Deborah Bloomfield

Chinese researchers claim to have significantly boosted the efficiency of boron air-breathing engines in a massive breakthrough for hypersonic missiles, according to the state-sponsored South China Morning Post. The new advancements resulted in 79 percent fuel efficiency in ground simulations, giving engines capable of pushing Mach 6 much further range and increasing the viability of […]

On February 3, asteroid 2011 AG5 flew past Earth at a distance of 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles). That’s about five times the Earth-Moon distance – far enough to be very safe, but close enough to do some cool science. Goldstone Solar System Radar was used to study the shape, rotation, size, and surface […]

Further investigation into wombats’ unique droppings has revealed a general law of mammalian feces, determining why some animals produce pellets while others make logs – and the work could even have some surprising applications. Among the many features that make wombats wonderful are their droppings, which are so cubic you could almost use them to […]

Conspiracy theories aren’t a new thing, and for as long as they’ve been around they’ve ranged from the benign to the absurd. From the six moon landings being faked to the Earth being flat, or our ruling class being lizards, we’ve all probably come across them in one form or another. Yet, in a surprise […]

Two partially paralyzed patients have successfully executed a range of complex manual tasks, including, for one of the patients, cutting steak and opening a lock, thanks to a neurotechnology that stimulates the spinal cord. Consisting of a pair of electrodes that engage neural circuits within the spine, the device generated immediate improvements in strength, range […]

We humans are empathic by nature – it’s a fundamental part of how we build relationships with one another. Most people subconsciously mirror the feelings of those around them and try to think the way they must be thinking. When this goes wrong, it can have some pretty alarming effects; but even outside of these […]

Like an onion or a set of Russian dolls it seems the there is no end to the Earth’s internal structure. New research indicates the component known as the “inner core” consists of an innermost core and a middle core (still called inner). Although both are probably made of solid iron and nickel, it seems […]

A large study has found a correlation that university students might find interesting: early morning classes are correlated with poorer academic performance in students who take them. The study aimed to test whether classes early in the morning were more poorly attended than classes at a less rude time, and whether the classes had an […]

Republican lawmakers in Idaho have put forward a bill to ban the administration of mRNA vaccines in the state, encompassing any vaccine that uses the technology but specifically targeting the COVID-19 jabs. The bill would block both current life-saving mRNA jabs and any future developments, including those currently in the pipeline against various cancers. Proposed […]

The USS Albacore, a submarine deemed on “eternal patrol” since it went missing in World War II, has been found once over 70 years on. The submarine began its service on June 1, 1942, and is credited with sinking 10 enemy vessels during its service, making it one of the most successful submarines of World […]

It’s been nearly three weeks since a train came off the rails in Ohio, causing the evacuation of the nearby town of East Palestine and threatening an environment that includes some of the most important waterways in North America. Now, local residents are reporting a range of concerning ailments – symptoms that they fear are […]

Can we objectively tell how fast we are aging? With a good measure, scientists might be able to change our rate of aging to live longer and healthier lives. Researchers know that some people age faster than others and have been trying to concisely measure the internal physiological changes that lead to deteriorating health with […]

A 2,000-year-old sarcophagus, lead-lined and dating back to the Roman era, has been discovered by archaeologists working in the Gaza strip. Located just 500 meters (0.3 miles) from the sea along the Northern Gaza coast, the sarcophagus is part of a large Roman necropolis that was discovered only last year. The excavation project is being […]

Singer and actor Selena Gomez has hit headlines recently after explaining to her followers on TikTok that she has experienced a bit of weight gain due to a side effect of her lupus medication.  “I tend to hold a lot of water weight and that happens very normally. When I’m off [the medication] I tend […]

The top player in the world at the board game Go is a machine-learning algorithm that taught itself how to play. In fact, Google’s AlphaGo Zero taught itself how to become world champion of the game in just three days, just to really rub it in to its professional human competitors, who spent years honing […]

While most people could be forgiven for thinking that branches pruned off trees and bushes have served their purpose, keeping a few log piles in your garden could have some surprising benefits for the local wildlife. First, think of a simple food chain. Decaying rotting wood is food and shelter for all manner of creepy […]

Telomeres – the protective caps at the tips of chromosomes – can encode two proteins, something that was previously thought impossible, new research has suggested. The discovery of genetic information coding for these proteins, one of which is elevated in some human cancers, could have huge ramifications for the fields of health, medicine, and cell […]

This isn’t how anyone wanted to test the body’s responses to long periods in microgravity, but problems with the Soyuz MS-22 rocket have left three people stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and bringing them home won’t be quick. Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and astronaut Francisco Rubio arrived in September 2022 and […]

A fish with hands it likes to stroll around on recently scooped first place in the Cold Water category of Ocean Art 2022. Snapped by photographer Nicolas Remy, the spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) actually doesn’t have proper hands but modified pectoral fins that it uses to walk along the seafloor. Spotted handfish are critically endangered, […]

You’re sitting on the plane, staring out of the window at the clouds and all of a sudden, you think back to how a few months ago, you had a heart-to-heart with a good colleague about the pressure you experience at work. How do thoughts seemingly completely unrelated to the present pop into our heads? […]