: Every activity and dangerous sport, apart from something we’re looking at introducing known as white water zorbing, has been tried at least once before by some daredevil.  For example, the first parachute jump was performed on October 22, 1797, when André-Jacques Garnerin, from France, […]

A squid that had previously never been seen alive has been captured on camera by scientists working in the Southern Ocean. Gonatus antarcticus is an incredibly rare deep-sea squid that, as its name would suggest, is only found in freezing Antarctic waters. It made its first live appearance on Christmas day thanks to a fortuitously […]

Since almost the dawn of civilization itself, humanity has been fascinated by those who live outside of it. We’ve told each other tales of Enkidu, the wild man who must slowly be introduced to the modern world of ancient Mesopotamia; of Romulus and Remus, the children suckled by a she-wolf, who, legend has it, would […]

US air traffic control systems are to get an upgrade, finally ending the use of 30-year-old operating system Windows 95, and dispensing with floppy disks and paper strips in the process. On Wednesday, June 4, the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed the House Appropriations Committee that they were to begin replacing […]

After just over a week on the run, Ed the zebra has finally been caught. The rebellious equine caused quite a stir with his escape antics, shutting down highways, inspiring memes, and even gathering adoring fans across the world when being airlifted to safety.  The story began on May 31, just one day after Taylor […]

With a recorded total population speeding towards fewer than 2,000, the critically endangered gray-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix cinerea) is one of Vietnam’s rarest primates – but the discovery of a new population in the country’s central highlands has brought hope that there could be more out there. The previously unknown group was found in Khe […]

In the US alone, the American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking more than 500 pieces of legislation aimed at the LGBTQ community, which in some instances can include people with intersex traits. Intersex is a broad categorization of people with anatomical, genetic, or hormonal variations that do not fit the typical “male” or “female” […]