Every now and then, robots on the surface of Mars, or the spacecraft orbiting the planet, send back some fascinating images of rock formations on the Red Planet. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE These can range from the interesting (such as the donut-shaped rock that may not be from the planet) to the silly (hello, avocado […]
World’s Oldest Runestone May Have Been Carved By A Woman
The earliest runestone ever to be reliably dated has been discovered at a grave field in Norway, providing some fascinating insights into the origins of runic writing. Engraved some time between 50 BCE and 275 CE, the ancient stone was eventually broken apart and scattered across multiple burials, while some of the inscriptions suggest that […]
Creatine Supplements Could Help Boost Depression Treatment
Creatine – best known for its use by bodybuilders – could help enhance the effects of talking therapy as a treatment for depression, recent research suggests. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Around 280 million people have depression worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The condition is often treated using psychotherapies, pharmacotherapies, or a combination of […]
What Happens If You Donate Your Bone Marrow And The Recipient Commits A Crime?
Bone marrow donation is vital to many people’s lives. But, it can also produce a weird quirk in which the recipient’s blood can change to be like the donor’s. So, we had a peculiar thought: if your bone marrow recipient went out, committed a crime, and left their blood over a crime scene, could it […]
Man Develops “Yellowish Nodules” And Soaring Cholesterol Level On High Fat “Carnivore Diet”
A case report concerning a man whose hands, feet, and elbows became covered in yellowish nodules has recently been published – and it appears that the cause was likely a fad diet. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Medical science primarily advances through scientific trials, but now and then we get to learn things in other ways, […]
What Snakes Live In The Florida Everglades?
Totaling 1.5 million acres, the Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and home to some of the country’s most unusual wildlife. While adorable manatees, frightening crocs, and archaic-looking gators often steal the limelight, the nature reserve is also home to an impressive menagerie of snakes. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE […]
COVID Lockdowns Disrupted A Crucial Skill Among Young People
Tempting as it is to push memories of lockdown to the back of our minds, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting effect on society. Now, new research reveals the long-reaching effect of lockdowns on a crucial skill among children – social cognition. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Social cognition is the ability […]
Dolphin Or Sloth, Who Can Hold Their Breath For Longer?
While renowned for being exceptionally slow, sloths possess one superpower – they can hold their breath longer than an episode of Friends. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE These sluggish creatures are able to hold their breath for an incredible 40 minutes. In comparison, a dolphin can hold their breath for approximately 10 minutes and the world […]
EBC-46 Shows Tremendous Potential To Help Eradicate HIV
A new chemical compound has been making a big impression in the fight against cancer in recent years. Now it seems EBC-46, otherwise known as tigilanol tiglate, may also have immense potential for eradicating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE EBC-46 is a compound derived from the seeds of the blushwood (Fontainea […]
In Earth’s Extremes, Nights Can Last For Months, Even Up To 179 Days
Each year in the North Pole, the Sun sets in mid-September and doesn’t return until mid-March, creating a polar night that lasts for 179 days (around six months). An equally long night occurs in the South Pole too, albeit in the “opposite” time of year during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter. In fact, a bunch of […]
Seven Advances In Technology That We’re Likely To See In 2025
In the grand scheme of things, 45 years is not a long time. Back in 1980, it would take me three weeks to run a computer program, written in the programming language Cobol, that worked using punched cards. Each card represented one line of code and it required multiple re-punches to correct errors. Eventually, I […]
Why Does January Consistently Witness A High Divorce Rate?
It is officially February and that might just be a good thing for your relationship. Not only are we approaching Valentine’s Day but we have made it through January, which has a notorious rep for breaking marriages. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The first working Monday of the New Year has earned the unenviable title “Divorce […]
CIA Says COVID Lab Leak “Likely” – Let’s Explain, Asteroid Bennu Shows Life’s Ingredients In Early Solar System, And Much More This Week
This week, a mouse with two dads has survived into adulthood for the first time, if you’ve ever asked someone a question with the sole intention that they ask you the same question back, there’s now a name for it, and the world’s oldest known example of a poison-covered arrow has been found embedded in […]
The Weird Psychology Of Airports
Many of us have witnessed unusual and even anti-social behaviour at an airport or on a flight. These may range from benign acts such as sleeping on the floor or doing yoga in front of the flight information display system to serious incidents like early morning drunken arguments or even trying to open the aeroplane […]
Do Extreme Microbes Live Outside The ISS? Yesterday’s Spacewalk Will Help Find Out
Yesterday, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore performed their ninth and fifth spacewalks respectively, with Williams setting the record for the longest total spacewalking time by a female astronaut. Among the objectives of the walk, there was an intriguing scientific objective: The duo swabbed the surface material around the Quest airlock and outside the […]
Despite Being Pretty Much Useless, These Ear-Wiggling Muscles Still Attempt To Work
Thought to be pretty redundant in modern humans outside of wiggling our ears for a giggle, new research has revealed that certain ear muscles that let animals and our ancient ancestors move their ears to focus on sounds actually still respond to how intently we listen to a sound or the direction it’s coming from. […]
US Set To Ban Seafood Imports Linked To Marine Mammal Bycatch In 2026
A long-delayed ban on the import of seafood that doesn’t meet US marine mammal protection standards is finally set to be implemented next year, after conservation groups reached a legal agreement with US authorities. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Come January 1, 2026, in order to receive authorization to export their products to the US, foreign […]
COVID Lab Leak, Mouse With Two Dads, And Are We Living In A Simulation?
This week on Break It Down: a CIA report says the origins of COVID being a lab leak is “likely” but what does that really mean? The Doomsday Clock ticks closer to humanity’s destruction, asteroid Bennu’s sample contains the building blocks of life (but not aliens), the oldest poison arrow dates back 7,000 years, a […]
Radioactive Plutonium In Sahara Dust Came From An Unexpected Source
Every now and again, the Sahara Desert in North Africa will kick up a storm and spread dust clouds across Europe and other parts of the world. Remarkably, the sand still carries traces of radioactive isotopes from the atomic bomb tests of the Cold War. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE In a new study, scientists have […]
How Do Astronauts Deal With Dirty Laundry In Space?
Changing clothes and washing them regularly is basic hygiene, but there are some situations where that is more difficult to do than others. Space, for example, is one of those extreme environments where laundry is not something that can be done easily. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The main reason is that water is an incredibly […]
