High above the oceans and landmasses, an unseen migration is constantly unfolding. These travelers are aerosols: millions upon millions of microscopic particles so small they can drift for days or even weeks, riding the planet’s invisible superhighways. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full […]
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Heard Potatoes Increase Your Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes? Here’s What The Science Says
New research has made waves by drawing a link between eating potatoes and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. There’s a lot to unpack here, and experts have been weighing in on the data – here’s what to know. What the study concluded The research included 205,107 adults enrolled in three large-scale studies of […]
Meteorite That Punctured Georgia House May Be 20 Million Years Older Than Earth
Several meteorites collected from Henry County, Georgia, have been tentatively identified as being from a major asteroid belt collision. If correct, this would make them among the oldest Solar System fragments, quite likely dating from before the Earth formed. On June 26, a fireball was spotted over Atlanta, Georgia, despite competing with the light of […]
Three Ancient Ecosystems Dating To 300 Million Years Ago Unearthed Beneath Illinois
Modern-day Chicago is known for its gusty winds and unapologetically chunky pizza, but 300 million years ago, the region was a lush land of tropical swamps, river deltas, and shallow seas. This abundance of extinct plant life and animal life is incredibly well-preserved at the Mazon Creek fossil site – a treasure trove that’s proving […]
Addicted To Screens? You’re Not Alone – Now Marmosets Might Be Too
What is it about our screens that keeps us coming back to them? Why do we continue to scroll past the point of finding what we went on our phones for in the first place? Those are questions that researchers are still trying to answer – and marmosets armed with iPads might just help them […]
The Largest Bioluminescent Vertebrate Known To Science Is A Glow-In-The-Dark Shark
Bioluminescence is the word we use to describe animals that are capable of creating their own light. It involves a chemical reaction that releases energy as light, and it’s a big hit down in the twilight zone where light from the Sun can’t reach. We’ve found bioluminescent jellyfish, squid, and fish, but the largest luminous […]
Trump Removed Ban On Commercial Supersonic Flight, But That Might Not Be Enough
President Trump has issued an executive order that allows commercial flights across America to fly faster than the speed of sound. The order overturns what it refers to as “outdated and overly restrictive regulations”. It comes as companies are working on quieter supersonic aircraft, and instructs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to create standards to […]
NASA Creates Incredible Visualization Of One Of The Largest Solar Storms Observed In Space
Across September 1 and 2, 1859, the Earth experienced the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history. It is known as the Carrington Event and caused aurorae visible almost to the equator and damage to electrical systems, which at the time mostly consisted of telegraphs. None comparable have hit Earth since, but we came really […]
Remains Of Antarctic Researcher Lost During 1959 Expedition Found After 65 Years
On July 26, 1959, British scientist Dennis Bell was conducting a geological survey with surveyor Jeff Stokes, meteorologist Ken Gibson, and geologist Colin Barton with the aid of two dog sleds. When the sled dogs began to struggle, Bell went ahead to encourage them forward, but fell through a hole in a crevasse bridge. Efforts […]
Javan Rhinos Creep Ever Closer To Extinction – Now Just 50 Remain
The world’s rhino populations face a myriad of threats, from habitat loss, poaching for the medicine trade, and even botanical threats that can limit their food supply. A new report highlights which species are slowly increasing their numbers and which, sadly, are not. Of the two broader rhino species that are found only in Africa, […]
Accidentally Shrunk Your Clothes In The Laundry? There Is A Way To Unshrink Them
If it weren’t necessary for living in polite society, nobody would do laundry. It’s insanely labor-intensive without modern technology, the instructions are basically written in code, and worst of all, if you do it wrong, you can end up shrinking your favorite shirt or pants into a child’s size version of their original design. But […]
What’s The Deepest Dinosaur Fossil Ever Found?
Ever wanted to find a dinosaur? After all, as your favorite conspiracy theorists have asked, if they existed, then surely their bones would be everywhere – so how much work would it take to dig one up? Well, it depends where you are. In England, where the first dinosaur fossils were found and categorized, there […]
There’s A Very Intriguing Reason Why Great White Sharks Have White Bellies
You ever noticed how a “great white” shark isn’t? White, that is – it’s grey, right? Except for its belly, of course. Why is that? It turns out that whoever named the great white shark must have been underneath one, looking up, when they did so: “The name ‘white shark’ refers to the color of […]
NASA’s Space Probe Finds Evidence Of A “Helicity Barrier” In The Sun’s 2 Million Kelvin Atmosphere
A study analyzing data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has uncovered evidence of a “helicity barrier” in the Sun’s atmosphere. In 2018, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe on a trajectory that would eventually have it dive into the Sun’s atmosphere (corona), getting seven times closer to our host star than any other spacecraft so […]
Why Do Some People Talk In Their Sleep?
Have you ever held a conversation while you slept? It’s more likely than you think. Whether it’s a stray chuckle, a word or two, or a full monologue a la Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1, somniloquy – aka talking in your sleep – is extremely common. But why does it happen? And is it dangerous? […]
Can Animals Think? Understanding Them Could Be Key To Communicating With Aliens One Day
The debate about whether (and, if so, how) animals think is an ancient one. Aristotle considered it important enough to write on the question extensively, and it’s a safe bet people were debating it long before we have written records. Unsurprisingly, it’s a major topic of research today, but one that tends to defy easy […]
The World’s Only White Giraffe Has A Tragic Story
Giraffes are one of those iconic species of the African savannah: tall-necked, with their trademark mottled coats decked out in all the colors of a slightly over-ripe banana. In Kenya, though, there’s one giraffe who doesn’t fit in with the others. Dazzlingly white and mysteriously unnamed, he’s the only known such creature in the world: […]
Are You More Likely To Be Killed By An Elephant Or An Asteroid? RFK Jr Pulls Millions Of Dollars Of mRNA Vaccine Funding, And Much More This Week
This week, the miniature “hobbit” ancient humans of Flores Island may have come from the nearby island of Sulawesi, where researchers have discovered stone tools, four newly discovered tarantulas have been discovered with the longest known schlongs in the spider world, and cockatoos have at least 30 different dance moves that they love to perform. […]
ChatGPT Poisoned A Guy Into Psychosis, Case Study Shows
Next time you’re feeling a bit peaky, better dust off your grandma’s old medical encyclopedias rather than opt for the high-tech solution – it turns out asking ChatGPT might just make things worse. The evidence? A new case study out of Washington state, in which a seemingly healthy man ended up poisoning himself to the […]
8 Key DNA Regions More Likely To Be Altered In People With ME/CFS, Finds 27,000-Strong Study
A landmark study of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has just reported preliminary results, suggesting that the DNA of people with the condition is markedly altered in eight key regions. ME/CFS affects an estimated 67 million people worldwide. There is no specific test or cure for the condition, and patients can experience substantial challenges when […]