Deborah Bloomfield

The UK is now approaching its third Christmas of the COVID pandemic. And this year feels different. There’s little question we’re in a better position compared with 2020 and 2021. In 2020, Christmas plans were significantly curtailed, with a range of restrictions in place across the UK. But winter social mixing that took place before […]

“Very exciting” results have come out of a recent trial of an experimental vaccine that uses messenger-RNA (mRNA) technology to tackle melanoma skin cancer. It’s still early days, but the data is yet another indication of how mRNA vaccines and personalized cancer treatments hold a huge amount of potential.  The vaccine has been developed by […]

Nuclear fusion ignition was achieved for the first time at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) this month. This historic first shows that we can create controlled fusion in the lab that releases more energy than we put in. And while the road to a commercial fusion power plant is long, this […]

How likely are you to play it safe? Choosing an unknown option might be reserved for those with money to burn on the Las Vegas strip – but the mechanisms behind choosing something potentially high risk-high reward is a subject that’s fascinated scientists. Human decision-making is often irrational and can lead to economically poor choices. […]

A large study has found an unexpected link between refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and getting into traffic accidents. The increased risk of getting into a traffic accident among the unvaccinated was on par with the risk faced by people with sleep apnea, according to the study’s authors. The study, published in the American Journal of […]

Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way are believed to be one of the most common types of galaxies in the universe. They tend to be active and full of star formation, which makes them appear “blue” because hot young stars shine brightly in ultraviolet light. But some spiral galaxies are “red”, aging passively with not […]

A glimmer of gold made for an exciting finale to a dig in Northamptonshire back in April 2022, when researchers at the MOLA site stumbled across something they weren’t expecting. There among the soil they found a necklace, and it would later reveal that they were dealing with a burial site of international significance. “When […]

A genetic study of cats around the world has helped tell the story of how cats became domesticated by people living in ancient Mesopotamia around 10,000 years ago.  This was a very interesting time in human history, when populations first started shifting from a mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settlements powered by stable agriculture. This revolutionary […]

Trying to pick up a human brain that hasn’t been preserved in formaldehyde is a bit like attempting to lift a blob of gelatinous goo, new research has revealed. Using a combination of MRI scans and computational modelling, the study authors calculated the fragility of living participants’ brains, and found that they are very squishy […]

Lawmakers in the US have announced a bipartisan bill to ban social media app TikTok. The legislation would block all transactions by social media companies based in, or considered under the influence of, countries deemed to be adversaries. If the bill gets through, any social media companies that are based in countries including China, Russia, […]

Christmas is a time that tries its best to lift the spirits in the bleak mid-winter. We can forget about the constant colds and the desperate dark weather to enjoy festivity, fun, and thoughtfulness. However, some cultures like to remember that this transitional time of year isn’t all jingle bells and mulled wine. Pull back […]

Who doesn’t love the holiday season? With its festive cheer, gifts and merrymaking, and frankly unnecessary amounts of drunken grandma farts, you’d have to be a real Scrooge to resist society’s grand tradition of going just a little bit bonkers for about a week at the end of each calendar year. But as objectively weird […]

Despite their immense size and their communal nature, giraffes aren’t known for being particularly talkative. In fact, they are pretty much silent most of the time. But these gentle giants do make the occasional vocalization, and it’s not what you would expect. Before we dive into the complexities of giraffe vocalization, it’s worth mentioning that […]

A study has taken a look at the real-life experiences of people using N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, more commonly referred to as DMT.  Study author Stephen Kagan explained that while more research was needed into dosing and the brain on DMT, closer study of the experiences of DMT is needed as growing movements push for legalization. Advertisement “People […]

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Christmas”? Turkey, twinkling lights, a jolly man in a red suit… and hairy, eight-legged arthropods? While many people run in terror from spidery visitors in their homes, what they may not know is how these critters gave rise to a festive tradition that has endured to […]

While some ancient civilizations left behind written histories or crumbling temples, all that remains of Peru’s long-lost Nazca culture are the epic geoglyphs that adorn the desert landscape they once inhabited. Back in 1994, when these so-called Nazca Lines were given UESCO World Heritage status, only 30 of the giant etchings had been identified, yet […]

The historic passing of a new law in New Zealand today will see anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, prevented from purchasing tobacco products for the entirety of their lives. With the aim of creating an entirely smoke-free generation, the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill is a world first […]

Evolution has a funny way of leaving the residue of past adaptations in strange places on animals’ bodies, and chestnuts on horses’ legs are a fine example. Nobody’s quite sure what horse chestnuts exactly are, but they’re believed to be a remnant left behind from horses’ five-toed ancestors. For a long time, it was believed […]

You might have seen a cool post on Reddit that appears to show the dramatic transformation of reindeer eyes from golden brown in the summer to White Walker blue in the winter. Unfortunately, this photo is fake as the vibrant blue eye is actually an edited version of a real image on Alamy. However, there […]

For the first time, a controlled fusion experiment has produced more energy than was put in. This is known as ignition, and it was achieved at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California. An experiment conducted on December 5 has reached that incredible threshold and milestone achievement in the quest to […]