Deborah Bloomfield

The death of four Galápagos tortoises has sparked an investigation by Ecuadorian authorities who suspect the gentle giants may have been poached for their meat.  A special division specializing in crimes against the environment and wildlife has launched a preliminary investigation into the alleged “hunting and slaughter” of the four giant tortoises found in the […]

Over 145 million Americans currently sport tattoos, and this hugely historical practice has been gaining popularity rapidly since the turn of the century. But have government regulations been keeping up with this increased interest, or are some damaging chemical compounds managing to make their way into our skin? The Swierk Group, a team of researchers […]

Approximately one in ten Americans – around 37.3 million people – have diabetes in one form or another. Nearly one in three of them have to treat it with daily self-injections of insulin, a process requiring specific knowledge, accurate administration, and of course, a strong nerve. Wouldn’t it be good if somebody could come up […]

In southern Israel, near the kibbutz of Revadim, there’s a half-million-year-old elephant graveyard. It dates back to when herds of the gigantic beasts roamed as far north as Great Britain, with only the odd early human hunting party to watch out for.  But these weren’t elephants as we know them today: they were Palaeoloxodon antiquus […]

If you can see sparkling haze drift around the clear sky and the slight glimmer of a rainbow, there’s a good chance you’re witnessing diamond dust, a meteorological phenomenon in which extremely small ice crystals form a cloud amid freezing temperatures.  It’s essentially precipitation, just like drizzle, rain, sleet, or snow – but it features […]

Being religious may be linked with higher levels of sexual satisfaction, according to a new study in The Journal of Sex Research. After analyzing survey responses from over 15,000 adults in the UK, the researchers found that those with stronger religious beliefs had less sex than their secular peers but were generally happier with their […]

In today’s fast-paced world, you need to be on the cutting-edge of technology to make your brand boom. In fact, around 75 per cent of online consumers are more interested in products or services after viewing a brand’s video. That makes voice-overs a must! A voice-over not only influences buyers to act, but needs to […]

Hope is not lost that Artemis I, NASA’s historic mission to kick off the next stage of going back to the Moon, will fly this week. Although it is an uncrewed mission, there are some very eager passengers on board, including Snoopy, Shaun the Sheep, and some very NSFW-looking manikins. Among other things, Artemis I […]

A few months ago, NASA’s Voyager 1 sent back data that did not make sense. No, not an alien message, don’t worry. The readouts from the probe’s attitude articulation and control system (AACS) simply didn’t match what the spacecraft was doing. And now the engineering team has worked out what was happening. The AACS is very […]

Werribee Open Range Zoo, Australia, is putting on mirror week for some of its animals, exposing them to their own reflections. The experience will stimulate the creatures, and also provide insight for the keepers, who are closely monitoring how each animal responds to learn about differences within and between species. Zoos (at least the good […]

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, is not a fan of the age-old advice of “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” According to the tech billionaire, “that is a total crock.” Cook dished out his career wisdom while delivering the keynote speech (video below) at the Tulane […]

After Monday’s scrubbed launch, NASA is ready to try again. Artemis I will now leave Earth in a new launch window which will open on Saturday, September 3 at 2:17 p.m. EDT. The window will be open for two hours. Everything going well, this will be the first flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and the […]

The Olympics, the World Championships, even the Super Bowl – there’s nothing quite as inspiring as watching the world’s most fantastic and accomplished sportspeople flex their muscles on the field. But when you actually try to put that motivation to use and get down to the gym to re-enact the feats of legends like Usain […]

Slime is everywhere. It shapes the consistency of your bodily fluids, from the saliva in your mouth to the goo that covers your organs. It protects you against pathogens, including coronavirus, while creating a home in your mouth for billions of friendly bacteria. It helps slugs have Spiderman sex hanging from walls, hagfish turn water […]

Lucas, a four-year-old African penguin, has been given a new lease of life thanks to brand-spanking new orthopedic shoes. Designed by Thera-Paw, a company that specializes in rehabilitative products for animals, the boots allow Lucas to strut his stuff in comfort – and, of course, style – around his San Diego Zoo enclosure. We’re sure […]

Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is doing her bit for sci-comm on the International Space Station (ISS), answering questions that come her way on TikTok and Twitter. Her most recent question is something many people may be curious about but perhaps a smidgeon embarrassed to ask: “How do you handle menstruation in space?” Before breaking down the […]

When galaxies collide, they usually end up producing a great number of new stars as their gas reservoir gets compressed by the gravitational forces between the merging bodies. But it turns out that sometimes the opposite can be the case. Astronomers report the discovery of a pair of merging galaxies that have spelled their own […]

A monkey whose species was only formally identified four years ago has joined the 25 most endangered primates in the world, according to a new “Primates In Peril 2022 – 2023” report. It names the Mato Grosso titi monkey (also known as the Groves’ titi monkey) as one of four species from Brazil to join […]

Scientists have used DNA from bones found in Norwich to not only reconstruct who they came from and how they probably came to be there, but to change the thinking on an important event for understanding human genetics. Ironically, the researchers were only able to get the results they did because when they started, they […]