News

The reason for giraffes’ iconic long necks has been revealed, and it turns out food was the original driver after all, just as Darwin thought. However, the alternative explanation, that it was about male sexual competition, gets a compensatory prize, having modified the shape of male giraffes’ necks. Advertisement Giraffes’ remarkable necks are not only […]

Bright and shiny animals are all over the place, from deep sea worm species to electric blue tarantulas and even bright jellyfish. Now, several ancient harvestmen have been discovered in Germany, and the iridescence has even been preserved within the fossil.  Advertisement This research marks the first fossil harvestmen discovered from the Eocene, roughly 48 […]

After one of its cookie dough products was taken off shelves last year following the discovery it contained peanuts that weren’t supposed to be there, a cookie manufacturer has been issued a warning by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), after an inspection uncovered “serious violations”. Advertisement Back in October 2023, a Cookies-N-Milk product was […]

The game of “58 Holes” is one of the oldest games in the world. According to traditional interpretations, the board game first appeared in ancient Egypt during the second millennium BCE, but recent excavations have also discovered evidence of the game in the South Caucasus during this period, challenging our understanding of its origins. Advertisement […]

The skeleton of a female warrior who appears to have been slain in battle has been discovered at a cemetery for Medieval knights in central Spain. According to the authors of a new study, the ancient soldieress may have been a member of the Order of Calatrava, which defended the kingdom of Castile from North […]

Survey data from a nationally representative panel of US adults has revealed that a quarter still do not accept the overwhelming scientific consensus that there is no link between the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine – or MMR jab – and autism. This is one conspiracy theory that’s proving exceptionally hard to shake off, despite […]

The strange features of quantum substances are being explored in the hope they will lead to engines more powerful and efficient than their classical counterparts. There’s still a lot we don’t understand about how the various aspects of quantum physics can help and hinder machines. A new exploration of one of quantum physics’ most distinctive […]

For millennia, humans have been able to manipulate metals. In modern times, we have learned ways to make them more resistant to environmental effects. One could assume that in the vacuum of space, metals would fare better without ways to rust or degrade, but there are other concerns in vacuum. Concerns that can have very […]

The oldest crystals in the world show evidence of exposure to both fresh and salty water during their formation, a new study reports. This indicates that the very early Earth had both oceans and land on which rainwater could collect. Although hellish in many ways, it suggests a planet far more like the one we […]

“I could just gobble them right up!” isn’t an uncommon phrase when it comes to seeing a baby, but some animals take it a bit too literally. Known as filial cannibalism, chowing down on your offspring might seem a bit heartless to us – not to mention counterintuitive when it comes to species survival – […]

It’s enough to bring you out in a cold sweat. That dreaded moment when your boss asks you to schedule a “biweekly” call, and you have no idea what they mean. Is that twice a week or once every two weeks? We know lots of people are stumped by this so, good people that we […]

Humans like to think they’re special, but at the end of the day, they’re just another primate. For proof, look no further than our DNA: we’re up to four percent Neanderthal, 99 percent chimpanzee, and 50 percent banana (the most monkey of all fruit, and you know it.) Advertisement But despite knowing all this, you […]

Phase III trial results for a new drug targeting advanced lung cancer have just been reported, with some experts calling them “unprecedented” and “off the chart”. The drug is called lorlatinib, and the trial team says it’s setting a “new benchmark for targeted therapies in cancer.” A staggering 60 percent of patients on the drug […]

China has made history on the Moon once more. It successfully landed once again on the far side of the Moon, having been the only nation to have done that before. The new mission, Chang’e 6, is going for another first. It will collect rocks and soil, bringing them back to Earth. If it does […]

Animal migrations are some of the most spectacular sights the natural world has to offer, from incredible wildebeest moving across Africa to the incredible solo journeys undertaken by bird species across planet Earth. Now, a silky shark has entered the record books with a record-breaking migration that helps highlight the vulnerability of this species. Advertisement […]

After a years-long hunt, Vermont botanists have rediscovered a floodplain-dwelling plant species that hadn’t been seen in the state since 1916. Advertisement When it comes to the search for false mermaid-weed (Floerkea proserpinacoides), it’s not exactly an understatement to say it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. The plant is small, making it […]

An ancient Olmec monument symbolizing the entrance to the afterlife has finally been restored to its former glory and returned to its ancestral home, almost 3,000 years after it was sculpted. The enormous Portal al Inframundo (Portal to the Underworld) is thought to have been looted in the 1960s, yet was only brought back to […]

As part of efforts to shift towards “greener” urban areas, a city in Spain has begun installation of what’s to be the country’s largest urban solar farm in a somewhat unconventional location: cemeteries. Advertisement Valencia, found on the east coast of Spain, is on a mission to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. It’s in part […]

Several fossil remnants of a huge bird called Genyornis newtoni, including the first intact skull, have been described, offering insight into the lifestyle of the last of the giant thunder birds that once roamed Australia.  Advertisement If you think Australia’s existing fauna are terrifying, take a look at what used to inhabit the continent. A starring […]

An international team of astronomers has announced the detection of two of the earliest and most distant galaxies known. The light of both of them comes from just 300 million years after the Big Bang and it was possible to observe them only thanks to the power of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Advertisement […]