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What happens if you can’t burp? You might think that sounds quite nice – burping is not the most pleasant or socially acceptable bodily function, after all, at least not in most cultures. But it’s also necessary, and for the community of “no burpers” out there, the lack of it comes with an array of […]

Thanks to the seismic waves produced by earthquakes, scientists have been able to probe the interior of our planet. Layers and composition, as well as changes and motions, are the targets of these investigations. But nothing in the universe is simple. Our planet has weird things buried deep within itself, and even when we expect […]

In an image that’s sure to give you indigestion, a new paper has reported a world-first predation event as a Burmese python was spotted chowing down on a reticulated python. The Burmese was over 3 meters (10 feet) long with the tail-end of a reticulated in its mouth, in a rare meal that took about […]

In Prehistoric Planet, one of the most memorable scenes sees a small Masiakasaurus gaily frolicking by the waterside when BAM – it’s snapped up in the jaws of an enormous predatory amphibian. The beast in question is Beelzebufo, a giant dinosaur-eating frog that once lived in what we now know as Madagascar. Advertisement How big […]

It’s no secret that rainforests are among some of the most biodiverse habitats in the world, but as anyone who has visited one will tell you, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be bumping into rare wildlife left, right, and center. Well, unless you’re hiking in Sumatran striped rabbit territory, apparently. Advertisement In June 2022, […]

The Sun is currently releasing a stream of electrically charged particles. This is the solar wind. Just how this flow can reach incredible velocities was a mystery that endured for decades. It took two spacecraft and international cooperation to get an answer: The magnetic field near the Sun sometimes gets kinky. Advertisement The “fast” solar […]

So long, Hvaldimir. If you’ve been hiding under a rock since 2019 it might have escaped your attention that beluga whale Hvaldimir, once thought to be a Russian “spy” turned Norwegian retiree, was found dead over the weekend. Advertisement Hvaldimir first rose to public attention in 2019 when he was seen wearing a harness presumably […]

A strange pulsing sound has been heard from Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft, prompting a concerned comment from seasoned astronaut Chris Hadfield. Advertisement Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore departed for the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5, the third and final test of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, and its first launch with a crew. […]

The African rail (Rallus caerulescens) is a handsome bird, with a blueish breast, red legs, eyes and bill, prominent barring on the flanks, chestnut upper parts, and long toes. It also has a characteristic trilling call. This wetland dweller is only found in sub-Saharan Africa, with a concentration in South Africa’s Western Cape province. The […]

The National Park Service (NPS) has put out a warning urging visitors to Yellowstone to keep their distance from the park’s resident population of elk amidst the start of mating season. Advertisement “Stay away from bull elk in Yellowstone, especially during fall mating season,” said park officials in a statement. “You are responsible for your […]

A refreshing slice of grapefruit or a tall glass of its juice can have many benefits; it’s packed with vitamins C and A, as well as helpful minerals like potassium. But before you go and pick up 10 cartons of the stuff, there’s an important downside to be aware of – grapefruit can also mess […]

At 8,849 meters (29,032 feet), Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world – but how did we figure that out? In fact, how do we know how high any mountain is? They certainly don’t make measuring tapes that long (plus someone would have to be at the top to read it), so how […]

When King Charles III inherited the throne from Queen Elizabeth II back in 2022, he quite famously received the right to claim ownership of any unmarked mute swans found in open water on public land. It turns out, however, that’s far from the only curiously animal-related part of his inheritance – sea creatures make an […]

If you have had the misfortune to date a narcissist, or work for one, you might have used the expression; “They think they’re the center of the universe.” Sadly, we shouldn’t mock too hard, because in a sense such people are right, at least about that. That’s because everyone is the center of the universe, […]

This week, findings suggest bacteria are passing “memories” of perturbed genes to their descendants, here’s what to know about the human parvovirus B19 that’s increasing in the US, and an expedition surveying the seafloor off the coast of Chile has discovered 20 potentially new species. Finally, we investigate the misinformation and pseudoscience in the wellness […]

Researchers might have found two new compounds with a strong ability to fight harmful bacteria. They found these interesting substances inside different types of bacteria in the depths of the Arctic Ocean. With the potential that a lot more interesting compounds can be found there. Advertisement Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem. Harmful microbes are […]

Move over, Simone Biles – there’s an insect with even better backflips. Globular springtails might only be a couple of millimeters long, but can jump and spin 60 times their own body height into the air, and new research looks even deeper at this incredible acrobatic feat. Advertisement Springtails (Dicyrtomina minuta) are pretty common little […]

Corpses become a hive of activity for the decomposition ecosystem – a rich tapestry of critters from the microscopic to the winged – and what they do with our remains can both help and hinder criminal investigations.  Advertisement On the one hand, forensic entomology is often the best way to indicate how long a person […]

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The Sun emits a stupendous amount of light. Its luminosity is almost 400 billion billion megawatts. The Earth gets less than 0.0000001 percent of that. It’s free energy and there is a way to get it, if you do not mind constructing something vastly beyond humans’ capabilities: a Dyson sphere. Advertisement This is a theoretical […]