The volcano snail may sound (and look) like something from a fantasy novel, but it is a real creature that has adapted to live in the inhospitable would at the bottom of the ocean. What is the volcano snail? Volcano snail is one of the common names for Chrysomallon squamiferum, a species of deep-sea gastropod […]
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First Visualization Of A Quantum Electron Crystal Finally Proves They Exist
For the first time, an exotic material known as a Wigner crystal formed solely from electrons has been visualized. These impossible-sounding crystals had been claimed before, but never confirmed directly. As well as proving its existence, the images revealed unexpected aspects of the strange crystal’s nature. Materials are composed of protons and electrons, as well […]
Meet The Toyger: An Adorable Pet Cat With A Wild Story
The Toyger is a relatively new breed of domestic cat that’s been bred to resemble a mini tiger with the temperament of a family-friendly pet. As their appearance suggests, the breed’s genome contains a touch of heritage from wild cats, although no new wild cat outcrossing was directly used in their development. Instead, this charismatic […]
Birds May Dream, But What Do Those Dreams Sound Like?
Have you ever had a conversation in your dreams? Maybe it’s just everyday chatter, maybe it’s an argument with someone, but it’d be pretty cool if we were somehow able to record it. As it happens, birds also seem to get vocal in their dreams, and a new study has been able to translate what […]
Wolf Spiders Have Claimed The Hot Springs Of Fjallabak Nature Reserve
This article first appeared in Issue 18 of our digital magazine CURIOUS. The hot springs in Fjallabak Nature Reserve, Iceland, are a tourist trap for adventurous humans looking to bask in the restorative warm waters and take in an unbeatable mountain view. However, as the BBC’s new three-part series Wild Scandinavia demonstrates, it’s also a popular spot among wolf spiders. Advertisement Reaching […]
What’s Up With Charlotte The Pregnant Stingray? Aquarium Gives An Update
Remember a couple of months back when people thought a stingray named Charlotte was about to pop out a shark-ray hybrid? The aquarium responsible for her care has now posted an update on her pregnancy – and sadly it doesn’t feature little baby shingrays. Sharing a video of Charlotte on social media, the Aquarium & […]
New Solution To The Fermi Paradox Suggests The Great Filter Is Nearly Upon Us
An astronomer has suggested a new solution to the Fermi Paradox, which implies that the “great filter” may still lie in our near future. First, a little background. With 200 billion trillion (ish) stars in the universe and 13.7 billion years that have elapsed since it all began, you might be wondering where all the […]
If You Were Stuck In A Time Loop, Could You Beat Garry Kasparov At Chess?
An argument has broken out on the Internet about how long it would take you to break out of a time loop if you had to remain there until you have beaten Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. “Average man has never played chess, but he knows all of the rules. Each time he loses, the […]
We Now Know What Caused The Brightest Explosion Ever Seen In Space
The gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A was so far off the charts for these events that we would only expect to see something this bright once every thousand years. Naturally, astronomers expected some phenomenal event to be responsible – but instead, they found what looks like a perfectly ordinary supernova, with few clues as to why […]
A Zombie Sun May One Day Tear The Earth Apart
A study of white dwarf stars has some sorry news for the Earth’s future, suggesting that even if it is not consumed when the Sun is at its largest, it may one day be torn apart by the solar corpse. Despite the occasional megaflare, the Sun is a very stable star. It has to be, […]
The World’s Southernmost Active Volcano In Antarctica Spews Gold Dust
Antarctica is an ice-capped continent with blistering cold temperatures, but it also harbors red-hot volcanic activity. There are a dozen volcanoes in Antarctica, the majority of which are located in West Antarctica and Marie Byrd Land. One study in 2017 identified 138 volcanoes in this part of the continent alone. While most of these are […]
Drone Zips Through Skies At Near-Supersonic Mach 0.9 Speeds
An experimental drone has blasted off on its near-supersonic speed test flight, zipping through the sky at speeds of Mach 0.9 – that’s 1,111 kilometers (690 miles) per hour. This is just the beginning of things, though. Venus Aerospace, the company that developed the drone, ultimately wants to achieve speeds of Mach 9, nine times […]
Asteroid 2024 GJ2 Is About To Make A Close Approach To Earth
A small asteroid being tracked by astronomers is about to make a close approach to Earth, passing within 0.00012 Astronomical Units (AU) of Earth. The asteroid is being tracked by NASA, and is small at around 2.2 to 4.9 meters (7.2 feet to 16 feet). According to an analysis by astronomers, the asteroid will be about 0.03 Lunar […]
7 Animals With Some Of The Silliest Scientific Names
Trying to identify a new species of animal isn’t the easiest task in the world, but the lucky people who do manage to find one appear to have quite the sense of humor when it comes to giving them a scientific name. Here are some of our favorites. Advertisement Gelae fish Fun fact: Gelae fish […]
Cicadapocaplypse: Map Shows Where In The US Up To A Trillion Bugs Could Soon Emerge
An insect invasion in the trillions sounds like the stuff of sci-fi – but as early as next month, the US is set to see two mega-broods of cicadas rise up from the soil in a rare double emergence event. If that sounds like your worst nightmare (or you’re hoping to witness the phenomenon), the […]
In Ancient Egypt, The Milky Way Was A Ladder To The Afterlife
The ancient Egyptians are famous for their reverence of celestial bodies, yet the role that the Milky Way played in their cosmology remains poorly understood by Egyptologists. However, according to a new analysis, the band of stars that streaks across the sky may have had a number of mythological functions, acting as a path to […]
NASA Discovers Cause Of Repeating Pattern Sent Back By Voyager 1
NASA engineers have discovered the source of Voyager 1’s mysterious glitch, which left it sending back a repeating pattern of 1s and 0s rather than useful data. Voyager 1 has traveled further than any human-made object, crossing the heliopause and heading into interstellar space. While doing this, it has continued to send back useful data […]
Rare Photos Show Blue Whales Performing The Largest Mating Dance On Earth
Male blue whales have been witnessed battling for the chance to mate with a female off the coast of Australia in arguably the most formidable combat on Earth. When male whales sense a female is fertile, they start to follow her. In many whale species, the female leads the males on a dance. The males […]
Extremely Rare Gorgeous Marsupial Mole With Blond Hair Spotted In Western Australia
Sometimes we get a glimpse of extremely rare animals that can’t fail to delight. From underwater cuties like the dumbo octopus to a rare pink elephant calf in South Africa, catching a glimpse of something that special brings an extra sense of joy. That is exactly what happened to the Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ) Martu rangers […]
The Frozen Skin Of Dead Rhinos Could Save The Northern White Rhino From Extinction
The northern white rhino faces a biological puzzle: with just two infertile females left, how can the species survive? Scientists might just have the answer, as they say the cells of dead individuals could bolster the northern white rhino gene pool, giving rise not just to more animals, but to a genetically robust population. While […]