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The one rare earth element whose chemistry has been largely unknown is now less of a mystery. Although promethium itself is unlikely to become as important to society as its neighbors on the periodic table, the information revealed about it could help improve our access to the rest. Advertisement The category known as “rare earth […]

We’ve all heard of the many benefits of interacting with animals as therapy, but what about the animals themselves? Does that interspecies solidarity go both ways? Well, according to a recent study, the answer is yes … if you’re a cow. Advertisement “Bovine-assisted therapy may not only be an effective treatment model that benefits human […]

Magnetic fields have been detected in very large stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the first time this has been achieved for stars outside our galaxy. It is hoped the discoveries in metal-poor regions will help us understand the processes involved, given their outsized influence. Advertisement The Sun has a magnetic field, and […]

The strain of H5N1 that authorities have dubbed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been wreaking havoc among domestic and wild bird populations across the globe, but it’s certainly not been limited to our feathered friends. Lots of mammal species, including some you wouldn’t expect, have also been affected – not to mention a handful […]

References to “heavy metals” are common when talking of mining, some industries, and the contents of certain asteroids. But what is the heaviest metal, and might that record be broken in future? What is heavy? You might not think there is much ambiguity in a five-word question like “What is the heaviest metal?” but you’d […]

A new paper taking a look at the Fermi Paradox using the Drake Equations has suggested an uncomfortable solution: maybe we are alone in the galaxy. Advertisement If you haven’t heard of the Fermi Paradox, it goes something like this: given the vastness of the universe and the probability that implies of life evolving elsewhere, […]

A new dark matter detector underneath a mountain in Jeongseon, South Korea, is about to be turned on. The team is attempting to rule out – or perhaps reproduce – puzzling results from a previous detector in Italy. Advertisement As far as astronomers studying the observable universe can tell, only around 5 percent of it […]

At least 10 Native American canoes have been found in Wisconsin’s Lake Mendota, the oldest of which may be up to 4,500 years old. The cache of boats was recently discovered by marine archaeologists from the Wisconsin Historical Society together with members of the Ho-Chunk Nation.  Advertisement Two canoes were first found in 2021 and […]

Astrology has received a well-deserved beating in a new study that’s shown zodiac signs have no link to a person’s well-being; whatever “star sign” you happen to be, it doesn’t impact your happiness, affirming the view that the movement of planets has no direct influence on human affairs. Advertisement In a new study, a psychologist […]

After spending most of her life shying away from love, a 70-year-old flamingo called Gertrude has finally laid her first-ever egg. Advertisement She’s part of a 62-strong flamboyance strutting around Pensthorpe Nature Reserve in Norfolk, England and unlike most of her fellow flamingos, hasn’t had much success when it comes to finding a partner – […]

Drones have revolutionized many facets of the modern world, from engineering and science to warfare and surveillance – as well as the art of photography. To celebrate this burgeoning field, the Siena International Photo Awards has its specialized competition dedicated to aerial drone imagery.  Advertisement The nominees for their Drone Photo Awards 2024 have been […]

If you’ve ever felt bad about leaning on a bit of tech to help your love life, rest assured – at least you’re not having to use drones and artificial intelligence (AI) to find a partner (at least we hope not). That’s what Encephalartos woodii, quite possibly the world’s loneliest plant, is having to do […]

The European Space Agency’s Euclid mission unveiled beautiful new images last week together with the publication of its first scientific results. Among the papers yet to be peer-reviewed, there is an intriguing one about so-called “rogue” planets – free-floating worlds that travel the galaxy starless. Advertisement The team reports the observations of seven planets in […]

A billionaire and a deep-sea explorer have announced they are hoping to travel in a submersible to explore the sunken Titanic wreckage, less than one year after the ill-fated Oceangate sub imploded on a voyage to the wreck site. Advertisement Plans for the voyage began when Larry Connor, a 74-year-old real-estate investor from Ohio, called […]

China’s reusable test spacecraft has released an as-yet unidentified object into space, nearly six months after it launched. This is the seventh object released by the plane since December 14, with the previous six found to be transmitting a repeating pattern. Advertisement The latest object, highlighted by astronomer Jonathan McDowell, appears to have been released […]

Somehow, Sunspot AR 3664 has returned. OK, not somehow. It simply moved around the Sun as the Sun orbits on its axis – but we wanted to do a Star Wars reference. Because, just like Palpatine, AR 3664 has put on a light show. It was responsible for the solar flares and coronal mass ejections […]

Surgeons in ancient Egypt may have attempted to treat cancer by cutting away tumors on patients’ skulls, new research shows. While observing the cancer-ridden crania of two Egyptian corpses, the study authors noticed cut marks that are likely to have been made by doctors who tried to remove the growths thousands of years ago. Advertisement […]

A great rule of thumb for the universe is accepting that everything is a lot more complicated than you expect. Take, for example, asteroid Dinkinesh, the first target of the NASA mission Lucy. As the spacecraft approached, the team were surprised to see an unexpected moon appear around the small asteroid. And they weren’t ready […]

The world record for the largest number of electrodes placed onto a human brain was just broken by brain-computer interface developers Precision Neuroscience. They successfully placed four arrays, each containing 1,024 tiny electrodes, onto the surface of a living patient’s brain, doubling the previous total record of 2,048. Advertisement Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) combine implanted electrodes […]