Sir Isaac Newton, discoverer of gravity and co-inventor of calculus, was born on Christmas day of 1642, but only if you count the time using the now-abandoned Julian calendar. In the Gregorian calendar that we use today (and was used by the catholic regions of Europe at the time), the correct date is actually January […]
Stone Age Tools In Brazil May Actually Have Been Made By Monkeys
The debate over exactly when humans first arrived in the Americas might have been hijacked by some rather handy capuchin monkeys, according to a new analysis of Stone Age tools in Brazil. After examining the Pleistocene era artifacts, the study authors concluded that they were probably fashioned by the fuzzy little primates, casting major doubt […]
Life Could Be Found On Enceladus Without Actually Landing On It
The Cassini mission has shown that Enceladus ticks several boxes when it comes to suitability for life. Under its thick icy exterior, the moon has a deep water ocean where hydrothermal vents are active. There’s plenty of water and energy in abundance. This might not be enough to sustain life, but researchers now propose a […]
Travelers Through Wormholes Might Get Time For One Last Message
If you ever get the chance to travel unimaginable distances across the universe by falling through a wormhole you’ll probably never see your friends and family again. At least, however, you may have a chance to tell them you love them before you go. Who says the universe is a cold and uncaring place? This […]
What Is Commotio Cordis? Experts Speculate Cause Of NFL Star Damar Hamlin’s Cardiac Arrest
Monday night’s football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals was the first NFL game to be suspended mid-game in recent memory after Damar Hamlin collapsed after colliding with an opponent. Hamlin was struck in the chest by another player and briefly fell to the ground. Upon getting up, he stood motionless for […]
Discovery Of A “Bird” With A Head Like T. Rex Puzzles Scientists
A bizarre fossil of a bird-like creature with the skull morphology of a dinosaur has presented a curious puzzle to palaeontologists. While it’s widely accepted that birds descended from dinosaurs, it’s less common to find entire body parts that seem evolutionarily disparate from one another, but then fossils like this one turn up. The specimen […]
Going Faster Than The Speed Of Light Changes How One Sees The Universe
According to special relativity, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light – an object with mass would require more and more energy to accelerate closer and closer to the speed of light without actually reaching it. However, theoretical approaches can extend relativity to include particles and observers moving faster than the speed of […]
Tobacco Companies To Pay For Cigarette Butt Pollution Clean-Up In Spain
Spain has unveiled a new package of rules to tackle the problem of plastic pollution. In line with the regulations, the government will reportedly force tobacco companies to foot the bill for cleaning up cigarette butts, a prolific yet underappreciated source of environmental pollution. The Spanish Government approved the Royal Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste […]
Ever Wondered What Happens In An Autopsy Room? A Forensic Pathologist Reveals All
Forensic Pathology is an incredibly fascinating field, and IFLScience wanted to delve into the profession a bit more and soothe the furious questions that have always bothered our brains. Who else should we ask than Dr Judy Melinek? Dr Melinek has a long and extensive career in forensics and is a forensic pathologist in New […]
Same You, New Software — Save On This Mac Bundle With Microsoft Office During Limited Time Price Drop
So, you saw this deal during Cyber Monday, and you waited, and ever since you’ve been kicking yourself. Well, we’ve got some pretty spectacular news. It’s a good thing you waited because it is back, AND the savings is even greater than before. As a part of our Same You Sale, we are celebrating people […]
XBB: The New COVID-19 Variant Dominating In The US
As COVID cases surge in China and other countries worldwide, yet another new variant is on the rise: XBB. A subvariant of Omicron, XBB emerged in India back in August and has since spread across the globe. A large number of US COVID-19 cases are now caused by XBB and its cousin XBB.1.5. But what […]
The First Person To See Sperm Wished He Could Unsee It
A deep dive from Salon recently explored the curious tale of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch amateur scientist who discovered sperm only to wish he could unsee it. You might think it odd that a person be the first to view one of the most pivotal cells in the creation of life only to ask […]
Rats Do Little Happy Jumps When Watching Another Rat Get Tickled
Rats love watching other rats get tickled, so much so that they start doing happy little jumps, according to a new study. When “observer” rats watch other “demonstrator” rats getting tickled, the observers do something called Freudensprünge (“joy jumps”), and regions of the brain light up when listening to the sounds the tickled rats are […]
Rare Quasicrystal Found Unexpectedly In Nebraska Sand Dune
A new type of quasicrystal, one with 12-fold symmetry, has been discovered in a very unexpected place, leading geologists and mathematicians to wonder where else structures like this might have been overlooked. Quasicrystals (or quasiperiodic crystals) are structures of atoms that lack translational symmetry but are symmetric in other ways outside the rotational symmetries of […]
UK Town Cancels New Year Fireworks For Walrus Only For It To Masturbate And Leave
A walrus on the shore of Scarborough, UK, in December brought visitors from far and wide to view the magnificent marine mammal that was a long way from home. However, late-night visitors to Thor, as the walrus has been nicknamed, got ring-side seats to an unexpected pinniped peep show as it took the opportunity to […]
Where Is The Garden Of Eden? And Where Would It Be Located Today?
The Garden of Eden is the biblical place that’s deeply ingrained in the imagination of Christianity and Judaism, but was it based on a real location? And if so, where? First things first: we’re approaching this question from a rational standpoint. It’s clear that the Garden of Eden is steeped in symbolism and there are […]
Do We Really Need 10,000 Steps Per Day To Be Healthy?
It’s the new year once again, which means two things: first regret, and then resolutions. And since the most common new year’s resolutions are losing weight and getting fit, this might be the time you finally dust off that pedometer you got all those years ago and decide fine, you’ll start getting 10,000 steps in […]
Woman In India Seeks Help After Developing Large “Horns” On Her Head
Doctors have been left searching for an answer after a woman in India has developed extremely painful “horns” on the top of her head. The 60-year-old woman developed this condition around three years ago and is now awaiting a senior doctor consultation, though doctors have warned that the condition may be “beyond their understanding”, according […]
AI Imagines Tourist Hotspots Based On One-Star Reviews With Hilarious Results
Some folks just can’t be pleased. If you wish to take a look at the deep cynicism found in many smartphone-wielding humans of the 21st century, look no further than the one-star reviews of the world’s favorite tourist hotspots. Here, you’ll find an assortment of poor souls whose reflex reaction to seeing a natural or […]
Human Composting Now An Approved Funerary Practice In New York
Human composting is catching on as New York joins other US states in approving an eco-friendly funerary practice as a legitimate way to dispose of the dead. The approach takes a corpse and gives it a “natural organic reduction” treatment that sees the soft tissues decompose into a compost-like substance. The treatment’s recipe includes a […]
