News

Remember back in 1999, when – in among Spice Mania and frantically collecting Beanie Babies for some reason – everyone was freaking out about the Millennium Bug?  ADVERTISEMENT The fear was that, as ‘99 clicked over into ‘00, computers would be unable to parse that the century had changed; the date would be reset back […]

A palaeontologist’s call-out for rocks bearing dinosaur footprints around an Australian town has borne fruit, including a densely packed set of prints sitting in the foyer of the local high school, unbeknown to many students. ADVERTISEMENT Australia is notoriously lacking in dinosaur bones, and Dr Anthony Romilio of the University of Queensland told IFLScience none […]

In a quest to understand complex speech, scientists inserted what’s been dubbed a human “language gene” into mice. Remarkably, the genetic tweak had a profound impact on the little rodents’ ability to squeak, revealing astonishing clues about the evolution of vocal communication. ADVERTISEMENT Mouse pups that had the human version of the language gene showed […]

A grey nurse shark put on a hell of a show for visitors to the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, where they got to witness the birth of a baby shark. Named Archie, the tiny male pup marks a first in the aquarium’s history, which has said that his birth is also great news for the […]

Through avoiding sustained contact with the outside world, over 100 uncontacted tribes around the world represent a crucial element of humankind’s diversity – but who are these people, and what do we know about the threats that they face? ADVERTISEMENT Before we dive in, a quick note on what “uncontacted” actually means – it’s not […]

RIP, me. I’ve popped my clogs and fallen in a lake. All very sad for friends and family, but finally, a lifelong dream is about to be realized: I’m on my way to becoming a fossil. So, how long is my body going to have to wait for that sweet, sweet permineralization? And exactly when […]

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid thought to be around 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) in diameter impacted the Earth, forming a crater 200 kilometers (120 miles) in diameter, and 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) deep underneath what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. ADVERTISEMENT The impact sent debris flying into the air, which then rained […]

A new study on soccer teams (or, to use the correct term, “football teams”) has found that teams appear to act as if they are one single person, and follow movement patterns similar to albatrosses searching for food, or particles in a turbulent fluid. ADVERTISEMENT There’s a lot to unpack here. The team, from the […]

Metals aren’t typically something we think of as chewable (unless you happen to be the Iron Giant), but there appears to be an exception – indium. Try to gnaw on some steel and you could land yourself a visit to the dentist, but indium? That can be chomped on like a slightly stale stick of […]

The gene that enables East Asian adults to drink milk without getting side effects like stomach cramps was probably inherited from Neanderthals, thousands of years before humans started consuming dairy, according to a new study. Therefore, researchers think that this genetic variant may have initially spread through hunter-gatherer populations because it enhanced immune system function, […]

It’s a question just about every new parent has wondered at some point: what’s the world like for my little one? How do they experience life? How much can they understand? In other words: how conscious is my baby? It’s a question that has long baffled researchers – but can a new way of thinking […]

In a new step forward on the quest for better painkillers, scientists have developed a synthetic cannabinoid that keeps the pain-relieving properties of cannabis without being addictive or psychoactive.  ADVERTISEMENT Chronic pain is a common problem. A 2023 study from the National Institutes of Health indicated that new cases of chronic pain conditions occur more […]

A mission intended to bring two astronauts left on the International Space Station much longer than originally planned back to Earth is currently in limbo after the launch was aborted. The delay may last as little as two days, but it comes uncomfortably close to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s claims that political interference prevented the […]

In 1821, the English Romantic poet John Keats died at the young age of 25 after succumbing to tuberculosis. Although his work inspired many influential poets throughout the 19th century, his short life was also one of intense suffering, especially in the run-up to his early death. But while many people are aware of the role […]

What kind of creatures were kicking about in the oceans 340 million years ago? We’ve now got a slightly clearer picture thanks to the discovery of a small but mighty ancient shark species found fossilized in the depths of the world’s longest cave system, Mammoth Cave. ADVERTISEMENT The new species has been named Clavusodens mcginnisi, […]

Astronomers have spotted a red dwarf star in a system that is almost certainly the source of a radio signal that, for a while, repeated once every 125 minutes. Moreover, there’s evidence of a white dwarf companion. The discovery is a close match for one made last year, and confirms the type of system that […]

A total of 866 new marine species have been discovered in just 16 months by the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census as they embark on the world’s most extensive mission to discover ocean life.  ADVERTISEMENT Among the new-found critters are the good, the badass, and the ugly. This includes new species of shark, sea butterfly, mud […]

They might seem like a harmless, nostalgic summer treat, but a little-known ingredient in some frozen slushies can pose a serious health risk for some kids. In a new study, experts review 21 cases of children who became unwell after consuming these products and ask whether the time is right to update public health guidance, […]

A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge believe they have uncovered the mechanism behind how aspirin, a common and inexpensive painkiller, might be able to stop cancer from spreading – and they made this discovery somewhat by accident. ADVERTISEMENT What they’d been looking at was how the immune system responds to metastasis. This […]

The oldest hominid facial bones ever discovered in Western Europe have revealed that the region was initially inhabited by a previously unknown human lineage. Dated to between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago, the skeletal remains don’t match those of Homo antecessor, which until now was thought to have been the first to reach this […]