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So, we’ve seen panhandles that were created through compromise, through skullduggery, and through that age-old motivator, vendettas against Spain. But not all the states’ irregular shapes have such innocent origins – and in fact, like so much of US history, a lot of it is downright bloody. Step up to the plate, Oklahoma and West […]

NASA, NOAA, and the International Solar Cycle Prediction Panel have confirmed the Sun has reached solar maximum, slightly earlier than expected in its 11-year cycle. Thanks to the solar probes, telescopes, and missions currently studying our star, this is not the solar maximum of 2014, we can now study it in detail in ways never […]

In just a few short weeks, Americans will head to the polls and elect their next President. Right?  Wrong. It’s perfectly possible that whichever candidate gets the most votes might actually lose the election this year – it’s exactly what happened in 2016, and 2000, and 1888 before that.  Advertisement “The United States is the […]

Could diamond dust help solve climate change? The precious rock might not be the first thing to cross your mind when you think of climate change but researchers have come up with an innovative way to reverse global warming, at least in theory.  The plan would involve ejecting 5 million tons of diamond particles into […]

Northern Uruguay is home to one of the largest amethyst deposits in the world – but their formation has long been a mystery. Using cutting-edge techniques, researchers are unraveling their origin story and have discovered that these stunning gems crystalized at surprisingly low temperatures.  Amethysts are a type of quartz, recognizable by their striking violet […]

This week, the most complete thylacine genome yet has been reconstructed in a push for de-extinction, high-THC cannabis leaves a unique signature on users’ DNA, and gravity may be to blame for Neanderthals never adopting advanced spear-throwing technology. Finally, here’s what to know about the common eye condition, astigmatism. Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for […]

Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are firmly in the midst of cold and flu season and with that a new COVID-19 variant is making the headlines.   According to the CDC Data Tracker, there has been an uptick in reported cases involving the XEC variant.  While the variant KP 3.1.1 continues to account […]

You know those days where it feels like it just hasn’t stopped raining? Yeah, that’s got nothing on the Carnian pluvial event, otherwise known as the 1 to 2 million-year stretch of Earth’s history where a solid chance of rain was the rule, not the exception. What happened during the Carnian pluval event? It all […]

Perhaps you’re trying to grow your hair, get your skin glowing, or stop your nails from snapping all the time. A quick Google search or a scroll through TikTok, and you might be presented with biotin supplements as the magical solution. But what actually is biotin – and, most importantly, is it the miracle vitamin […]

Color blindness is a fairly common phenomenon, affecting approximately one in 12 men and one in 200 women worldwide. A much rarer condition is tetrachromacy–the total opposite of color blindness, tetrachromats might be privy to a world of color most of us can’t see. According to Healthline, the average person has the potential to perceive […]

How would you like to take a bath in Hell? It sounds like a particularly creative insult – but over in Japan, it’s actually a fairly popular tourist attraction.  Beppu, a small city in Ōita Prefecture, is an onsen town – a resort town built around the presence of hundreds of naturally occurring hot springs. […]

For humans, communication can be as easy as an eyebrow glance, a subtle cough, or even an emoji. Plants, on the other hand, don’t have eyes, ears, or the ability to use an iPhone, so how exactly do they communicate with one another? Phone a fungal friend As a plant, having the ability to warn […]

It’s dark, cold, and wet. No, we’re not talking about your winter commute to work, but the depths of the ocean – and while we might know the route to the office like the back of our hand, there’s still plenty to find out about the deep sea. Hydrothermal vents The deep ocean is a […]

There are some numbers that are just a bit special. Pi, for example. 42. Zero. And of course, 13,532,385,396,179. What’s that? You’ve not heard of the special qualities of the number thirteen trillion, five hundred and thirty-two billion, three hundred and eighty-five million, three hundred and ninety-six thousand, one hundred seventy-nine? It may look randomly chosen, but in […]

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In the Northern Hemisphere, winter is coming – and with it the usual cavalcade of respiratory viruses. COVID-19 continues to loom large with the latest XEC variant, we’re teetering on the precipice of the flu season, and there’s the perhaps lesser-known but still important respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to contend with. Put them all together, […]

You ever looked at Oklahoma and thought, huh? What’s up with that long thin bit sitting on top of Texas like that? Or Maryland, the state that’s basically broken in two pieces – what happened there? Why does Florida go so far west despite mostly being content as America’s wang, and why does Alaska have […]

The migration of wildebeest in a massive loop around the plains of the Serengeti is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular events on Earth, but it turns out it may have a rival when it comes to the title of the largest animal migration of all.  Take a look at biomass – in this case, […]

This week on Break It Down: the Sun has entered its solar maximum bringing new auroras and geomagnetic storms, a chance find of a thylacine head in a jar could be the next step in the de-extinction of the species, microplastics have been discovered in the breath of wild dolphins for the first time, why […]

Eclipses are not exclusive to our planet. While the Moon certainly makes it spectacular, often covering the Sun completely (at least for the next 600 million years), the other natural satellites in the Solar System cast their shadows too. And on Mars, humanity is lucky to have two working robots and two moons – multiple […]