In 1819, the city of Padua, Italy, bore witness to a cursed phenomenon: polenta ran blood-red. It wasn’t the work of prophets turning water to wine, however, but an outbreak of bacteria Venetian pharmacist Bartolomeo Bizio named Serratia marcescens. ADVERTISEMENT Why am I telling you this? Because if you’ve got pink goo in your bathroom, […]
Oldest Human Skulls Outside Africa Might Not Be Homo Erectus After All
It’s been almost 2 million years since the first archaic humans ventured out of their African homeland. Exactly whose idea it was to set off on this world tour is difficult to say, yet Homo erectus is generally seen as the most likely candidate – although a new study may be about to challenge that […]
Nasal Spray Shows Potential To Treat Traumatic Brain Injury
Could football players with a concussion one day be treated with a quick spray up their nose? That could be a possibility one day after a new study found that a monoclonal antibody-based nasal spray helped to promote recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice. ADVERTISEMENT TBI occurs when the brain is damaged by […]
Smart Is Sexy: More Intelligent Mosquitofish Males Sire More Offspring
Higher intelligence is not only a way to increase survival rates, it could also improve reproductive success, at least among male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). The finding doesn’t prove the popular hypothesis that human intelligence is a product of needing to impress mates, but it does show something analogous may have occurred on a vastly smaller […]
Can We Really Trust Our Memories? Find Out More In Issue 32 Of CURIOUS – Out Now
Issue 32 (March 2025) of CURIOUS is out now, bringing you science highlights for the month plus deep dives into intriguing topics, interviews, exclusives, diary dates, and explanations for some of Earth’s most perplexing natural phenomena and landscapes. Read Issue 32 of our digital magazine now by clicking below! Use the arrows to navigate or […]
Life-Extending Drug For Senior Dogs Reaches Key FDA Approval Milestone
Watching dogs grow and get older is a bittersweet experience, but what if there was a way we could give our canine companions longer, healthier lives? Well, that reality just came one step closer, with an announcement from biotech company Loyal that its lifespan-extending drug for senior dogs has reached a key milestone towards Food […]
New Godzilla-Like Battery Runs On Radioactive Waste
Researchers have developed a battery that effectively runs on nuclear waste, an idea reminiscent of Godzilla, the colossal monster that thrives on radiation. ADVERTISEMENT Nuclear energy is a contentious topic. On the one hand, it accounts for about 20 percent of the US’s electricity production and contributes very little to the country’s carbon emissions. On […]
Is A Messy Desk A Sign Of Genius?
Well, research suggests having a messy desk has its benefits – but so does a tidy one. While a Mary-Quando style approach to your working environment may indicate higher levels of generosity and conscientiousness, taking a more relaxed attitude to tidiness may result in higher levels of creativity and innovative thinking. At least, that was […]
How Plants Are Able To Remember Stress Without A Brain
It may sound strange but plants can remember stress. Scientists are still learning about how plants do this without a brain. But with climate change threatening crops around the world, understanding plant stress memory could help food crops become more resilient. ADVERTISEMENT Since their colonisation of the land 500 million years ago, plants have evolved […]
What Is Stone Man Disease?
Stone man disease is a very rare and very debilitating condition thought to affect approximately one in a million people in the US. As the name suggests, the disease causes the body’s soft tissue to harden, essentially trapping patients in a second skeleton. What Is Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva? ADVERTISEMENT Also referred to as Münchmeyer disease […]
Which Cancers Have The Highest Mortality Rates?
Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, accounting for 9.7 million deaths in 2022. According to the National Cancer Institute, the disease will affect four in ten Americans over the course of their lifetimes. However, survival rates vary significantly depending on the type of cancer as well as a patient’s gender, race and geography. […]
What Is A B-Type Star And Why Are They So Important To Astronomers?
We don’t get our sunlight from a B-type star, and they’re far from the most common type, yet when it comes to influencing the development of the universe, their role is crucial. They’re also particularly important to astronomers wishing to understand the structure of the galaxy and beyond. How we categorize stars ADVERTISEMENT Astronomers trying […]
Dilophosoaurus: What Science Can Tell Us About The Real Dinosaur Vs. Jurassic Park
In 1993, Stephen Spielberg shaped many minds (with the help of some creative special effects artists) when his film Jurassic Park brought dinosaurs to life like never before. There were many memorable moments: the torch in the eye, the shivering water in the giant footprint, a lawyer getting eaten on the toilet, but there perhaps […]
Scientists “Hypnotize” Sharks To Harvest Semen And Successfully Inseminate Females
Scientists are “hypnotizing” sharks so they can collect their semen. Yes, you read that right, and although you might think there is something fishy about this, it’s an important step in their conservation, allowing the scientists to perform the first artificial insemination of a shark in Australia. So, a “happy ending” all round. ADVERTISEMENT The […]
The Eruption Of Vesuvius Turned A Guy’s Brain Into Glass, US Sees First Measles Death Since 2015, And Much More This Week
This week, new research has found that rats are surprisingly good sommeliers and can distinguish between different types of wines, you can watch as two AIs realise they’re not talking to humans and instead switch to their own language, and we ask if anything had feathers before the dinosaurs. Finally, we discuss how NASA could […]
How Long Does It Take To Travel To The Moon?
It’s 56 years since humans first walked on the Moon and 66 years since the first uncrewed mission to the rocky satellite, yet bizarrely, it actually takes longer to get there using modern methods than it did during the Apollo era. This is because spaceflight engineers have found new and ingenious ways to travel through […]
Gorgeous Aurorae Wrapping Around The Earth Photographed From The ISS
The northern and southern lights are beautiful electromagnetic phenomena. Electrically charged particles from the Sun slam into the atmosphere, exciting the gas there, producing waving curtains of light. As the Sun is around the peak of activity in its 11-year-long cycle, there is a lot more space weather, with more active aurorae. ADVERTISEMENT The astronauts […]
How Dangerous Is It To Take Expired Medications?
Imagine you’ve woken up with an absolute stinker of a cold. You’ve got a stuffy nose, thumping headache, all your limbs hurt – but the only medication in the house is a pack of cold and flu pills that are way, way, out of date. Should you take them? Or will that do more harm […]
87 Billion Liters Of Water To Be Released From Utah Lake – Why?
Officials from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District have begun sending around 87 billion liters of water from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake in an ongoing managed release. The plan will send around 1 billion liters of water each day along the Jordan River as part of an effort to keep water levels […]
Great Wall Of China Could Be Significantly Older Than Previously Realized
The Great Wall of China may be even older than we once thought. Newly discovered ruins in Shandong province – home to some of its oldest sections – suggest that parts of the grand structure were built 300 years earlier than previously believed. ADVERTISEMENT The breakthrough emerged from recent excavations near Guangli Village, not far […]
