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Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a spiral galaxy. Its main components are a bulge at the center, a thin disk and a thick disk where the spiral arms are located, and a halo. The thin disk is believed to be the youngest component of the galaxy. So imagine how surprised astronomers were when they […]

A 12,000-year-old human skeleton found along the banks of the Tigris River may have belonged to a shaman who was believed to connect the natural world and the supernatural world. If that interpretation is on point, it would be the earliest known example of the complex cultural behavior reported in this part of the world. […]

A controversial team of physicists say they are about to conduct a series of quantum tests to try to determine whether we are living in a simulation or not.  Advertisement We live in a real universe, as far as we can tell – but to be fair it’s a pretty weird one. In the quantum […]

The diving bell spider is the only species of spider that can spend the entirety of its life underwater. Remarkably, it pulls off this aquatic lifestyle without the ability to actually breathe underwater.  Advertisement The diving bell spider (Argyroneta aquatica) is native to freshwater habitats across large parts of Eurasia, from the British Isles and […]

Tulip trees have a category-busting wood structure unlike anything scientists have seen before. Although more research is needed, this could enable them to store carbon more efficiently than other species, which might come in very useful. Tulips do not of course grow on trees, although during the infamous mania someone might have spread claims they […]

Concrete is pretty much the most common construction material, but it is far from being the most green option. As such, scientists and engineers have been searching for alternatives that are more environmentally friendly, and now they may have a solution: cement-free concrete. Advertisement The global production of cement, a fundamental component of concrete, is […]

There is no GPS on the Moon – so to find where things land and go, we have to rely on orbital observations. To make this work easier, NASA has developed an ingenious object that doesn’t require power to make its presence known: You put it on top of your lander and you are ready […]

The “unsinkable ship” known as the Titanic became arguably the most infamous shipwreck in history in 1912 after it struck an iceberg. After warnings were ignored, it wasn’t until a lookout spotted the iceberg that evasive action was taken, but it was too late. Advertisement The ship’s starboard side was punctured, allowing five of 16 […]

A new tyrannosaur has been identified from China, dating back 66 to 72 million years. It was retrieved from the Nanxiong Formation of Nankang District, Ganzhou City, and has a lot to say about the evolution of tyrannosaurs. Among the tyrannosaurids, the group of dinosaurs that includes Tyrannosaurus rex, we observe two key body types: […]

The speed of light in a vacuum is the same wherever you measure it in the universe, according to Einstein’s special theory of relativity. Whether you’re sat on Earth, Mars, or Andromeda, if you measure the speed of light you’ll find it chugging along at a cool 299,792,458 meters per second (983,571,056.43 feet per second), […]

Uranium ore – the radioactive material that is refined for use in the production of nuclear fuel and atomic weapons – has started to be hauled out of a controversial mine located just south of Grand Canyon National Park.  Advertisement Grand Canyon Trust told IFLScience that two trucks had been spotted leaving the Canyon Mine […]

Humans have being waging war against mosquitoes for as long as they’ve been feeding on us, from the humble – but highly fatal – slap, to the creation of mosquito repellent sprays, nets, and noises. Now, a new long-lasting mosquito repellent is borrowing bacteria from human skin to create a genetically engineered assault on the […]

You get off the plane, hop on a train, walk through the door and you’re finally home – phew! You reach for your suitcase, slam it on the bed, and start pulling out all your clothes in search of souvenirs. We get it! You want to reminisce! Love the energy, but hate the execution – […]

Life on Earth is fragile. Through the many billions of years of our planet’s history, countless species have gone extinct. Humanity has also contributed to that process in a variety of ways, the latest of them all being the climate crisis. Preserving a record of biodiversity on Earth is a complex but important task. Many […]

Warfare and technology have a complicated and regrettable relationship. A casual glance at history shows that the former has often led to the advancement of the latter, usually at a significant cost to human life. This is as true today as it was in the past. Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine and that between Israel […]

Today’s mammals face all sorts of problems that their distant ancestors didn’t have to worry about. Alongside the dual threat of habitat loss and climate change, is a third factor at play: the illegal wildlife trade. This involves the removal of animals from their native homes and exploiting them for monetary gain, either as pets […]

Earth is not flat, but it isn’t as round as you might think when you look at a globe. First off, we should ask why are planets generally round?  Advertisement This is actually somewhat of a circular question. Under the current definition, to be called a planet an object must have a (roughly) spherical shape. Objects […]

A new study suggests that perceived political polarization in the USA is influenced by a focus on difference, rather than similarities. Advertisement In just over three months, US voters will be asked to choose their new President. For most, the question is binary: Democrat or Republican? At the time of writing only 20 percent of […]

You know that old joke about how the only thing worse than finding a worm in your apple is finding half a worm in your apple? Here’s a question in the same vein: what’s the one thing scarier than having your seas filled with terrifying apex predators? Advertisement How about: those same terrifying apex predators […]

A team of astrophysicists have mapped the “Lyman-Alpha Forest”, and provided further supporting evidence that galaxy and galaxy cluster formations are better explained by dark matter than alternative theories. Advertisement While observing the universe, astronomers found that galaxies and galaxy clusters don’t behave in the way we would expect. In short, stars at the edge […]