Deborah Bloomfield

Pliny The Elder once wrote of elephants: “Of all other living creatures, they cannot abide a mouse or a rat.” Elephants being afraid of tiny rodents has become a popular theme in folklore and cinema – just look at Disney’s Dumbo – but is it true? Given that African elephants are the largest terrestrial animals […]

Why is it that the later months of the summer end up being the hottest, even though daylight hours are shortening? Similarly, the arse-end of winter always seems to feel much more bitter than it did in the so-called bleak middle part. The name of this oddity? Seasonal lag. Defining seasonal lag Seasonal lag is […]

A peculiar cluster of fossils was retrieved from the Green River Formation in Utah back in 1969 – the 47-million-year-old leaves of an “alien plant” that was thought to be an unusual member of the ginseng family. Now, scientists have revisited the specimens with a fresh fossil to boot, revealing that it isn’t ginseng and […]

The current job market has many people feeling the pressure, facing uncertainty and fierce competition at every turn. With the landscape unclear, gaining any advantage in this difficult job market is vital. Pittcon is here to help: as the greatest global conference and exposition on laboratory science, one of Pittcon’s promises is to be “Always […]

This week on Break It Down: Earth’s magnetic pole is in a new position, the second most cited paper to ever be withdrawn is finally retracted, Charlotte the bubble-butted turtle gets a special swimming harness, The Blob’s legacy marks the worst single-species mortality event in modern history, a Roman solution to Mars suggests blood makes […]

A newly developed sunscreen protects against ultraviolet light from the Sun while keeping skin nice and cool, even in summer, with the prototype formula capable of more dramatic skin cooling compared to other commercially available sunscreens. The approach, known as radiative cooling, has already been employed in creating cooling fabrics – as well as the […]

Although we think of our emotions as being controlled by our brains, that does not mean they’re limited to our heads alone. From feeling heavy-hearted when sad to butterflies in our stomachs when we’re excited or nervous, it seems emotions can be felt throughout our bodies. But has this been the case for past cultures […]

A team of researchers has built an exciting new device to dramatically amplify microwave signals. It seems like a science fiction MacGuffin: it uses a purple diamond in a quartz tube exposed to an intense magnetic field. The system creates a maser, the microwave equivalent of a laser. It is used to amplify weak microwave […]

Solar scientists think there is a very active sunspot on the far side of the Sun. Sunspots are a common feature, especially during Solar Maximum, but we are yet to see this particular one. It will come into view next week, but something must be stirring the solar activity. In the last 10 days, four […]

For the first time since the regulation of the use of the term “healthy” on food labeling was developed in the early 1990s, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the criteria required to make the claim. Slapping “healthy” on a food product’s label remains voluntary on the part of the manufacturers, but […]

The languages still uttered around Europe today can be traced back to the prehistoric migrations of people around 5,200 years ago. That’s according to a new preprint paper that has looked at the link between the early evolution of Indo-European languages and genetic ancestry in Europe during the Bronze Age. Most languages spoken in Europe […]

There’s a lot to shout about when it comes to elephants: they’ve got what seems like a fifth limb for a nose, they use tools, but perhaps their most in-your-face feature are the giant fans attached to either side of their head. Is it simply excess, or elite design? The biggest ears in the animal […]

The animal world goes in hard for impressive colors, from those that blend in perfectly with their surroundings to those born to stand out and seem dressed to impress. However, new research has revealed an insect species with markings so black, they’re classed as ultrablack, absorbing nearly all visible light. The species in question is […]

From Mesoamerica to North Africa, pyramids were apparently all the rage in the ancient world. Yet while the triangular monuments are most synonymous with Egypt, the world’s largest collection of pyramids actually belongs to another, less visited, country and absolutely dwarfs the number built by Khufu and co. With somewhere between 220 and 255 pyramids […]

It’s the holiday season, and what better time to gather your loved ones together and absolutely trounce them in an hours-long board game marathon? Humans have been playing and enjoying competitive games for centuries. For this special episode of The Big Questions, host Laura Simmons sat down with Kelly Clancy, neuroscientist and physicist, and author […]

Just six years ago, fewer than 100 Sombrero ground lizards (Pholidoscelis corvinus) remained on the tiny Caribbean island they’re named after. Now, thanks to the help of conservationists, they appear to be making a remarkably rapid recovery. The island of Sombrero, found 54 kilometers (34 miles) off the coast of Anguilla, is only 38 hectares […]

I am sure it is something everyone has experienced at some point. You’re walking outside on a cold day, the wind is blowing, and, of course, your nose is streaming. It’s an ugly thing at the best of times, but it’s made worse if, like me, you have a mustache that seems to almost take […]

If there’s one thing you, and Gollum, should know about volcanoes, it’s that “lava=hot”. That, and it’s not a great idea to attempt to plug them up with concrete. But some volcanos are hotter than others. At Ol Doinyo Lengai in northern Tanzania for instance, the lava flows at temperatures so low it is possible […]

It’s just one of those fundamental things – all animals need water to survive. For us humans, getting it into our bodies is as simple as drinking it. But what about fish? They live in water, so are they just straight up absorbing it, or do they also need to drink? First things first, fish […]

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