SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 1 at 9:41 am local time. This is the first time since June 2019 that the rocket has taken to the sky. And it did so for a secret mission on behalf of the US Space System Command, part of the […]
New Species of Scops-Owl Discovered On Príncipe Island
If you go down to the forests of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, you might just be lucky enough to hear the distinct short “tuu” note of the islands’ newest species. The Principe Scops-Owl, or Otus bikegila, has just been formally described, though local people have suggested its presence since as far […]
NASCAR Driver Beats Other Racers Using Insane Physics Trick He Saw In A Videogame
A NASCAR driver used a desperate, last-minute physics trick in order to beat several other cars to the finish line. The risky move saw Ross Chastain move up five places by – and we can’t stress enough that we are not messing with you here – driving the car along the wall like he was […]
Rhino Horns Are Shrinking And Poaching Is Probably To Blame
Even when humans don’t drive animals to extinction, our footprint on this planet is so deep we often change the species around us. The latest example is the rhinoceros. Several species and subspecies teeter on the brink of annihilation. Others are doing better, but they’re less well-endowed in the horn department than their ancestors, possibly […]
Alan Turing Buried His Life Savings Behind A Cipher So Hard, He Never Found It
Alan Turing was one of the greatest minds to have ever lived, and is widely regarded as the father of modern computing. Known for being part of the team that cracked the Enigma code using an early computer, as well as extensive computational work that was way ahead of his time, Turing was at the […]
Neanderthal, Denisovan And Australasian DNA Found In Ancient South Americans
The earliest humans to inhabit South America harbored genetic material from several extinct Eurasian hominid species, new research has revealed. In addition to carrying Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA, these ancient migrants also possessed genes from as far away as Australia and Papua New Guinea, all of which raises a number of intriguing questions about early […]
Cats At Crime Scenes Could Provide Vital Overlooked Clues
Should “pet detectives” be a real thing and not just a film that has aged particularly badly? That’s the question Flinders University researchers are exploring by trying to get human DNA off cats. Ultimately, the work may provide forensics teams with an additional route to capturing criminals when all other efforts to place a suspect […]
Old Video Of Young Musk Shows How He Made His Early Millions
With Elon Musk continuing to make headlines, as ever, an old clip from a 1999 documentary has resurfaced showing the multi-billionaire when he was a mere millionaire. The segment opens with Musk and then-fiancé Justine Wilson awaiting the arrival of his new car, a million-dollar McLaren F1, which he’d just bought with money earned from […]
Nikola Tesla Had A Bunch Of Interesting Thoughts On Vegetarianism
Nikola Tesla is often hailed as one of the brightest minds of the past two centuries, best known for his visionary engineering ideas and the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system. Like many aspects of his eccentric life, it’s apparent the prophetic inventor was obsessive about his diet. Through much of his […]
The Mystery Of The Giant “Viking” Runestone Found In Landlocked Oklahoma
In Le Flore County near Heavner, landlocked Oklahoma, there is a large piece of sandstone covered with runic markings that some believe date back to 600-800 CE, and were left there by Vikings. In the 1920s, a local to Heavner, Gloria Farley of the Smithsonian, was made aware of the giant sandstone. From then on […]
Man Hospitalized After Eating A Live Crab In Revenge For His Daughter
A man from the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang in China showed up to hospital with severe abdominal and back pain, and a small medical mystery in tow. It was soon solved when his wife remembered that he had eaten a live crab in order to avenge his daughter. Lu, 39, was found to have […]
Is The Galaxy Partying Without Us? Astronomers Have An Irritating New Solution To The Fermi Paradox
A new study has a solution to the Fermi paradox, but (as usual) you probably aren’t going to like it. If you haven’t heard of the Fermi Paradox, here it is in a nutshell: Given the high probability that alien life exists out there (bearing in mind the vastness of space and that we keep […]
Freezing IVF Sperm For Centuries Could Be Perfectly Possible, Experts Say
When Mick Jagger’s youngest child, Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger (seriously), was born in 2016, the aging rocker was already a septuagenarian. That’s notable, because – and bear with us, we know this is controversial – having babies in your 70s is weird. We’re not making a moral judgment here: at more than six standard deviations […]
Recreational Drugs Including Cannabis Increase Risk Of Irregular Heartbeat
Cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine, and opiate use are associated with a significant increase in atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat), according to a new observational study by the American Heart Association. The research suggests the substances could increase the risk of long-term heart conditions. “To my knowledge, this is the first study to look at marijuana use […]
Face Of A 19th-Century Man Suspected Of Being A Vampire Reconstructed
The face of a man suspected of being a vampire in the 19th century has been digitally reconstructed. Furthermore, the work may have pinned down the identity of this mysterious man using DNA submitted to genealogy websites. Parabon NanoLabs and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory worked together to produce the reconstruction, which was revealed […]
Look At This Newly Discovered Bee Species With A Big Fat Nose
An unusual looking species of bee has been discovered in bushland in Perth, Western Australia, with a wide dog-like snout. Given its canine protrusion, the species has been named Leioproctus zephyr, after study author Dr Kit Prendergast of Curtin University’s own pet dog Zephyr. The new discovery belongs to the highly diverse genus Leioproctus, which […]
Whales Gulp Down 10 Million Microplastic Particles Every Day
Whales swimming off the coast of California gulp down up to 10 million pieces of microplastic every single day, according to a new study. Clearly, plastic is not part of a well-balanced diet for a whale and the researchers arre concerned that this literal junk food is taking its toll on their health. The study […]
COVID-19 Activates Same Brain Inflammation As In Parkinson’s Disease
Alarming new research from the University of Queensland has found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, activates the same inflammatory processes in the brain as those observed in dementia-related diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The findings might serve as a potential risk indicator for neurodegenerative disorders in people who have had COVID-19 but could […]
Fact Check: Does Drinking Coffee In Pregnancy Make Your Baby Shorter?
Having a baby is a big undertaking, and as such, it comes with a whole set of responsibilities and sacrifices. That in itself may not be surprising news – but what you might not have realized is that many of them actually begin well before your tiny half-clone ever sees the light of day. From […]
Exclusive: Earth’s First Alien Signal Explored In New BBC Documentary
In the decades that humanity has actively looked for life beyond our planet, many have wondered how the initial contact between us and another intelligent civilization might take place. A new feature-length BBC drama-documentary, First Contact: An Alien Encounter, goes right to the heart of the matter, mixing interviews with world-leading experts and clever fictional […]
