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A team of researchers has built an exciting new device to dramatically amplify microwave signals. It seems like a science fiction MacGuffin: it uses a purple diamond in a quartz tube exposed to an intense magnetic field. The system creates a maser, the microwave equivalent of a laser. It is used to amplify weak microwave […]

Solar scientists think there is a very active sunspot on the far side of the Sun. Sunspots are a common feature, especially during Solar Maximum, but we are yet to see this particular one. It will come into view next week, but something must be stirring the solar activity. In the last 10 days, four […]

For the first time since the regulation of the use of the term “healthy” on food labeling was developed in the early 1990s, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the criteria required to make the claim. Slapping “healthy” on a food product’s label remains voluntary on the part of the manufacturers, but […]

The languages still uttered around Europe today can be traced back to the prehistoric migrations of people around 5,200 years ago. That’s according to a new preprint paper that has looked at the link between the early evolution of Indo-European languages and genetic ancestry in Europe during the Bronze Age. Most languages spoken in Europe […]

There’s a lot to shout about when it comes to elephants: they’ve got what seems like a fifth limb for a nose, they use tools, but perhaps their most in-your-face feature are the giant fans attached to either side of their head. Is it simply excess, or elite design? The biggest ears in the animal […]

The animal world goes in hard for impressive colors, from those that blend in perfectly with their surroundings to those born to stand out and seem dressed to impress. However, new research has revealed an insect species with markings so black, they’re classed as ultrablack, absorbing nearly all visible light. The species in question is […]

From Mesoamerica to North Africa, pyramids were apparently all the rage in the ancient world. Yet while the triangular monuments are most synonymous with Egypt, the world’s largest collection of pyramids actually belongs to another, less visited, country and absolutely dwarfs the number built by Khufu and co. With somewhere between 220 and 255 pyramids […]

It’s the holiday season, and what better time to gather your loved ones together and absolutely trounce them in an hours-long board game marathon? Humans have been playing and enjoying competitive games for centuries. For this special episode of The Big Questions, host Laura Simmons sat down with Kelly Clancy, neuroscientist and physicist, and author […]

Just six years ago, fewer than 100 Sombrero ground lizards (Pholidoscelis corvinus) remained on the tiny Caribbean island they’re named after. Now, thanks to the help of conservationists, they appear to be making a remarkably rapid recovery. The island of Sombrero, found 54 kilometers (34 miles) off the coast of Anguilla, is only 38 hectares […]

I am sure it is something everyone has experienced at some point. You’re walking outside on a cold day, the wind is blowing, and, of course, your nose is streaming. It’s an ugly thing at the best of times, but it’s made worse if, like me, you have a mustache that seems to almost take […]

If there’s one thing you, and Gollum, should know about volcanoes, it’s that “lava=hot”. That, and it’s not a great idea to attempt to plug them up with concrete. But some volcanos are hotter than others. At Ol Doinyo Lengai in northern Tanzania for instance, the lava flows at temperatures so low it is possible […]

It’s just one of those fundamental things – all animals need water to survive. For us humans, getting it into our bodies is as simple as drinking it. But what about fish? They live in water, so are they just straight up absorbing it, or do they also need to drink? First things first, fish […]

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A potential murder may have been partially solved, after police found a man loading a human-like figure into a back of a car on Google Street View. Back in November 2023, in the small town of Tajueco in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain, a 33-year-old resident of the nearby city of Soria […]

A controversial 2020 study that claimed the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine showed promise for treating COVID-19 has been retracted, after sparking widespread criticism from scientists ever since its publication. The study was originally published online in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents on March 20, 2020. With a small sample size of just 36 total participants, […]

Popular and sometimes controversial YouTuber James Stephen Donaldson, known on YouTube as “MrBeast”, has revealed he has rented out the Great Pyramids of Giza for an upcoming YouTube video. While you might think that the ancient wonders of the world cannot be hired out like a wedding venue, you are only partially correct. Though wedding […]

Atmospheric rivers – vast flowing streams of water vapor that flow high up in Earth’s atmosphere – appear to fuel sweaty heatwaves in summer, as well as unseasonable warm weather in the winter, according to a new study. The phenomenon of atmospheric rivers is closely associated with rainfall because they shift huge amounts of water […]

Astronomers have found a new type of stellar phenomenon: stars that for a few months might suddenly get up to 20 times as bright with a temperature of hundreds of thousands of degrees. These objects are being called millinovae and they have never been seen before. The international team found 29 of these events in […]

Considering its formalization in medieval Europe, chess has some unexpected quirks. The pieces are named for positions in the royal court, but the most powerful piece – and the most valuable – is not the king, but the queen. A knight and a bishop have equal value, just as in the UK House of Lords; […]

For the first time in 11 years, a complete mastodon jaw has been unearthed in the state of New York. What makes this discovery even more remarkable is that the prehistoric specimen turned up in someone’s backyard. The bizarre yet thrilling find was reported by a homeowner near Scotchtown in Orange County, who happened to […]