The size of the Antarctic ice sheet can be hard to comprehend. Two kilometres thick on average and covering nearly twice the area of Australia, the ice sheet holds enough freshwater to raise global sea levels by 58 metres. Ice loss from this sheet is projected to be the leading driver of sea level rise […]
A Meteorite Was Captured Hitting The Ground On Video And Audio, Celtic Women Ruled Iron Age Britain, And Much More This Week
This week, the bodies of 1,200-year-old mummies uncovered in Peru have been found to have ultrafine line tattoos, China reveals plans to build a giant solar power station in Earth’s orbit, and mid-gestation marsupial embryo development in an artificial uterus has been achieved in an effort to de-extinct the thylacine. Finally, in a guide to […]
During The “Boring Billion”, Earth Was Weirdly Mountainless – Then It All Changed
One billion years ago, Earth was boring as hell. Animals were yet to evolve and most life was small, simple, and slimy. Even if you were to go sightseeing during this period, you’d be grossly disappointed by the view; the planet was weirdly flat with no towering mountains, but plenty of featureless oceans covered in […]
People Are Just Learning That For Billions Of Years, There Was No Fire On Earth
Earth is the only planet we know of that has ever had a fire. While there may be volcanoes pushing out hot magma on the surface of Venus, the hottest planet in the Solar System, there has never been a fire there. Nor on Mercury, nor Jupiter, nor any of the other planets surrounding our […]
Can Time Only Go Forward? Solution To Complex Light Problem Suggests “Yes”
Light is something in our world that we are very familiar with, and yet it can still throw some incredible curveballs when you look at it in detail. One such curveball comes from a pretty well-established phenomenon: what happens when light passes through an interface? That could be glass, water, or something completely different. The […]
Bad News For Interstellar Travel: Light-Speed Spaceships Would Have Trouble Keeping In Touch
Communication is key. That’s true on Earth and it’s true in space. But in space, you need to contend with a crucial fact of life. The speed of light is finite and distances between worlds are pretty big; between star systems they are enormous. A recent analysis envisions what it would be like to communicate […]
The Country Most Vulnerable To Air Pollution Right Now Is… The USA
USA! USA! We’re number one! We’re number one! No, not in freedom. Nope, not in democracy either. No, no, not in public education, and definitely not in public health. But in likelihood to be exposed to poison in the very air itself? Top of the charts baby!! “Air pollution can harm anyone’s health, but some […]
A Tiny Traditional Swedish House Is On Its Way To The Moon
Swedish artist Mikael Genberg is just a few months away from having an artistic dream fulfilled. His 25-year-long project, called Moonhouse, will soon move from canvas to reality, as he and his team’s model of a traditional red Swedish house is now on its way to the Moon. Advertisement It launched on a SpaceX Falcon […]
These Are The Six Times The USA Lost Nuclear Weapons
Keys, phones, headphones, socks, thermonuclear weapons – some things just always seem to go missing. Believe it or not, there were at least six instances when the US lost atomic bombs or weapons-grade nuclear material during the Cold War. Not only that, but the US is responsible for at least 32 documented instances of a […]
SpaceX’s Starship Blows Up Spectacularly Just 8.5 Minutes After Liftoff
The seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship, which ocurred yesterday, January 16 at 7:37pm ET, is a setback for Elon Musk’s private space company. The rocket, which is a crucial component of the plans for humanity’s return to the Moon, exploded after just 8.5 minutes of flight with debris captured falling over the Turks and […]
Sense Of Touch In Bionic Arm Hits “Another Level” Through Cutting-Edge Brain Stimulation
Scientists are pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) by using brain stimulation to evoke a sense of touch in users of a bionic arm. The device, which attaches to a chair or wheelchair, is designed to help people with paralysis experience the feel of objects in a way that […]
How Many Spiders Could A Spiders Georg Gorge If A Spiders Georg Could Gorge Spiders?
There are two kinds of people on the internet: those who have heard of Spiders Georg, and those who have not. If you are in the latter category, you can go ahead and close this article right now. It contains nothing of value for you. Advertisement Are they gone? Fantastic. Guys, gals, and non-binary pals, […]
These Are The Biggest Threats Facing The World In 2025, Global Risks Report Reveals
The world is a dangerous place – but what, precisely, is making it so perilous? A new report from the World Economic Forum has answers, and we gotta say, it ain’t pretty. Advertisement What’s the report? The World Economic Forum – the international think tank behind the annual meeting in Davos and countless other projects […]
Why Isn’t There An Eclipse Every Full/New Moon?
There will be four eclipses this year, two solar and two lunar, but only the lunar eclipses will be total. Moreover, there will be 12 full moons this year, when lunar eclipses can occur, and 12 new moons, which can coincide with solar eclipses. Why are we getting ripped off? For either type of eclipse […]
What Is The Red And Pink Powder Planes Are Dropping On The LA Fires?
Since multiple wildfires began to rip through Southern California earlier this month, firefighters have been working around the clock in order to contain the blaze. Some have taken to the skies, with planes dropping entire tankfuls of bright pink and red powder onto the flames, which has had people asking – what exactly is that […]
Thylacine De-Extinction, Tattooed Mummies, And A Meteorite World-First
This week on Break It Down: lasers revealed 1,200-year-old mummies’ sweet tats, the mission to de-extinct the thylacine takes a leap forward, video footage of a meteorite hitting someone’s garden might be a world first, China announces plans to build the solar power station equivalent of “Three Gorges Dam” in space, researchers discover an Iron […]
Suspected Pulsar Is Spinning Hundreds Of Times More Slowly Than Ought To Be Possible
Radio waves have been detected from what appears to be a pulsar, with just one problem – it‘s spinning thousands of times more slowly than most such objects, and hundreds of times slower than theory says is possible. Several similar signals have been found recently, but this is the most extreme yet, and also presents […]
Where Are Birds’ Ears? They Lack External Ears, But There Are Hidden Holes
Fancy a game of pin the ears on a bird? Alright then, big shot, where are they? Birds use sound as one of their key senses for navigating the environment, but most of them are a bit secretive about where they’re storing them. Working out the positioning can depend on the species, and some have […]
World’s Smallest Cat Was 300,000 Years Old And Adorably Teeny Tiny
A brand new species of cat has been found in a fossil from a cave in China. Reportedly small enough to have fit in the palm of your hand, the cat – named Prionailurus kurteni – is thought to have coexisted alongside ancient people. Advertisement Prionailurus kurteni was discovered from a fragment of jaw bone in […]
“Airplane Mode” Is No-More In EU, So Why Are Phone Calls Still Banned On US Flights?
Just like smoking on planes and people dressing smartly for their flights, “airplane mode” has been consigned to aviation history in the European Union (EU). So why is it still a thing in the US and many other parts of the world? Advertisement In 2022, the European Commission issued new rules that said carriers can […]
