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R/P FLIP, the FLoating Instrument Platform, was a true one-of-a-kind, but it now lies in pieces at a undisclosed scrapyard. Advertisement Measuring 108 meters (355 feet) long, FLIP was an oceanic research platform designed to be towed out to sea horizontally, just like any conventional seafaring vessel. Upon command, it would be partially flooded and […]

A whopping great spider of an invasive species is believed to be on its way to New York, which is bad news for arachnophobes but really not that big of a deal for everybody else. The joro spider is a regular in the news for its United States tour, but despite its impressive size, it’s […]

A titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) specimen at Kew Gardens, London, England, has bloomed for the first time in years, releasing its trademark almighty stench.  Advertisement The plant was first described in 1878 by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari, who found it in Sumatra, Indonesia. Beccari sent seeds to several botanical gardens, including Kew, where these strange […]

Going for a family hike might not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but for three children in North Dakota, their outing led them to discover a juvenile T. rex skeleton, which is now on display at a museum.  Advertisement Jessin and Liam Fisher, their dad, Sam Fisher, and their cousin, Kaiden Madsen were […]

Many scientists believe that sperm counts across the world are on a general decline, with potentially serious ramifications for fertility and male health – but what if they’re wrong? A new study from researchers in the UK, Canada, and Denmark suggests the true situation may not be so straightforward, and that sperm quality, rather than […]

An infamous koala nicknamed “Claude” has conducted a broad-daylight heist on the Eastern Forest Nursery in South Gundurimba, New South Wales, Australia. Last year, workers at the nursery – which grows eucalyptus trees for a koala habitat – noticed that a number of their plants appeared to have been chewed on. Advertisement “One morning we […]

Neutron stars are the end product of certain supernovae. Massive stars collapse on themselves and then explode, leaving behind a dense object which in many cases is spinning very fast, emitting pulses of radio waves. Some of these objects spin hundreds times per second. Now, researchers report the discovery of a radio-emitting neutron star that […]

While hunting for submerged fossils off the coast of Florida, a 29-year-old man discovered the huge tusk of a mastodon, a distant cousin of the woolly mammoth and modern-day elephants. Advertisement Alex Lundberg recovered the 1.2-meter (4-foot) tusk in April 2024 while exploring the waters off Venice Beach in the Gulf of Mexico. Upon diving, […]

On May 31, the Hubble Space Telescope automatically entered safe mode due to one of its three gyroscopes giving faulty telemetry readings. These instruments allow the telescope to point consistently in the right direction, and they are key to the functioning of the space observatory. Advertisement NASA has now announced a press conference  to update […]

Some of the largest and most enigmatic rock art in the world can be found along South America’s Orinoco River, featuring a zig-zagging snake that stretches for more than 40 meters (131 feet) along with human figures and giant Amazonian centipedes. Advertisement In a new study, archaeologists have mapped the 14 sites that comprise this […]

NASA’s rovers on Mars do not have feelings– which is probably a good thing, given that they are living on a planet populated entirely by robots, with nothing but a barren landscape to explore alone. But every now and then, one of the rovers will pick up a companion. The latest to join Perseverance on […]

During an expedition to survey the biodiversity of northeast India’s Siang Valley, entomologists have stumbled upon a brand-new species of teeny-tiny ant with a rare appearance: it’s a dazzling metallic blue. Being so shiny appears to have done it a favor when it comes to being found – the team noticed something glistening whilst searching […]

Eating too much meat is bad for you, bad for the environment, and fatal for the animals involved. Those are straight facts, indisputable and proven through years of study. But counterpoint: have you considered that vegans are annoying? Advertisement If the comments section under just about any media promoting a vegetarian or vegan diet is […]

A leading architecture and engineering firm behind the world’s tallest building – among other major projects – has teamed up with startup Energy Vault in order to design skyscrapers that incorporate gravity batteries into their design. Advertisement As the planet moves towards renewable energy, we are faced with the problem of storage. The problem is […]

Some people’s specific genetic traits could leave them more vulnerable to heart attack during times of stress, like national holidays or elections. Recent research is showing how an inherited vulnerability could be behind a trend that’s long been observed but has remained poorly understood. Advertisement “We found people who are genetically predisposed to stress tend […]

Japan is looking to revitalize its dying whaling industry – and the unveiling of their new “mothership” shows they mean business.  Advertisement Japan’s new whaling factory ship, the Kangei Maru, set sail on its maiden voyage from the port of Shimonoseki on May 21, according to Japanese media. Advertisement The $48 million ship is a […]

For Ancient Egyptians, the Nile was the source of life itself: it irrigated their crops and fed their animals; it was a highway and a compass; it even underpinned their religious beliefs. But while some of the Ancient Egyptians’ beliefs may seem naïve – even amusing – to us here in the 21st century, a […]

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 […]