Deborah Bloomfield

It’s been a busy few weeks for certain people discussing purportedly strange features on Mars. First, there was the “square structure“, then there were the Phobos and Mars “monoliths”. Now, some are once again talking about so-called “doorways” on Mars – however, the image they cite is likely not what it seems. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD […]

Mapping the distribution of matter in the universe is an important quest for cosmology and astrophysics. There is a battle going on between the universe’s accelerated expansion and gravity trying to keep things all together. Some absolutely enormous structures have been found in the distant universe, but even closer to us there are gargantuan ones. […]

As I approached the front door of this two-story house, I was struck by how ordinary it looked and how easily it blended into the surrounding houses on the street. There was an accessibility ramp that led inside and, entering the building, I was greeted by a post office counter. What was out of the […]

The ocean inside Enceladus is likely to be strongly layered in a way that may prevent evidence of life from rising from its hoped-for locations to where we could detect it, new modeling suggests. If so, our prospects for confirming that Earth is not the only world in the Solar System with biology would fall […]

On Friday, February 7, a hearing took place in the Montana state legislature on a bill that would ban the use of mRNA vaccines in humans. The bill was sponsored by State Representative Greg Kmetz with the support of other Republicans, and if it were to pass into law this would mark a first in […]

Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter believed to be everywhere, outnumbering regular matter (what we’re made of) 5-to-1. It doesn’t emit or interact with light, so it is invisible to our instruments – that’s why we call it dark. We know that it ought to be there because observations of the universe match […]

Whale song is something we humans listen to when relaxing – but new research has shown that, as a form of communication, it ain’t messing around. A new study has found that certain whale species’ vocalizations adhere to two linguistic laws of efficiency seen in human language: Menzerath’s law and Zipf’s law (with Zipf’s law […]

2024’s gigantic solar storm gave the Earth two new temporary radiation belts, according to NASA’s CubeSat mission. One of these belts could stay in place for a “very long time”, according to NASA scientists. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Just beyond low-Earth orbit, the planet is surrounded by radiation belts sometimes called the Van Allen belts […]

We all know the ocean is full of a whole host of weird-looking creatures, from flying buttocks and sea pigs to the plethora of strange species living in vents deep in the ocean. Now, we’re taking a close look at another ocean oddity – time to pucker up for the red-lipped batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini). ADVERTISEMENT […]

ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE It can sometimes feel like you’re playing mold Whac-A-Mole when you’ve found yourself in a particularly damp property, something fungus needs to thrive. There’s a host of species that have evolved to flourish in the conditions our homes provide, and sometimes their coloration can be an indicator of what you’re dealing […]

A new study has found evidence that the Earth’s inner core may have changed shape. Far from taking place over geological timescales, the changes appear to have taken place within the last two decades. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE As much as we have explored and modeled our planet, there are a number of mysteries that […]

The emergence of artistic expression, abstract thought, and symbolic behavior may have occurred much earlier in human history than previously assumed. Presenting a collection of deliberate engravings found on Paleolithic cave rocks from various caves in key Levantine sites, researchers say they now have clear evidence for creative activities at a time when Neanderthals and […]

A 183-million-year-old fossil with exceptionally well-preserved soft tissues has revealed that some plesiosaurs were covered in both skin and scales, suiting them to a life stalking the seas for prey. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The iconic marine monsters went extinct with the dinosaurs and have been discovered all over the world, but to find fossilized […]

The European Space Agency (ESA)’s Euclid Mission has been working over the last 18 months to understand what dark matter and dark energy really are. These are components of the universe whose existence is justified by observations and models, but we do not know what they really are. This quest is performed by Euclid, with […]

In 1976, the American Viking 1 Orbiter spotted something very peculiar on the surface of Mars. There among the many lumps and bumps of the Red Planet’s surface was a formation that “resembles a human head,” as ESA reports NASA said in a July 31, 1976 press release. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE In case your […]

There are many things that inspire scientific discoveries. The search for a better future; the endless quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe. Boredom’s always a good one. But there’s one that often goes underappreciated, and it’s this: spite.  ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Like, say you – as many of us have – noticed […]

A team of international researchers has found conclusive evidence of something a little grim: human communities in the Magdalenian era – around 18,000 years ago – practiced cannibalism, even going so far as to snack on human brains. The research offered valuable new insights into the mortuary and ritual practices of this period in ancient […]

This week, the earliest runestone ever to be reliably dated may have been carved by a woman, a “gorilla-like” human relative that lived some 1.4 million years ago has been revealed by a jawbone, and an Antarctic fossil dating back 68 million years proves the existence of dinosaur-era ducks. Finally, as conversations around ownership of […]

Quantum computers hold the promise to revolutionize so many different aspects of science. They can tackle problems that even the most powerful supercomputer wouldn’t be able to deal with. The problem is that these quantum devices are still a work in progress and they are not ready yet for that revolution. But that doesn’t mean […]

We’ve all been there: you’re standing in the cereal aisle of the supermarket, staring up at countless near-identical boxes of multicolored hoops, frozen in indecision over which brand to buy. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Should you choose this one, which boasts a higher fiber count? Or that one, which is better value by weight? The […]