Deborah Bloomfield

They say that, given an infinite number of monkeys on typewriters, and infinite time, you would eventually create the entire works of Shakespeare. Well, evolution may not have had quite that long, but it has had a few billion years to experiment – so it’s no surprise that it’s come up with some pretty wacky […]

It’s been six months since two not-quite dire wolves were born on Earth around 10,000-12,000 years after the extinction of the species. Now, the two shaggy six-month-olds, Romulus and Remus, along with their younger sister, Khaleesi, are growing rapidly under the care of Colossal Biosciences. In a new video, the team explains how the two […]

Issue 36 (July 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 36 of our digital magazine now by clicking below! Use the arrows to navigate or […]

The Earth used to have 420 days a year, rather than 365. This does not mean that the Earth’s orbit was longer, but that the days were shorter, so more days could be fitted in during the time it took our planet to do a full orbit around the Sun. However, the year has had […]

We humans bloomin’ love a flower. Sniffing them, looking at them, lopping them off and popping them in vases. On land, there are flowers to be found everywhere, but in the ocean, there’s only one kind of plant that produces flowers, and yes, they even reproduce down there. Seagrasses are the only true flowering plants […]

This week, a hot new wellness trend for orcas showcases their impressive use of tools, there’s only one person in the world with this blood type, and Canada claim to host rocks that date back to the Hadean Eon, making them strong favorites to be the oldest rocks on Earth. Finally, to mark 50 Years […]

A particle detector flying above Antarctica has recently caused a stir in the particle physics world after it detected highly unusual radio pulses coming from beneath the ice.  The detection has prompted much speculation about new types of neutrinos, perhaps another particle altogether, and even (pretty out there) claims of evidence for parallel universes. While […]

Is your hair lacking volume, are you feeling less than perfect? Well, maybe you should try adding some lizard to your shampoo. This may sound like a new TikTok trend (or maybe this will start one), but it’s actually part of a set medieval medical recipes recently discovered by scholars that redefine our assumptions of […]

The list of animals that grieve their deceased loved ones may just have gained a new entry, as a group of Japanese macaques from Okayama Prefecture has now been documented interacting with dead group members in a number of surprising ways. Notably, the monkeys displayed a tendency to continue grooming the corpses of those they […]

We are a sentimental as well as pragmatic species. When it came to sending the first missions that could travel beyond the Solar System, we equipped them with wonderful scientific instruments, but also with messages to any extraterrestrials that came across them. It was the case for Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, the first probes […]

After controversially firing the old team, US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s new picks for the USA’s top panel of vaccine advisors are now getting down to business, and they’ve been holding some pretty key votes. One of the most notable surrounds flu vaccines, which they voted to recommend – that is, as long […]

Researchers have begun working on a new, controversial project to produce human DNA from scratch. It is believed to be the first of its kind effort which, if successful, could lead to new treatments for many diseases or open the door to things like climate-resistant crops. The subject of creating human DNA, otherwise known as […]

What’s that saying, slow and steady wins the race? Well, it seems the saying not only applies to a fictitious tortoise racing a hare but also races to the Moon. On September 18, 1968, the Soviet Union’s Zond 5 spacecraft managed to circle the Moon. The achievement beat NASA’s iconic Apollo 8 mission by a […]

Sharks are, by any definition, incredibly badass. They’re the only animals around that can claim to have chowed down on honest-to-goodness dinosaurs; they induce what is genuinely known to biologists as a “landscape of fear” in the places they inhabit – even if a “seascape” might be more accurate – and they do it all […]

This week on Break It Down: feast your eyes on the stunning first images from the world’s largest digital camera, capturing millions of galaxies and thousands of new asteroids. Why killer whales are rubbing each other luxuriously with seaweed, the world’s oldest rocks aren’t that much younger than the planet, mice born from two dads […]

Flying ant day. It’s a bit of a mare, isn’t it? But might we offer some light relief the next time you find yourself surrounded by winged insects by reminding you that there was a time when things were much, much bigger. Say hello to Titanomyrma, the biggest ants ever to have walked the Earth. […]

The planets of the Solar System are roughly on the same plane, but the fact that they are not exactly aligned means that peculiar events happen once in a while. Between Earth and Saturn, there are a few fun events to observe, including Saturn’s rings “disappearing” as the tilt of the planet produces an optical […]

Ever wondered what a trip to the dentist looks like for a bear? Luckily for you, we’ve got an answer, and it comes in the form of a brown bear named Tundra receiving a first-of-its-kind, big ol’ metal tooth cap – one that is apparently the largest veterinary crown in the world. Tundra – who, […]

There are some places spiders belong. In a cave? Sure. In your basement? Unavoidable. In the deep sea? Weird, but why not? But falling from the sky like precipitation? That’s a big fat nope, absolutely not, no way, right? Well, we’re sorry to have to inform you, but arachnid showers are not a thing of […]

In an effort to unravel the mysteries of complex speech, scientists inserted a so-called human “language gene” into mice. The genetic tweak had a striking effect on the rodents’ vocalizations, offering surprising insights into the evolution of vocal communication. Mouse pups that had the human version of the language gene showed different vocalization patterns from […]