Countries in the Global North have historically been responsible for a larger amount of greenhouse emissions, and there has been a call for them to redress the balance by helping middle- and low-income countries financially towards climate readiness and decarbonizing their economies. Researchers have looked at a scenario where all countries in the world would […]
Air Quality Monitors Are Collecting DNA And Can Reveal Endangered Species’ Presence
Biologists spend a lot of time trying to prove an animals’ presence and abundance, but according to a new study the evidence is often easily obtainable in a place no one thought to look. Thousands of air quality monitoring stations are collecting particulates around the world, and these often come with DNA attached. A study […]
Cocoons Of Dying Stars May Also Emit Detectable Gravitational Waves
The four gravitational wave observatories that are working around the world have so far discovered these particular signals only from binary systems: the collisions of two extremely dense objects, such as neutron stars, or black holes. But singular bodies also emit gravitational waves, and now researchers think that one particular class of objects has waves […]
The Man Who Won The Lottery 14 Times Using Incredibly Basic Math
In the 1990s, Romanian-Australian economist Stefan Mandel and his small team entered the lottery and won. Over and over and over again. The feat, of course, wasn’t achieved through having a really lucky set of numbers. Mandel had a system, which he first put to use to win a lottery in Romania, using the money to […]
Always Soak Your Chia Seeds Otherwise It Can Lead To Disastrous Results
In the last few years, there has been a growing trend in chowing down on some chia seeds – normally in ice-cold smoothies or, for the fancy, on top of creamy yogurt parfaits. On some health sites, it recommends that you pre-soak the seeds before consuming them, but, unfortunately for one person, they did not […]
In Stonehenge’s Neighborhood, A Giant New Cemetery Has Been Unearthed
A giant cemetery complex that shows signs of human activity for thousands of years has been unearthed near Salisbury in England, home to the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge. The newly found burial site is thousands of years younger than Stonehenge, but it goes to show how this area of Salisbury Plain once held huge […]
Interactive Shark Attack Map Reveals The Most Common Times, Places, And Conditions
Your chances of being attacked by a shark are nearly zero, according to an interactive map that shows where, when, and under what conditions shark attacks are occurring globally. When you look at the data, there are 100 unprovoked shark attacks worldwide annually, but each year humans kill around 100 million sharks. When it comes […]
New Mysterious Galactic Core Filaments Seen Stretching From Sagittarius A*
Over the last few decades and especially in recent years, peculiar filaments have been discovered stretching vertically near the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. They extend for 150 light-years and they are so thin they look one-dimensional. Now, a new population has been found: they are shorter and lie horizontally, pointing directly to […]
How “Zombie” Cells Could Be The Answer To Shortage Of Donor Hearts
A test that can quickly identify so-called “zombie” cells in potential donor hearts could mean more of these much-needed organs being available for transplantation. Currently, in the UK, hearts from over-65s are not accepted due to the likelihood of a poor outcome for the transplant recipient, but in some cases this cautious approach could be […]
Ancient Egyptians Drank A Gnarly Brew Of Hallucinogenic Drugs And Human Blood
The art of cocktail making has come a long way since the ancient Egyptians tried their hand at mixing drinks, as evidenced by a new analysis of the contents of a 2,000-year-old vase. Thought to have been imbibed by members of a cult who worshiped a strange cat-like god, the concoction was found to contain […]
The Drive For Fossil-Free Steel Is Looking To Revolutionize The Industry
It’s impossible to imagine today’s world – and the future – without steel. From the cars we drive to the buildings we live and work in, this invaluable alloy is everywhere. Unfortunately, however, traditional methods of steel manufacturing and recycling come with a heavy carbon footprint. With the climate crisis ever-heating up and calls for […]
How To Beat A Lie Detector
This article first appeared in Issue 8 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. We’ve all seen lie detector tests, be it in cop movies, crime procedurals, or The Simpsons. Generally speaking, the “bad guy” is hooked up to the polygraph test and informed that if they lie, the people conducting the test will know. A few questions later and the […]
The True Size Of World’s Deepest Freshwater Cave Is Still A Mystery
The Hranice Abyss in the Czech Republic is the deepest known freshwater cave on the planet. It’s suggested that it could extend to a depth of 1 kilometer (0.6 miles), but scientists have never actually got the bottom of have deep it truly is. Back in 2016, a remotely operated vehicle swam into the bowels […]
Where Did Fireworks Come From And How Did They Get So Popular?
Fourth of July parties, Guy Fawkes night, and New Year’s eve celebrations have all become associated with the bang and sparkle of dazzling firework displays. But where did the idea come from, and how did they become so popular? According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, historians believe fireworks originated in the second century BCE in […]
Why Do You Want To Squeeze Cute Things?
Ever seen something so impossibly cute – a teeny kitten or a baby Tasmanian devil, perhaps – and feel the urge to squeeze, smush, or bite its adorable little face? Don’t worry, you’re not a psychopath and you’re not alone – it’s a thing and it’s called cute aggression. Delve into the psychology behind the […]
Highly Intelligent People Are Slower To Answer Complex Problems
People who score highly on intelligence tests answer simple questions more quickly than their less intelligent counterparts. However, when the problems get more challenging, the situation reverses, at least for a certain type of question. Faced with these, intelligent people take their time but are much more likely to get the answer right. The findings […]
The Whole Universe Might Be Doomed To Evaporate
Black holes are not eternal. Extremely slowly, they lose mass and energy in the form of thermal radiation – heat. This is known as Hawking radiation, and over incredible time frames would lead to black holes evaporating, eventually disappearing. A new theoretical paper suggests that this is true for more than just black holes: that […]
Ancient 5.5-Million-Year-OId “Elephant Graveyard” Discovered In Northern Florida
A team of researchers and volunteers at the Florida Museum of Natural History have discovered an ancient “elephant graveyard” containing the fossilized remains of a long-extinct ancestor to our modern-day pachyderms. The find may also provide the largest known specimen of the animal ever discovered in Florida. Sometimes around 5.5 million years ago, a number […]
Why Do So Many Cultures Have Dragons In Them?
Travel to any part of the world and it’s hard not to find dragons lurking in their mythological folklore. The ancient legends of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas all feature the figure of a slinky crocodile-like creature with long talons and a fierce look in its eyes. The question is: why have a significant […]
Bacteria Are Better At Mining Rare Earth Elements Than We Are
A protein produced by certain bacteria can not only extract the elements neodymium and dysprosium from the ore in which they are found, but separate them from each other. With demand for these metals growing exponentially, thanks to their role in wind turbines and electric vehicles adding to existing demand from smartphones, the discovery could […]
