The death of former president Jimmy Carter has unleashed a wave of tributes far beyond those given to most former leaders. Many are focused on his unique post-presidential career, but his four years as president, judged a failure at the time, have undergone a considerable reassessment. Yet missing from almost all this commentary is the […]
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Why Are Antlers Fuzzy?
Every year, animals in the deer family go through a cycle of growing and shedding their antlers, those badass branched bones that come in handy for finding mates and finding. They don’t always look so bony though; for at least some of the year, antlers are covered in a fuzzy layer called velvet. This so-called […]
Why You Might Not Want To Pluck Or Wax Your Nose Hair
Over our long and meandering evolution, the human species has lost a lot of body hair. For some reason, we have been left with forests of the stuff growing out of our noses and, especially as we age, the ears. A lot of people are tempted to pluck, wax, or otherwise remove this hair, shunning […]
Why Do You Always Need To Pee When You Go Outside In Cold Weather?
It’s something that many of us have experienced at one time or another. You head out on a winter’s day, ready to face the world… and then, seemingly out of nowhere, you need to pee. There has to be a scientific explanation for this irritating phenomenon, and we wouldn’t be IFLScience if we weren’t prepared […]
Why Don’t Animals Have To Brush Their Teeth?
Wake up? Brush your teeth. Going to bed? Brush your teeth. The dental routine of being a human can be a bit monotonous, but it’s an important step towards maintaining a happy mouth. It can be slightly baffling, then, to spot a photo of a bonobo with a seemingly perfect grin. How are wild animals […]
Do Animals Think?
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 […]
Why Do Humans Love Watching Fire? Find Out More In Issue 30 Of CURIOUS – Out Now
Issue 30 (January 2024) of CURIOUS is out now, bringing you science highlights for the month plus deep dives into intriguing topics, interviews, exclusives, diary dates, and explanations for some of Earth’s most perplexing natural phenomena and landscapes. Read Issue 30 of our digital magazine now by clicking below! Use the arrows to navigate or […]
Key Gaps Discovered In Gravity Wave Simulations Over Antarctica
Current models do not measure gravity waves with sufficient accuracy, new research suggests. This is important, the study authors say, because it affects the accuracy of atmospheric modeling technologies, which are essential tools in our arsenal when it comes to predicting weather events and creating climate simulations. That means fixing these deficiencies could improve their […]
A Public Health Emergency Looming In The Coming Decades, Scientists Warn
Scientists warn that the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria could trigger a dramatic spike in deaths, and we are not prepared. Researchers at Northern Arizona University took a hypothetical strain of E. coli resistant to all known forms of antibiotics (a state known as pan-resistance) and, using long-term data relating to sepsis cases in the […]
Why Are People Concerned About Kessler Syndrome?
As you read this, some 13,000 satellites are hurtling through space, orbiting the Earth at breakneck speeds of 6 miles (or 10 kilometers) per second – which is more than 14 times as fast as a fighter jet. While it is an incredibly impressive feat that exemplifies the scientific progress humanity has made over the last century, […]
New Tech Could Reverse Cancer Cell Development, First Quantum Teleportation Over Noisy Internet Cables, And Much More This Week
This week, a new discovery suggests Neanderthals may have mastered fire 270,000 years ago, for the first time, a baby conceived using a breakthrough IVF alternative has been born, and some teabags might be releasing millions of microplastics that could enter intestinal cells. Finally, we explore the biggest waterfall on Earth, which is surprisingly unimpressive […]
What Are Morning Glory Clouds?
Yes, morning glory clouds are a thing and no, it’s probably not what you are thinking. In this case, morning glory refers to a rare but striking cloud formation found in northeastern Australia, near the Gulf of Carpentaria. Imagine remarkably long tubes of cotton-like clouds that stretch for hundreds of miles, appearing either solitarily or […]
Scientists Resurrect A 1,000-Year-Old Biblical Tree From Ancient Seed Found In Judean Cave
Scientists have resurrected a strange seed that was discovered in a cave in the Judean desert during the 1980s. According to radiocarbon dating, the seed was over 1,000 years old when it was found, and its DNA links it to a genus of tree that, although lost today, was mentioned in the Bible. Named “Sheba”, the unknown […]
Is Photographic Memory A Real Thing?
Wouldn’t it be great to look at a page of text, or a map, and immediately remember every detail? Many famous people – from Leonardo da Vinci to former US President Bill Clinton – have claimed to have some level of photographic memory. But is true photographic memory actually a real thing? Or are some […]
First Severe Human Infection Of Bird Flu Virus In The US Shows Signs Of Mutation
A patient in Louisiana became severely ill after contracting Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in a statement on Thursday. This is the first serious case of bird flu affecting a human reported in the US since the outbreak began. An analysis of the virus revealed […]
Angel Falls In Venezuela Is The World’s Tallest Uninterrupted Waterfall
In the Pixar film ‘Up’, old man Carl teams up with a boy scout in a quest to move his wife’s clubhouse to Paradise Falls, a spectacular waterfall in Venezuela. Venezuela’s Angel Falls is the real-life inspiration for the fictional paradise and with a drop of 807 meters high (2,648 feet), it just so […]
Do Other Planets Have Pole Stars?
Imagine an astronaut lost on another world when their communication systems fail. In most cases, they won’t be able to use a compass for directions, since that depends on magnetic fields. In this event, the traveler may need to find their way home by the stars, but how easy will that be? In particular, will […]
Do Ancient Navigation Methods Still Stand Up?
On May 1, 1976, a traditional Polynesian canoe called Hōkūleʻa left Honolua Bay in Hawai’i and began the 3,800-kilometer (2,400-mile) journey to Tahiti. However, unlike all other modern expeditions, this voyage was to be completed without compasses, maps, satellite navigation, or any other wayfinding tools, relying instead on traditional knowledge about the stars, swells, and […]
Next Year Will See Two Satellites Combine To Create An Artificial Solar Eclipse For First Time
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 satellite pair are in orbit, but commissioning so one can create solar eclipses for the other is still incomplete. However, three weeks after launch most of the planet is in the dark about how the mission is going. When the JWST launched in 2021 it was in a blaze […]
2024 Will End With A Black Moon, A Rare Event You’ve Never Seen
This year will see (kind of) another rare astronomical event taking place across the night sky. On December 30-31, we will have a rare Black Moon to see out 2024. What is a Black Moon? You’ve probably heard of a Blue Moon; it’s a far more well known phenomenon that is different from a Black […]
