News

Funerals could easily be assumed to be a uniquely human phenomenon, but a new study appears to challenge that after researchers observed Asian elephants burying dead calves and loudly mourning for them. Both African and Asian elephants have previously been observed interacting with their dead and displaying grief-like behaviors, but the current study aimed to […]

After decades of dwindling, nuclear energy could be making a big comeback in the US. Last week, the House passed through bipartisan legislation that aims to bolster nuclear energy with a sweeping 365-36 vote.  The measure, the Atomic Energy Advancement Act, will essentially make it easier to build nuclear power plants by speeding up environmental […]

An elaborate artifact that was once used to tell the time and calculate distances appears to have been used by members of three different faiths during its long and storied life. Known as an astrolabe, the relic has been dated to the 11th century CE and bears inscriptions in Arabic, Hebrew, and Western numerals. Astrolabes […]

A meteorite allegedly exists in the Sahara that would make all the other meteorites look like pebbles. An object the size of a skyscraper, it was reported in 1916 by Western observers but then disappeared without a trace. Now, scientists in the UK have set out to solve the mystery with the help of radar […]

Yosemite National Park in California has reopened to the public after temporarily shutting down late last month. The US National Park was forced to close on February 29, telling visitors to stay away due to an atmospheric river over California threatening an incoming storm that was predicted to leave Badger Pass covered in over 2 […]

A proposal has been published for a mission to send a spacecraft to study a future interstellar object passing through our Solar System. Although only two such objects have ever been detected with confidence, advances in surveillance systems mean that number is almost certain to shoot up very soon. Acknowledging that it will be a […]

With the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent decision on the status of embryos raising concerns about the future of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics in the state, it’s safe to say fertility is on a lot of people’s minds at the moment. According to the World Health Organization, around 1 in 6 adults around the world experience […]

Overall, the turbines that provide wind-generated electricity are a great deal, environmentally speaking. They have a “payback” time – that is, the length of time taken for one turbine to provide enough clean energy to offset the pollution created by its manufacture – of less than a single year; they generate virtually zero pollution once […]

The largest natural flow of hydrogen gas ever discovered has been detected seeping through a pool of water deep within a chromium mine in Albania. Reporting the find in a new study, researchers say the deposit could pave the way for new, cleaner ways of capturing hydrogen for use as a clean fuel. Hydrogen gas […]

Billions of people around the world regularly fast to lose weight or for religious reasons, yet until now the full biological implications of prolonged calorie restriction have remained poorly understood. Hungry for some proper data to get their teeth into, researchers have now analyzed the systemic changes that occur across multiple organs during long periods […]

Mighty mountain ranges can be found on every continent, yet the longest continuous chain of peaks is not located on any of these seven landmasses. Instead, the world’s most extensive range lies at the bottom of the sea. Known as the mid-ocean range, this absurdly lengthy mountain chain traces the outline of the Earth’s tectonic […]

Visitors to California’s Yosemite National Park have been told to leave immediately with intense blizzards forecast throughout the area. Releasing a statement on Thursday, February 29, the park announced that it would be closing at midnight and would “remain closed at least through Sunday at noon (possibly later).” The sudden warning comes with an atmospheric […]

Just over five years ago, on 22 February 2019, an unmanned space probe was placed in orbit around the Moon. Named Beresheet and built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, it was intended to be the first private spacecraft to perform a soft landing. Among the probe’s payload were tardigrades, renowed for their ability to […]

Members of a pre-Roman culture in Italy were sometimes buried with animals including dogs and horses, though researchers are unable to explain why this was the case. After discovering several of these multi-species co-burials at a site in Verona, the authors of a new study speculate that the interred animals may have held some sort […]

Cheese was just as popular in the ancient world as it is today – and then, just as now, its production required patience and time to mature into something tasty. However, archaeologists have found various cheeses that push the limits of what we would consider “matured”, having been preserved for centuries in various places. So […]

This week a megalith discovered on a mountain in Peru is older than Egypt’s pyramids, a tiny 12-millimeter-long fish makes a sound comparable to a human hearing a jet plane take off, and the mighty blue whale reclaims its spot as the Earth’s heaviest animal to ever live. Finally, we discover the bizarre behind-the-scenes story […]

In one of the most extraordinary predation events ever witnessed, an orca has been observed annihilating a great white shark in less than two minutes. Previously, killer whales had been seen hunting the large sharks in packs, yet this is the first known instance of a single orca taking down a great white with no […]

Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest place on Earth; inland, it can reach highs (no, that’s not a typo) of -30°C (-22°F) in the summer and lows of -80°C (-112°F) in the winter; it’s so remote that its permanent population is zero; and if you want to live there long-term, you may have to […]

Almost everywhere you look, people are talking about ultra-processed foods. Are they bad for our health? Should we be cutting back? What actually are ultra-processed foods anyway? Nutrition research can be tricky to wade through at the best of times, so we wanted to try and cut through some of the confusion and find out […]

Years of sample collection on the Hungarian steppe recently revealed four brand new species of fungi, including one that scientists say bears a striking resemblance to an infamous sci-fi monster. Its worm-like body and sandy dwelling place led the team to dub the new species Tulostoma shaihuludii, after the Shai-Hulud sandworms that feature in Frank […]