News

The Great Red Spot is not the only Earth-sized atmospheric disturbance seen on Jupiter. That dramatic storm remains number one for size and power in the Solar System, but ultraviolet (UV) observations from Hubble have now revealed that Earth-size ovals of haze are being stirred up over Jupiter’s polar regions. The culprit is believed to […]

The stunning specimen you can see above was the first documented instance of a tarantula with gynandromorphic characteristics: one side of its body is female, while the other is male. The case first came to light in 2014 at a lab at the University of the Republic in Uruguay when a team of bug experts […]

For the first time, astronomers have found a likely explanation for a type of repeating radio signal first identified two years ago but now found popping up in many places. In a new case, the emissions are coming from the direction of a red dwarf star, believed to be in orbit around a white dwarf, […]

Those who dive frequently understand there are risks involved, from checking your equipment to the conditions of the weather and water when you dive. However, few perhaps would consider the risk that a tiger shark might steal your phone.  David Finch was diving at Tiger Beach off the west coast of Grand Bahama and was filming […]

Quantum dots can cool themselves by turning low energy light into higher-energy photons, which are radiated away. The idea, which runs against classical physics, might avoid the need to expend energy to actively reduce temperatures, although the economics are doubtful, even in a world struggling to keep its cool. Every now and then, residents of […]

In our quest to obliterate fellow humans, humans have attempted some pretty whacky and ghoulish ideas, from the pain ray and Greek Fire to firing the corpses of plague victims at the enemy using a catapult. One suitably stupid (and short-lived) invention was the flying tank, dreamed up by the Soviet Union during World War […]

It was already pretty hot by the time Donald Johanson and his graduate student, Tom Gray, arrived at the site at Hadar, Ethiopia, on the morning of November 24, 1974. The two had initially set out to map the location but decided to have a look around for any signs of fossils while they were […]

Our cosmos is 13.7 billion years old and it all started with the Big Bang. When we look for really distant objects, we can’t really see the Big Bang because the universe was so hot and dense that light was not free to move. The farthest we can see is light 400,000 years younger than […]

Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest is home to an abundance of amazing wildlife, but there’s one group of animals that’s particularly special. They’re big, fluffy, and deliciously cream-colored – it’s the spirit bears. A rare black bear variant Found primarily in the aforementioned Great Bear Rainforest on Canada’s north and central coast, spirit bears – also […]

With increasingly more people opting for plant-based diets – whether it’s for health, environmental, or ethical concerns –  a new study has highlighted that switching to vegetarianism may entail an undesirable side effect: eating more ultra-processed foods. In a new study, scientists looked at the consumption of ultra-processed food, plus “minimally processed food” across nearly […]

Long before humans began creating nuclear reactors to fulfill our ridiculous energy needs, back when the Earth was dominated by microbes, in fact, nature beat us to it and built the first nuclear reactor on Earth. In May 1972, a physicist at a nuclear processing plant in Pierrelatte, France, was conducting analysis on uranium samples […]

Most governments around the world, especially those of high-income countries, are failing to achieve the target of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by 195 countries and the European Union. As carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase, for many the solution is to develop technologies to simply remove this greenhouse gas from the air. A […]

As Thanksgiving rolls around once again, so too does an increased chance of spending the following days sitting on the toilet, fighting for your life. Not just from eating too much of your grandma’s delightfully creamy mashed potatoes (curse you, lactose intolerance), but from some pretty dodgy food handling – including the big no-no that […]

Of the five dwarf planets in the Solar System – including Eris, Ceres, Makemake, and Haumea – Pluto is easily the best-known due to its brief categorization as a regular planet. Long before it could even make one turn around the Sun, it was demoted again. A surprising number of astronomical bodies have been discovered […]

When you think of a squirrel, your mind is probably more drawn to images of cute little woodland creatures, or even a critter burying acorns in the park. However, for researchers in Japan the tale gets a little more grisly, as they observed a squirrel chowing down on a bone. Japanese squirrels (Sciurus lis) are […]

If you own a freezer, it’s likely you’ve at some point had to contend with freezer burn. That package of meat or bag of leftovers you tucked away safely for another day has come out looking a funny color and covered in ice. Is it still safe to eat, and how can you stop this […]

There’s only one country in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) in elevation: Lesotho. Known as the “The Kingdom in the Sky,” for obvious reasons, the entire territory of the landlocked kingdom in Southern Africa sits above 1,400 meters (4,593 feet).  In other words, the entire territory of Lesotho is at […]

With the world’s polar regions melting at a dizzying rate, scientists have toyed with the idea of constructing giant underwater “curtains” around ice sheets to protect the wider world from rising sea levels. Beyond the perils of radical geoengineering projects, experts in international relations warn that the plan could spark political turmoil like we’ve never […]

There’s an incredible meme that depicts a chicken looking to the skies Simba style and being met with a Tyrannosaurus rex saying “Remember who you are.” It’s a fantastic visual and one that carries some truth, because the closest living relative to T. rex could well be a chicken, or possibly an ostrich. This was […]

There was a period in the 1950s and 60s when sleep deprivation was all the rage. Sparked by radio DJs attempting to outdo each other’s wildly dangerous – yet presumably quite boring – publicity stunts, the record for staying awake was repeatedly broken and extended. Eventually, however, Guinness World Records called a halt to the […]