Deborah Bloomfield

A shortlist of spectacular photos submitted to the Royal Meteorological Society’s Weather Photographer of the Year 2022 has been released for public vote. Containing fascinating weather phenomena like Etruscan sunsets, double rainbows, and superior mirages, the selection, chosen by both photography and meteorological experts, will be tough to judge. So, let’s take a look at […]

Fear of death is one of the major downsides to being alive, although new research indicates that psychedelic drugs may provide a sneak preview of the big finale and help us overcome our death anxiety. Appearing in the journal PLOS ONE, the new study compares death-like psychedelic trips to actual near-death experiences (NDEs), finding that […]

An international team of astronomers has announced the discovery of a very interesting exoplanet. The world is called TOI-1452 b and is orbiting a small star in a nearby binary system just 100 light-years from Earth. The planet appears to be slightly larger and heavier than Earth but its surface is believed to be covered […]

An article that claims images from the JWST have “disproven” the Big Bang theory has been circulating the Internet over the last few days, with just one small problem: that is pure nonsense. JWST can see further back into the early days of the universe than any telescope before it. However, the article – titled […]

As the Elon Musk vs Twitter drama continues to unfold, Musk has now subpoenaed Twitter whistleblower and former head of security Peiter Zatko, ordering him to attend court amid allegations of the platform lying to government regulators and failing to investigate its alleged bot problem.  The subpoena comes after Zatko submitted a complaint to Twitter […]

The sequencing of Neanderthal DNA has revealed modern humanity’s partial descent from what was once thought to be a separate branch of the human family tree. Yet working out where and when these encounters happened has proven harder. Indeed, it’s hard to make sense of the evidence we have. By looking at the facial features […]

On this day, August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) made a decision that was going to change the Solar System forever. Members of the IAU voted on a long-drawn proposal that defined exactly what astronomers mean by the term “planet”. And thus Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet and our Solar Systen […]

NASA’s Ingenuity, the little helicopter that could, just keeps on going. Despite facing the unforgiving winter’s freezing temperatures and dust storms (and the original plan to fly just five times), the helicopter has now reached the 30th flight milestone. Although it was nothing more than a short hop, it helped shake some dust off its […]

A new AI that is designed to predict crime before it happens has now been tested in multiple US cities, accurately predicting the events around 80-90 percent of the time. The AI is supposedly designed for policy optimization and resource allocation to the areas of a city that need it most, but concerns are rife […]

Doctors have reported the case of a man whose fingers turned blue, following a history of heavy cannabis use. His condition, cannabis arteritis, is a very rare but sometimes serious side-effect of heavy consumption of the drug. The 49-year-old man, described as “otherwise healthy” in a case report published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, […]

Dugongs are now functionally extinct in China according to research led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), following no sightings of the ocean’s beloved “sea cow” grazers since 2008. Vulnerable to fishing, ship-strike, and habitat loss in the region, these gentle giants reportedly began losing the battle against these threats rapidly after the 1970s […]

China is currently grappling with the harshest heatwave and worst drought ever recorded, resulting in dried-up lakes, power cuts, wildfires, and looming agriculture problems. The heatwave s potentially one of the longest ever seen anywhere in the world, while the scale and intensity of the baking hot water are also breaking national records.  As of […]

With less than a week to go, Artemis I is officially go for launch. NASA’s new Moon program begins in earnest on Monday, August 29 when the massive Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion Spacecraft take to the skies in their first-ever flight. NASA has confirmed the launch window, so here’s how you can […]

Two astrophotographers have combined their talents to take the “most ridiculously detailed” photo of the Moon, and gosh is our natural satellite pretty. Andrew McCarthy and Connor Matherne combined their considerable talents to create a composite image that took 250,000 shots and many months to put together for one final incredible image. “Connor was responsible for […]

When you’re a little kid, five minutes can feel like an hour – especially when you’re stuck in a car seat. That’s why, as any parent can tell you, there’s a limit on how long a car journey with a toddler can be before the whole thing erupts into a screaming match about the feasibility […]

Businesses have cherished their PDF files for more than a few years now, and more people are turning to PDFs to transport files on a daily basis. PDF files are a great way to securely distribute private information over the internet. They are portable and can be read anywhere on any device, users can merge […]

In 1948, what looked like giant three-toed animal tracks appeared, imprinted in the sands of Clearwater Beach, Florida. The prints – about 35 centimeters (14 inches) long and 28 centimeters (11 inches) wide – appeared to emerge from the sea, taking 1.2-1.8 meter (4-6 foot) strides along the beach for a few miles, before whatever […]

It’s no secret that exercise is good for us. It can help with our mental health, our physical health, and our brain health – in short, it helps us not die. There’s just one drawback: it’s haaard. Look, some people love getting out of breath and sore while they burn the calories, and that’s fine. […]

In the last 200 years, Australian mammals have died out like nowhere else on Earth – 31 known species gone and dozens more on the brink. However, scientists have described a novel idea to reduce the carnage: arm currently defenseless animals with poison pellets to destroy their carnivorous foes, as reported in ACS Polymer Materials. Whether […]