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 This week on Break It Down: a wonky-necked giraffe is somehow still alive, an extraordinary fossil find shows a tyrannosaur with a stubby snout, a vaccine to stop COVID transmission is a success (at least, in hamsters), ancient stars are not where we expect them to be, 12,500-year-old rock art is a wildlife masterpiece, and […]

In the 1820s there lived a couple in Kentucky whose family would become known as the Blue Fugates. Why? Because they carried a rare genetic condition that gave several members of the family blue skin. Advertisement Yes, really. What caused the Blue Fugates’ blue skin? The highly unusual condition is known as methemoglobinemia. It’s characterized […]

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. It stretches for 38 kilometers (24 miles) and is supported by around 9,500 concrete pilings. Advertisement The southbound portion of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which had two lanes, was first opened on August 30, 1956, while the northbound bridge was completed […]

If, like us, you’ve been glued to the Olympics coverage, then you can’t have helped but notice a series of dark bruised circles on the backs of some of the medal hopefuls as they line up for the pool – but what are they? And do they offer any extra competitive or health benefit? We […]

The smooth-hound shark (Mustelus mustelus) just proved that it can reproduce without sperm, producing multiple offspring with identical genes. It’s the first time recurrent parthenogenesis has been reported for the species, and broadens our knowledge of all the ways that exist in nature to cook up a baby solo. Advertisement Parthenogenesis is sometimes referred to as […]

The animal world is full of what appear to be miracles: a Brazilian boa giving birth without being near another snake; fish that rain down from the sky; and who could forget the ferret that somehow survived a 100-minute cycle in a washing machine? There’s one group of birds, however, that likes to go for […]

An hour and a half. That’s how long went between deaths from work-related injuries in the US in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They recorded 5,486 people being killed by their job over the year – the equivalent of one every 96 minutes. Advertisement And that’s just a speck in the data […]

In the British Museum sits an ancient marble relief that depicts two gladiators battling with swords and shields. It’s a familiar scene from ancient Rome bar one intriguing detail: both of the gladiators are female. Advertisement The inscription about the marble relief, which was found in Halicarnassus, Turkey, reads that both gladiators fought to an […]

A titanium heart sounds like something made for the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz – but for the first time, on the July 9, it was implanted in a patient. Advertisement The implantation of a total artificial heart (TAH) is a proposed solution to help people with heart failure who need a heart […]

An ancient Egyptian woman whose face has been locked in a chilling scream-like pose for 3,500 years didn’t end up that way because of sloppy embalming, new research has revealed. Instead, the authors of a new study suspect that the mummy’s tortured expression may reflect the grimace that overcame her face as she died, wailing […]

It soon will be the 30th anniversary of my decision to become a space scientist (before then, the dream was palaeontologist – not that I am over dinosaurs, mind!) and since then I have devoured any astronomy image I have come across. Small, big, detailed, or pixelated, there is so much wonder out there and […]

While we’re lovers of all kinds of animals here at IFLScience, even we have to admit that some of them do look quite spectacularly silly – which arguably, makes us love them even more. Advertisement Continue reading to discover some of our favorites… Arabian sand boa Our first animal was described by one member of […]

There were fewer heart attacks and strokes in England, adjusting for risk factors like age, after people were vaccinated against COVID-19 than before, a nationwide study has found. Moreover, the benefits increased with second vaccinations and booster shots. Although the study cannot completely refute the claim that vaccination is associated with an increase in both […]

There is an old legend of a “doomsday fish” that has begun to resurface in recent years. According to old Japanese legends, sighting the rare animal – really an oarfish – is a harbinger of earthquakes and tsunamis.  Advertisement The world’s longest bony fish – with the longest estimated to be 15 meters (50 feet) […]

Known as the Alton Giant, Robert Wadlow from Alton, Illinois was the tallest person confirmed in history. With a height of 2.72 meters (8 feet, 11 inches) at the time of his tragically early death, the towering American was the size of a regular teenager by the time he started kindergarten, and also possessed the […]

Astronaut and keen astrophotographer Donald Pettit has shown off a stunning image he took from the International Space Station (ISS) that “cannot be taken anymore”. Advertisement A question that comes up every now and then, is why stars are not visible in photographs taken from the ISS. Though there are photos that display stars in the […]

Meet the blood clam, also known as blood cockles. Hailing from the shellfish family Arcidae, they’re so named for their dramatic coloration. The blood-red is really just that, blood, but you would do well to take it as a bit of a warning. Eating blood clams is considered one of life’s more dangerous delicacies because […]

If you’re watching the Olympics, you may have noticed that fencers are attached to a cable, making them look somewhat like they’re on a big leash.  Advertisement The cables are not there for the safety of the competitors, nor so that they can be yoinked backwards if they get too feisty. The cables, which are […]

Sometimes in the animal world, genetics or circumstances throw something of a curveball. From dolphins with “thumbs” to whales with curved spines, these animals with slightly unusual morphology open up questions about survival and adaptations to different environments. That includes the latest addition to the gang: a giraffe with a wonky neck. Advertisement On a […]

In the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, it’s difficult to know what to look for. During the pursuit, we have tended to search for detectable signals and signs that we ourselves would emit (on purpose, or by accident) on the assumption that aliens will use similar technology, given that they have access to the same physics.  […]