It’s not every day you find a 2-meter (7 foot) tusk from a member of the same order as elephants, so finding one sticking out of a steep embankment in Madison County, Mississippi was a big event for amateur collector Eddie Templeton. When he alerted the Mississippi State Geological Survey, he learned he had found […]
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Astrologists Are Overly Confident And Terrible At Astrology, Study Finds
A new study has put astrologers to the test, ultimately determining that they are confident in what they are saying, but no better at it than random chance. Advertisement Astrology mentions the planets and stars a lot, so can sound sort of science-y to laypeople, until you start looking into it. In fact, Gallup and […]
Humanity Could Use “Glitter” To Terraform Mars (And Add A Little Razzle Dazzle)
Right now, we are looking for signs of life on Mars at the surface, and perhaps soon in the ocean of liquid water found deep in the crust. Advertisement Finding signs of life (if that were to happen) could tell us about how life evolves, whether it is abundant in the cosmos, or even whether […]
“Mysterious” Sloth-Borne Virus Detected In Europe For First Time – Should We Be Worried?
Reports of a rare virus in three European countries have sparked fears of an “emerging threat to global health”. Oropouche virus, sometimes referred to as a “sloth virus”, typically spreads in the Americas but seems to have made its way across the Atlantic for the first time – how concerned should we be? Here’s everything […]
Lightning Strikes Two People At Horseshoe Bend In Arizona
On Monday (August 12), two people were struck by lightning in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Advertisement In a statement released on Tuesday, the National Park Service (NPS) revealed that two female visitors, aged 22 and 23 and hailing from the Netherlands and Australia, had “sustained injuries” while standing near the rim of Horseshoe […]
Some Of The Smallest Dinosaur Footprints Ever Found After Heavy Rains
An ancient trail of tiny dinosaur footprints has been discovered in the Linxia UNESCO Global Geopark in Gansu province, China. According to reports from South China Morning Post, scientists got the heads up from museum employees in the region who spotted the miniature marks after heavy rains. Advertisement Extreme weather can both help and hamper […]
One Of The Earliest Depictions Of Jesus Shows Him With A Donkey Head
One of the oldest known depictions of Jesus Christ isn’t found in a humble chapel in Bethlehem, nor is it a fine work of art kept in the shady basements of the Vatican. In fact, it’s a piece of crudely drawn Roman graffito that shows a person with the head of a donkey being crucified. […]
Bowhead Whales Could Be Diving In Sync With Their Long-Distance Pals
Whales are famous for a lot of different things. Swimming great distances, dancing, trips to the spa – whalekind has a lot of tricks up their considerable whale sleeves. However new research could add to that list with the theory they might be pretty great at long-distance relationships too. Advertisement Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were […]
World’s Largest 3D-Printed Neighborhood Is Almost Finished In Texas
The world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood is quickly nearing completion, one layer at a time. Wolf Ranch is a community of 3D-printed houses found alongside the San Gabriel River in the hills of Georgetown, Texas, around 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of Austin. Advertisement Construction of the settlement began in 2022 with the project planning to […]
Meet The Bristle-Spined Rat: A Bizarre-Looking Rodent That’s Long Baffled Scientists
You’ve heard of porcupines, you’ve heard of rats, but have you ever seen an animal that’s a confusing mixture of the two… and also looks like someone made it out of the same stuff as a stiff broom? No? Then it’s time to introduce you to the bristle-spined rat. Advertisement Bristle-spined rats: the basics Also […]
Gene-Edited Salad Leaves Could Be Making Their Way To Your Plate This Year
The latest gene-edited food tipped to hit the shelves – potentially in a few short months – are new and improved leafy greens. With better taste and higher nutrition than your average lettuce, it could soon be spicing up salads, having recently been licensed by biotech giant Bayer. Advertisement Last year, food startup Pairwise launched […]
Harvester Ants’ Powerful Venom Could Kill A Human In 500 Stings
When it comes to venom’s toxicity, scientists work out quite how powerful it is by predicting the median lethal dose, or LD50. According to the University of Florida’s Book Of Insect Records, harvester ants take the crown for insect venom toxicity in mice – and hoo boy does it pack a punch. Harvester ants: the […]
Man Fined $1,000 For Driving Boat Through Pod Of Orcas
A boat trip near Roche Harbor in Washington ended up leading one man to a $1,000 civil penalty, after he violated regulations by driving his boat straight through a pod of orcas. Advertisement The incident occurred back in September 2022, when the man, who’s been named as Matt Ryan, was taking his boat Cypress Point […]
FDA Snubs MDMA Following Flawed Trials And Sexual Abuse Scandal
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected an application to allow the use of MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bringing an end to several years of excitement about the prospect of the party drug becoming medicalized. After analyzing research submitted by drugmaker Lykos Therapeutics, the agency ruled that the […]
NASA Analyst Explains The Obvious: Why Aren’t Photos Of The Milky Way Real?
A former NASA analyst on TikTok has explained the (hopefully obvious) reason why photographs of our galaxy – the Milky Way – are not real. Advertisement Responding to the question “How do we take pictures of the Milky Way if we are in it?”, science communicator and former NASA space analyst Alexandra Doten explained that […]
Astronomers Place 50/50 Odds On Andromeda Colliding With Us
Humans confirmed the existence of other galaxies surprisingly late. Only 100 years ago, in fact, when Edwin Hubble found a type of star known as Cepheid variables within Andromeda, and used them to measure the galaxy’s distance. Advertisement Since then, astronomy equipment and techniques have advanced, and more and more data has been collected on […]
China’s Hyperloop, Set To Reach 100 Kilometers Per Hour, Passes New Test With Flying Colors
China has carried out another successful test of their answer to Hyperloop, an ultra-high-speed maglev train that they plan to travel at speeds of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) per hour. While it hasn’t yet achieved this blazing speed – despite some misleading news reports – the latest tests suggest their pipe dream is going to […]
NASA’s InSight Lander Found An Ocean Of Liquid Water Within Mars
A new study looking at data from NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations (InSight) Lander has found evidence of oceans of liquid water existing below the surface. Advertisement Mars is currently a cold, desert planet, but that hasn’t always been the case. From looking at the formations and features on the planet, we can tell […]
Stars, Dead Stars, Galaxies? What Are You Actually Looking At In The Night Sky?
It’s been a pretty good decade so far for witnessing cosmic events. As well as the total solar eclipse and the Sun approaching its peak in activity, creating stunning auroras on Earth, we will soon see an event first recorded in a medieval manuscript, when T Coronae Borealis goes nova. Advertisement But look up at […]
Polar Bears Kill Person Working At Remote Radar Site In Canadian Arctic
Two polar bears have attacked and killed a person working at a remote radar site in the Canadian Arctic. The fatal attack took place on Thursday, August 8, at the outpost on Brevoort Island in Canada’s far northeastern Nunavut territory, according to Nasittuq Corporation, which runs the facility. Advertisement “Nasittuq employees responded to the scene […]
