Deborah Bloomfield

In 2012, TV producers bought a Boeing 727 with the intention of smashing it into the ground. The collaboration between the UK, the US, and Germany televised the results of the experiment, which would attempt to answer the question: where should I sit on an aircraft if I want to survive a crash? The plane […]

The world is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to fixing the planet’s climate concerns, according to a new multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). While world powers have been continuously ramping up their pledges to go net-zero, the latest reports highlight a vast gulf between their aspirations and reality.  […]

It’s no secret that orca are trained assassins (they’re known as “killer whales” for a reason), but a sequence from the newly released Frozen Planet II serves as a harrowing reminder of just how skilled they are. In it, a synchronized pod can be seen targeting a seal who evidently thought they were safe snoozing […]

Look, a lot of the traditions that go on in Britain are a bit weird. Every year at the opening of Parliament, a hostage is taken by the monarchy until the ceremony is complete. A search is then carried out for gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament, in case Guy Fawkes has pulled off some […]

The myth of a flood being sent by an angry god to punish humanity (by pretty much drowning all of them) appears in a surprising number of cultures, from the Gun-Yu of ancient China to the Babylonian myth that may have inspired the Bible.  Though possibly based on memories of ancient floods, the tales are […]

Whether you love or loathe the UK monarchy, it should bring a glimmer of reassurance that the newly appointed King is an outspoken environmentalist who’s continually pushed for sustainability and climate action over the past five decades. It’s debatable whether this passion will actually result in hard policy change. After all, the UK monarchy holds […]

NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, recently took its first flight after a two-month hiatus due to dust, freezing temperatures, and low power as Jezero Crater experienced winter. Although just a short hop, it marked Ingenuity’s 31st flight on Mars, and new colored images taken by the Marscopter make you feel like you are flying along with […]

A new material discovered on the Moon has prompted China to announce plans to launch three uncrewed missions in the next 10 years in a bid to rival the US’ lunar presence, according to reports by Chinese state media. The material has the potential to be a future energy source, owing to its helium-3 content […]

An underwater waterfall might sound like a new breed of disaster movie, but such a sight can be found in modern-day Mauritius. The unique formation is made possible by the fact that this East African country sits atop a submarine plateau known as the Mascarene Plateau. Unlike continents whose land mass gradually sinks into the […]

For the first time ever, wild cetaceans have tested positive for avian flu, also known as bird flu. The contagious disease typically infects wild aquatic birds and domestic poultry, but a recent and particularly virulent strain has been popping up in a wide range of species, including a dolphin in Florida and a porpoise in […]

Supernova SN 1054 must have been truly a spectacle. It was visible in the sky for almost two years, including during the day, at first. It’s one of only eight known supernovae in the Milky Way where written testimony has been discovered in the historical record, and now scientists believe they have found a reference […]

Fasting diets have long been used in people with epilepsy and have been associated with a reduction in seizures, however, the molecular mechanism behind this approach has always eluded scientists. Until now. Scientists at Boston Children’s Hospital have gained new insights that explain how fasting influences neurons in the brain, which in turn reduces seizures. […]

New Shepherd’s mission launch today did not go according to plan when it aborted after a “mid-flight anomaly”  but you couldn’t ask for a better test of a launch abort system.  As the rocket was around 8.5 kilometers (27,800 feet) above ground, the uncrewed capsule carrying a science and research payload activated its abort engine […]

Between 1901 and 2020, the global temperature rose by 1°C (1.8°F), and 2021 was the sixth-warmest year on record for the globe. Unfortunately, planet Earth has felt the effects of this, from unprecedented droughts and sea levels rising to glaciers shrinking and changes in water resources.  To combat this, many industries can work towards limiting […]

When the Queen or King of England dies, it sets in motion a series of events. The Prime Minister is told with a phone call that “London Bridge has fallen” – code to let them know the monarch has died – before 10 days of official mourning take place, packed full of ceremony and process. […]

The US Navy has said it won’t be releasing any more videos of UFO sightings due to “national security” concerns. While the US has made steps to become more transparent towards unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) sightings, it looks like they’ve still got some secrets to hold on to.  Back in 2020, the US Department of […]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, the real quote by Henrik Ibsen is “a thousand words leave not the same impression as does a single deed”. Same difference really, just the more modern one is easier for us to understand, especially today. With social media taking center stage in all of […]

If you’ve heard the term “machine learning”, but aren’t quite sure what it means, then you’ve come to the right place. Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence that allows software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes without being specifically programmed to do so. Basically, machine learning (MI) and artificial intelligence (AI) […]

Playing video games could have a positive influence on a person’s capacity to make decisions, as well as increase activity in certain regions of the brain. That’s according to a recent study that conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans on game players completing tasks and found notable differences compared to the brains of people […]

Scientists from the University of Tel Aviv have identified and isolated two new antibodies that appeared to have great efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The team found that the two had a combined neutralization efficacy against all strains – including the currently dominant one – of up to 95 percent. Antibodies have […]