A new study into the mighty Megalodon has found intriguing evidence to answer some of the biggest questions about these animals. What was their body size and shape? How did they give birth? And why did they go extinct? All will be revealed… ADVERTISEMENT Megalodon pose a curious challenge to scientists because despite being one […]
The Best Way To Shuffle A Deck Of Cards, According To Math
Card shuffling, assuming a standard deck of 52 cards, is just about one of the most randomizing things you can do, in theory. There are famously so many different possible permutations that it would take more seconds than have elapsed since the Big Bang to deal them all, even if you enlisted the help of […]
Why Is Endometriosis The “Missed Disease”?
There’s a disease that affects millions of people across the world that can cause them debilitating pain, prevent them from getting pregnant, and affect their mental health, and yet we don’t know what causes it, there’s no cure, and many people wait years to be diagnosed. The condition in question? Endometriosis, or as some have […]
Why Do We Get Goosebumps? This “Vestigial Reflex” Holds Untapped Potential
If someone were to run an ice cube across the back of your neck, chances are you’d get a piloerection. Fear not, nobody’s about to shame you. After all, goosebumps happen to everybody. ADVERTISEMENT Thing is, why? After all, it’s hard to imagine a benefit to naked skin going all bobbly like that. The trick […]
Check Digits Are A Little Piece Of Number Theory You Use Every Day
Had you asked G H Hardy – the Cambridge scholar responsible for myriad seminal mathematical results and developments of the early 20th century – what his favorite area of math was, he’d answer without hesitation: number theory. ADVERTISEMENT It is, he wrote in A Mathematician’s Apology, “one of the most obviously useless branches” of math, […]
What’s The Strongest Knot, And How Do We Know?
In 333 BCE, legend says, Alexander the Great entered the city of Gordion, in Phrygia, now Turkey. The once mighty power had by that point been reduced to a mere province of the Persian Empire, and all it had left of its proud history was an old wagon, tied to a post in the town […]
Colossal’s “Woolly Mouse” Advances 2028 Mammoth De-Extinction Goal, Antarctica’s Ozone Hole Is Recovering, And Much More This Week
This week, in a world first, 3D-printed tissue has restored penis capabilities in pigs and rabbits, we ask why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack on science, and humans may have been producing tools made from bones for more than 1 million years longer than we previously thought. Finally, we […]
Influential Women In Medicine
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Long COVID Patients Get Sense Of Smell Back After Surgical Breakthrough
A small group of long COVID patients have successfully had their sense of smell restored, after taking part in a trial where they received surgery that’s typically used to help people breathe more easily. ADVERTISEMENT The surgery, known as functional septorhinoplasty (fSRP), is frequently used to correct problems like a deviated septum and other nasal […]
Woolly Mice, 3D-Printed Penises, And The World’s Worst Sting
This week on Break It Down: Colossal Biosciences creates the “woolly mouse” in their mission to de-extinct the mammoth, scientists 3D-print functional penises (and have the babies to prove their efficacy), that gaping hole in the ozone layer really is repairing, IFLScience asks why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack […]
Watch Cuttlefish Coming In For The Kill One Magnificent Display At A Time
Trying to catch a meal in the animal world can generate a whole host of challenges. You must first find the prey, and then catch it without botching the attempt and losing your dinner. In the cuttlefish world, researchers have identified four impressive camouflage techniques that these mollusks use to help them pursue prey and […]
Light Quasiparticles Have Been Turned Into A Supersolid For The First Time
In condensed matter physics, things can get pretty weird. When temperatures get close to absolute zero, it is possible to put matter in a state called supersolid, a crystal that can flow without losing energy. Under the right conditions, it is also possible to couple light with excited states of matter, creating quasiparticles – interactions […]
Death Of Neanderthal-Like Human Child Linked To “Taboo” Site’s Abandonment
A group of ancient humans with shades of Neanderthal in their physical appearance may have forsaken their home of 300 years following the death of a young member of their clan. As researchers piece together the events surrounding this prehistoric tragedy, it’s beginning to look as though a social taboo may have kept people away […]
Spite May Drive Both Science Denial And Belief In Conspiracy Theories
In recent years, the internet and social media have become awash with various conspiracy theories, especially during times of crisis. In an effort to understand what drives the belief in such bogus narratives, two psychologists have pinpointed the role spite plays in how people engage with misinformation and hold onto conspiracy theories. ADVERTISEMENT Conspiracy theories […]
Never-Before-Seen Golden Cave Fish Discovered In China Still Evolving To Live Underground
Scientists have struck gold while searching for fish in a Chinese cave, having discovered a brand-new species that’s not only got a gilded exterior, but also appears to still be evolving. ADVERTISEMENT The fish, which was identified during surveys carried out in southwestern Guizhou Province, has been named the Xingren golden-lined fish (Sinocyclocheilus xingrenensis), after […]
“Sister” Monument Of Stonehenge Is Centuries Older Than Previously Thought
Stonehenge may be the most famous example of the “huge stones arranged in a circle” genre, but it’s a reputation that arguably isn’t deserved. After all, it’s far from the largest henge in Europe, or even the British Isles – and as a new analysis and redating of an ancient circle in Dorset, England, has […]
Reports Of The Loch Ness Monster Can Tell Us A Lot, But Not About What You May Expect
This is a fun one: Researchers have used a database of Loch Ness Monster reports to show how anecdotal evidence can, contrary to the common view among scientists, be mined for usable data. In essence, the statistical analysis of anecdotes about the affectionately named Nessie may not tell us much about the mythical beast itself, […]
Don’t Have Surgery On A Friday – You’re More Likely To Die, Study Shows
Having surgery soon? You may want to reschedule if it’s on a Friday – according to a new study, ending the week on the operating table is associated with a significantly increased risk of complications and death compared to other days. ADVERTISEMENT “Among adults undergoing surgical procedures, the odds of adverse postoperative outcomes, including death, […]
Space X’s Starship Explodes Again, Raining Fiery Debris Over The Caribbean
Well, here we are again, folks. The eighth test flight for SpaceX’s Starship ended in a spectacular explosion yesterday evening (March 6), less than two months after the last test flight for the largest rocket ever created met a similarly fiery fate. ADVERTISEMENT Everything started well; the rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase site in […]
What Is The Foehn Effect? The Weird Weather Phenomenon Behind Wildly Different Conditions
Ever wondered why sometimes, it’s horrible weather where you are, and yet at your friend’s house just a few miles away, there’s blissful sunshine? Well, if you happen to live near high ground, it might be down to something called the foehn (or föhn) effect. ADVERTISEMENT The foehn effect is a weather phenomenon in which […]
