Deborah Bloomfield

Popping open a bag of potato chips to find its contents are 90 percent air can be a dispiriting and humbling experience, but there are good reasons why your packets of snacks can sometimes resemble an inflated pillow (or at least that’s what Big Potato wants you to think). It’s commonly said that packets of […]

NASA has scheduled an early Christmas present for solar researchers on Tuesday, December 24, when the Parker Solar Probe will pass 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) from the Sun – closer than it or any other spacecraft has ever gone before. Assuming it survives the experience in a condition to keep sending back data, […]

Along the northwestern coast of North America, a curling crack in Earth’s crust tells the story of cataclysmic tectonic activity that ripped through the region millions of years ago. Due to this massive shake-up, geological features that were once formed together in the same zone are now separated by some 997 kilometers (620 miles). The […]

Did Jesus have a wife and children? This sensational claim surfaces from time to time, sparking curiosity and some less-than-subtle media headlines. However, it often frustrates many religious scholars due to its lack of credible evidence. One of the most recent instances of this debate being fired up was in 2014, sparked by the scandalous […]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to a cancer drug called dostarlimab (brand name Jemperli) that has so far shown a 100 percent clinical response rate for the treatment of locally advanced mismatch repair deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) rectal cancer. “Today’s designation, which is based on the unprecedented 100% […]

New research has suggested that polymer-based tea bags could release micro- and nanoplastics into the bodies of consumers and the environment – however, the study shows not all tea bags are alike, even from a tiny sample. There’s no need to abandon your comforting cup, which may well be good for your health. On the […]

The bald eagle has been an (unofficial) icon of the USA for centuries, acting as a squawking symbol of freedom that appears on everything from the president’s flag and military insignia to dollar bills. Despite the star status, however, it has not ever been awarded the official honor of being a national bird. On December […]

Wallace and Gromit are returning to our screens this Christmas, but with them comes an arguably even more hotly-awaited guest appearance: that villainous penguin, Feathers McGraw. Yes, the glove-hats are off in Aardman‘s Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, in which we see Wallace grappling with his reputation as an evil inventor. Things get worse […]

Never seen a gogotte before? Also known as concretions, some of the most mesmerizing examples come from the Fontainebleau region in France.  Fontainebleau was covered in water around 30 million years ago, and when it disappeared, it left behind a layer of quartz. Silica-rich water from the environment then flowed through the layers and the […]

“Holiday heart syndrome” may sound like the name of an ER-based Hallmark movie, but it’s actually a dangerous medical condition. While we all like to kick back and indulge a little during the festive season, it turns out that bingeing too hard on your favorite guilty pleasures can turn ugly – fast. “The term ‘holiday […]

Point Nemo is the most remote place on Earth, the coordinates where – most of the time – the nearest humans are those occasionally whizzing overhead on the International Space Station. They sail by at a lofty 408 kilometers (253 miles) above the water’s surface, but recently a father-son explorer duo went splashing through the waters of […]

When astronauts head to Mars, they will experience time dilation. That’s to be expected. In fact, your feet and your head experience time dilation, with your head aging ever so slightly faster than your feet. But how much time dilation will they experience (relative to Earth observers)? First off, let’s check we’re all on the […]

Scientists have observed a never-before-seen form of oxygen, and its behavior could call into question what nuclear physics says about “magic numbers”. Imagine, if you will, that you could see within an atom; at its core is the nucleus, containing subatomic particles called protons and neutrons. The number of protons is what defines the element. […]

Astronomers have cast their nets wide searching for habitable planets, and a team at the University of Georgia, Athens, argues that may be too broad to be useful. What we need, they suggest, is not simply to find planets that could support life, but to seek out those that could support the life we can […]

Many migratory species use the Earth’s magnetic field to keep their journeys on track. Now a study of a very non-migratory animal, the Drosophila fruit fly, shows the same capacity exists in some unexpected places. Perhaps humans are the rare ones because we don’t have this capability; if so, why? In the quest for survival, […]

It’s that time of year once again, where we (mostly) meet with friends and family to exchange gifts and awkwardly make small talk with that one uncle who still thinks NFTs are the future of art. But for some of us, those gatherings are hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles away – so what’s the […]

It’s a classic winter scene: you’re huddled up in bed, mainlining chicken noodle soup and feeling like warmed-over poop. Trouble is, you’ve no idea what’s wrong – so here’s a simple guide for distinguishing five of the most common viruses that trouble us in the colder months. POV: you’re rushing to the bathroom every few […]

New additions to the Terracotta Army have been unearthed in China, adding a drop more to the mystery of how ancient artisans created this mind-blowing mausoleum complex.  At least three Terracotta Warriors, three terracotta horses, and two chariots have been recovered from Pit No. 2 near the world-famous Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in […]

The Moon used to have a magnetic field, powered similarly to how the geodynamo powers the magnetism of Earth. Unlike our planet though, the Moon became solid and the magnetic field disappeared. But before it diminished completely, it appears to have had a resurgence, according to the latest analysis of the rocks carried back to […]

Whales are extraordinary creatures – not only are some the largest animals to have ever inhabited the planet, but others are also exceptionally long-lived. Now, new research has discovered that right whales have secretly been fellow members of the long lifespan club all along, revealing that they can live for over 130 years. To determine […]