Meet the blood clam, also known as blood cockles. Hailing from the shellfish family Arcidae, they’re so named for their dramatic coloration. The blood-red is really just that, blood, but you would do well to take it as a bit of a warning. Eating blood clams is considered one of life’s more dangerous delicacies because […]
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So, Why Are Olympic Fencers Attached To Electric Cables?
If you’re watching the Olympics, you may have noticed that fencers are attached to a cable, making them look somewhat like they’re on a big leash. Advertisement The cables are not there for the safety of the competitors, nor so that they can be yoinked backwards if they get too feisty. The cables, which are […]
Wonky-Necked Giraffe Spotted In South Africa Is Somehow Still Alive
Sometimes in the animal world, genetics or circumstances throw something of a curveball. From dolphins with “thumbs” to whales with curved spines, these animals with slightly unusual morphology open up questions about survival and adaptations to different environments. That includes the latest addition to the gang: a giraffe with a wonky neck. Advertisement On a […]
What Is The Kardashev Scale, And Could It Help Us Find Alien Life?
In the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, it’s difficult to know what to look for. During the pursuit, we have tended to search for detectable signals and signs that we ourselves would emit (on purpose, or by accident) on the assumption that aliens will use similar technology, given that they have access to the same physics. […]
Peaches The 1-In-30 Million Lobster Just Hatched Some Rare Babies
Peaches the famous orange lobster has welcomed a bumper crop of tiny baby lobsters. Being a 1-in-30 million lobster herself, Peaches’ clutch includes over a dozen of a rare variety, and they’ve joined the offspring of a second mother lobster, Norma, as the subjects of a research project. The mega family of mini babies calls […]
A Record-Smashing 17 California Condor Chicks Hatch At LA Zoo
A record-breaking 17 California condor chicks have been hatched at Los Angeles Zoo in a huge boon for the critically endangered species. All of the chicks will be candidates for release into the wild as part of the wider California Condor Recovery Program. Advertisement The feat was made possible by a new breeding technique developed […]
What’s The Hottest Chili Pepper In The World?
If you’re the sort of person who likes to end a meal with smoke coming out of your ears then you may be tempted to try and get your hands on the recently developed “Pepper X”. Be warned, though, this bad boy is the hottest chili pepper on the planet, with a heat rating that […]
What Is The Oldest Ecosystem On Earth?
The entirety of Earth’s surface is made up of biomes. Within each of these biomes are many different ecosystems that are constantly growing, decaying, and teeming with diverse life. But which ecosystem came first, and which are still standing today? Advertisement As ecosystems are made up of constantly decaying pieces, the organisms alive at the […]
Melting Glaciers In Andes Are Smallest They’ve Been In At Least 11,700 Years
Glaciers in the Andes Mountains are melting away, revealing rocks that haven’t seen sunlight in at least 11,700 years. Advertisement New research has shown that four glaciers in the Andes in South America – Pan de Azucar Glacier, Queshque Glacier, Zongo Glacier, and Charquini Norte Glacier – are thawing way faster than previously expected as […]
Why Can Pineapple Skin Tolerate A Metal Ball Heated To 1,000 Degrees?
If something came over you and you felt compelled to drop a metal ball superheated to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) onto a piece of pineapple skin, you’d observe a peculiar phenomenon. Rather than burning, erupting into flames, or fizzing out of existence, the pineapple skin does, well, not much. How? It all comes […]
One Star’s Rotation Is Unlike Any Others’ And We Don’t Know Why
The star V889 Herculis rotates faster at midlatitudes than either the equator or the poles, unlike the Sun and everything we would expect. The astronomers who detected the pattern do not yet have an explanation, but when we find it there could be some big changes to our assumptions about stellar behavior. Advertisement Once astronomers […]
Toxic “Forever Chemicals” Found In Almost Every Fish Tested In US State
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), better known as “forever chemicals,” have been found in almost every single fish tested in Illinois rivers, highlighting how these synthetic pollutants have become prolific in the natural world. Advertisement In a new study, scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studied 17 different PFAS across nine fish species caught […]
We Finally Know Which Paper Is Worst For Paper Cuts
Sometimes, physicists spend their time solving the great universal mysteries like “where is all the dark matter?” or “how do we know we’re not living in a simulation?” Other times, they look at the important stuff – like why paper cuts happen, and how we can avoid the damn things. Advertisement “Paper has been central […]
COVID-19 Vaccine Nasal Drops Could Stop Viral Transmission
You probably associate vaccination with a needle jabbed into your shoulder muscle, giving you that annoying muscle soreness for many hours (even days) after. Traditionally, most vaccinations are delivered in this way: intramuscularly. Now, a new vaccine delivered as nasal drops (just try not to sneeze) shows promise for drastically reducing transmission of airborne disease. […]
Ancient Stars Found In Unlikely Region Of The Milky Way
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 Bizarre Burial May Belong To A 12,000-Year-Old Female Shaman
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. […]
Controversial Physicists Say They Are About To Test Whether We’re Living In A Simulation
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 […]
Diving Bell Spider: Nature’s Only Aquatic Arachnid Builds Bubble Pods To Breathe
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 […]
A Newly Recognized Type Of Wood Could Store More Carbon
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 […]
New Cement-Free Concrete Could Slash Construction Industry Carbon Emissions
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 […]