Deborah Bloomfield

Scientists have created nugget-sized bits of chicken meat in a bioreactor that can mimic the blood vessels to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the artificial tissue. It might bring the concept of “processed foods” to a whole other level, but the researchers suggest their technology offers a “sustainable, ethical alternative to conventional meat.” Creating lifelike […]

The 365-day Gregorian calendar we use today isn’t exactly a masterpiece of logic. The months arbitrarily have 30 or 31 days (and then February just does its own thing), plus we patch in an extra day every four years to make up for the fact that a solar year isn’t quite 365 days (it’s about […]

The 13th director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Science Advisor to the President, Michael Kratsios, has sparked a number of conspiracy theories over on Reddit after appearing to claim that the US possessed technology that can “manipulate time and space”. Kratsios was attending the “Endless Frontiers” retreat, an […]

“[It’s] the gift that keeps giving,” Richard Sabin, Principal Curator in the mammals group at the Natural History Museum, London, told us recently when we visited the museum’s new permanent gallery, How To Fix Our Broken Planet. “It’s like it’s a comedy material – and who knew that there would be so much science in […]

It’s been more than five years since COVID-19 changed the world forever. Now, after multiple rounds of negotiations, extensions, and controversies, we finally have a solid plan for the next time a global pandemic hits – or at least, most of us do. “The nations of the world made history in Geneva today,” Dr Tedros […]

Updated Google Earth satellite images of a Chinese naval base appear to show at least six nuclear submarines, according to naval analyst Alex Luck. Google Maps is a pretty useful service, taking satellite images and street views of pretty much every accessible area of the planet. But there are a few places which governments around […]

You may have seen exoplanet K2-18b in the news recently, thanks to newly published research that is destined to be discussed for a long while. K2-18b is believed to be a sub-Neptune world with a radius 2.6 times that of Earth, and in orbit around the habitable zone of a red dwarf 124 light-years from […]

A collection of previously unseen inscriptions and images have been revealed on the walls of the Cenacle, a hall built by the Crusaders at the supposed site of Jesus’s last supper. Among the many ancient designs identified are a scorpion, a bagel, and numerous Medieval coats of arms representing elite families from around Europe. Located […]

Researchers have identified the brain regions that are essential for logical thinking and problem-solving. The findings help us understand how our brains support our reasoning skills – our ability to comprehend, draw conclusions, and deal with novel problems. Reasoning skills are pretty important. They underpin many of humanity’s greatest intellectual achievements – from mathematics, philosophy, […]

Even zoo animals can sometimes benefit from a little trip to the vets. Whether they have a blade of grass stuck up their nose or require a neck brace, zoo vets can work wonders to help all manner of patients from the feathered to the scaled to the furred. Rico the sloth is no different […]

Every year, the US Library of Congress chooses 25 audio pieces to be add to the National Recording Registry, aimed at preserving recordings which are “culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States”.  “This year’s National Recording Registry list is an honor roll of superb American popular music from […]

What’s the most ironic and tragic thing about the bear on the Californian flag and the state’s seal? The fact that there have not been any wild grizzly bears in the state for just over 100 years. However, the California Grizzly Alliance has released a new peer-reviewed study showing that there are no insurmountable biological, […]

Human-wildlife conflict can take all sorts of forms, but one of the most common is the problem of roads and roadkill. While scavengers can benefit from roadkill in certain areas, different species can become more at risk than others. New research from across Africa suggests some of the country’s most vulnerable wildlife could be put […]

There’s a famous story, told by a once widely lauded author, about finding himself at a party where he felt hugely out of his depth. Amongst the “great and good people: artists and scientists, writers and discoverers of things,” he said, “I felt that at any moment they would realize that I didn’t qualify to […]

Some years seem to zip by in the blink of an eye, while others seem to drag on for far longer. But some, like leap years, can last a little longer than usual. And then there’s 46 BCE, which lasted 445 days, 80 days more than we are used to.  So, why did the year […]

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“How, then, did life originate on Earth?,” the distinguished speaker, William Thomson, asked his audience during a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS). “Tracing the physical history of the Earth backwards, on strict dynamical principles, we are brought to a red-hot melted globe on which no life could exist.” This […]

In 2018, astronomers discovered a brown dwarf binary system. Brown dwarfs are stellar objects that never had enough mass to fuse hydrogen and become fully fledged stars. They are often found in binaries, but this one was only the second eclipsing binary system discovered with both members being brown dwarfs. But there is something odd […]

Researchers have scanned the brains of more than 500 babies and young children in order to paint a detailed picture of the brain’s development during the first six years of life. By observing how functional connectivity within and between different brain networks changes at different timepoints, the study authors were able to map out a […]

A new explanation has emerged for why Homo sapiens survived in Europe and North Asia when the apparently better-adapted Neanderthals did not. A variety of approaches, including ochre sunscreen and tailored clothes, may have saved them from skin cancer and weakened immune systems when a weaker magnetic field let in more radiation. During the Earth’s […]