News

February 7, 1984. That’s when astronaut Bruce McCandless II performed the first-ever untethered spacewalk. This iconic moment in history was thankfully captured in a set of equally iconic photographs which, 40 years later, remind us just how extraordinary (and mildly terrifying) a feat this mission was. The “cherry-picker” Bruce McCandless attached to the “cherry picker”. […]

Life in a lake can be challenging at the best of times, but with winter comes another hurdle – ice. With the surface of lakes freezing over, light and oxygen suddenly become a lot more limited. That could be a potential threat, but thankfully, lake-dwelling organisms have come up some cool ways to survive. Metabolic […]

Cars are generally a convenient way to get us from A to B, but unfortunately, they’re also no stranger to going wrong from time to time. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell what the problem is, but there can be clues to look out for. One of these is white smoke coming from the exhaust – […]

We now know the Earth is around 4.5 billion years old, while the planet’s core is about two years younger than that thanks to the time-dilating effects of gravity. But how did we figure that out?  Early attempts at calculating the age of the Earth using science came up a little short. In 1844, physicist William Thomson (aka Lord […]

The meat industry is, to put it bluntly, unfathomably cruel. Every day, billions of animals across the USA survive in horrific conditions: barely able to move, living in constant pain, and often never even glimpsing the outside world before they are herded, scared and struggling, to their slow, premature deaths. As for those “ethically sourced” or “humane” labels – according to figures from […]

The odds of getting hit by lightning in the US in any given year are around 1 in 1.2 million. That goes down to 1 in 15,300 over your lifetime, assuming you live to 80, according to the US National Weather Service.  While still very unlikely, you might want to know how others have survived […]

In the Mojave desert lives a creosote bush ring called “King Clone”, thought to be one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. The clonal colony – a group of genetically identical plants that all originate from a single ancestor – is thought to have begun growing 11,700 years ago, around the time human agriculture […]

Finding diamonds is notoriously difficult, but a new discovery may have just made it that little bit easier. Research has shown that a much less sought-after gem contains clues that can tell us if diamonds are likely to be nearby, and it could speed up the process of finding them. “Diamond producers sometimes wish they […]

Here’s a spot of happy Friday news for you: the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California, has recently seen a bounty of African penguin chicks hatching – and, predictably, they are 100 percent adorable. Between November 2022 and January this year, a total of 10 African penguin chicks have hatched at the aquarium, which is […]

A grade eight student from Ontario, Canada has helped to settle a long-standing historical debate by proving that a so-called “death ray” designed by the Ancient Greek polymath Archimedes could really have worked. The weapon – which supposedly harnessed the sun’s rays in order to incinerate enemy ships – is reported to have been deployed […]

You have never been to Null Island. In fact, we don’t suppose many people actually have. However, speaking in terms of digital geospatial data points, it’s a place that’s been documented time and time again.  Ok, enough with the riddles. Null Island is the jokey name given to the location at zero degrees latitude and […]

If you’re a North American who has acquired eclipse glasses early for the April 8 event, or just someone who has old ones lying around, now might be a good time to get them out. The giant grouping of sunspots collectively known as AR3576 is approaching the middle of the side of the Sun facing […]

It is a week of breakthroughs and exciting announcements about nuclear fusion. Following the exciting updates from the American’s Inertial Fusion, scientists in the United Kingdom have announced the highest energy output ever achieved with nuclear fusion. A test in the Joint European Torus (JET) was able to create high-fusion power for five seconds, releasing […]

Another study has concluded that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), “the conveyor belt of the ocean” that carries warm water from the tropics northwards into the North Atlantic, is approaching its tipping point. If their findings are accurate, the collapse will have profound impacts on the world’s climate.  The AMOC plays a lead role […]

Hold onto your testicles (if you happen to have any): the pacu fish have made it to Paris, and there is concern that they may be spreading. For those not in the know, the pacu fish are a group of originally South American freshwater fish species related to the more famously scary piranha. They also […]

Looking for an easy way to improve your social standing, or even increase your chances of a long-term relationship? Well, a new study suggests that *ahem* lowering the pitch of your voice may well do the trick. “Vocal communication is one of the most important human characteristics, and pitch is the most perceptually noticeable aspect […]

For the first time, according to the team of scientists behind the innovation, natural temperature sensation has been incorporated into a functioning prosthetic limb. The device, called MiniTouch, can be integrated into any commercial prosthesis without the user having to undergo surgery, and restores a more human-like touch that many would consider to be permanently […]

Mounting piles of human poop are kicking up a stink on Mountain Everest, much to the annoyance of local authorities who are now instructing climbers they must bring their dirty business back to base camp.  The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee estimates that literally tons of human excrement have been dumped between Camp One and Camp […]

In an incredibly rare act of potential altruism, a male northern elephant seal has been observed saving a young pup from drowning. The unprecedented encounter, which has made a hero out of the pinniped lifeguard, could be the first recorded example of male altruism in the species. Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are the largest of […]