The motion of celestial bodies has been studied and interpreted for tens of thousands of years. Understanding how the Moon and Sun move helped our ancestors thrive across the changing seasons. Expanding that to the planets gave us an idea of our place in the universe. And the advent of the astronomy of precision several […]
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Artificial Womb Grows Baby Sharks For Up To 355 Days
Scientists in Japan have created an artificial womb that can incubate prematurely delivered shark embryos until they are ready to be born. Advertisement A team of researchers at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Motobu built an artificial system that was able to incubate the embryos of slendertail lantern sharks (Etmopterus molleri) for up to 355 […]
Visitors To US National Parks Face Increased Dangers This Summer
Millions of people will visit the USA’s various national parks this summer. But as temperatures continue to rise, visitors are being urged to consider the risks of extreme heat; it is not only a threat to their health, but makes rescue missions more dangerous too. Advertisement To say Death Valley is a hot place would […]
Why Is “Missionary Position” Called That? Its Origin Story Is A Myth
The term “missionary position” is an anthropological enigma. The most prominent explanation is that it has something to do with prudish Christian missionaries. However, that seems to be a big misunderstanding tied back to one of the most famous sexologists of the 20th century, Alfred Kinsey. Advertisement For the uninitiated, the missionary position is a […]
People Are Just Learning Why England Have Three Lions On Their Emblem
When you think of England, it might conjure a picture of rolling green hills, chocolate-box villages with cobbled streets, and fish and chips by the sea. Something that probably doesn’t feature heavily in that fantasy is a lion. Why, then, do England’s football players, currently carrying the hopes of the nation through Euro 2024, famously […]
Where Did The Expression “Roger!” Come From?
“Roger!” has become a go-to expression to acknowledge a message, most often uttered over the phone or a radio transmitter when doing something vaguely important. However, the origin of this cool sign-off is less well-known. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with a guy named Roger. Advertisement The term can be traced back […]
New Carbonated Concrete Can Store CO2 While Still Being Strong
Engineers at Northwestern University have found a new concrete manufacturing process that stores carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere by using a carbonated solution. The concrete is just as strong and durable as traditional versions and is easy to make. Advertisement When it comes to types of water – still or carbonated – you probably […]
What Does A Sunset Look Like From Space?
Unless someone happens to have had an unusually extreme early bedtime for the entirety of their life, we’ve all seen plenty of sunsets in our time. Given the wealth of them that end up on Instagram stories, they look pretty great too – but have you ever wondered what they look like from space? Advertisement […]
First Ever “Mini-Brains” With Cells From 5 People Show How Drugs Affect Us Differently
In a world first, scientists have grown 3D brain organoids using cells from more than one person. Called “Chimeroids”, the intricate systems contain cells from up to five people; but future versions could push this into the hundreds, allowing scientists to create models that capture the wealth of human genetic diversity. Advertisement Organoids, often referred […]
508-Million-Year-Old “Pompeii” Trilobite Fossils Show Never-Before-Seen Features
Trilobites that date back 508 million years have been found preserved in volcanic matter, revealing never-before-seen details in 3D form. Their fossilization was so rapid that tiny shells have been preserved in situ, and soft tissues including mouthparts and internal organs can still be seen. Advertisement The trilobites were entombed in pyroclastic flow, which is […]
The Gross Reason Why Putting Your Luggage In The Bathtub Is Actually A Good Idea
You’ve just arrived at your hotel room. Still got your passport? Check. Sun cream on? Check. Luggage in the bathtub? Sorry… what? It might sound strange but putting your suitcases in the bathtub when you go on holiday is actually a good idea. Why? Because nobody loves an extended stay in a hotel or hostel […]
Why October Is Missing 10 Days In The Year 1582 On Your Phone
Folks on social media have noticed a strange quirk in the iPhone calendar: if you scroll to the year 1582, you’ll notice it jumps from October 4 to October 15, seemingly missing 10 days in the middle. This isn’t a bug or an Easter egg inserted by a bored programmer – those 10 days did […]
Time Team Archaeologists Discover Fragment Of Famous 6th Century Byzantine Bucket At Sutton Hoo
After a month of excavating, archaeologists with Time Team, a long-running British archaeology TV show, have discovered missing pieces of a 6th-century Byzantine bucket at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England. The fragments, along with other finds, reveal more about this site’s prehistoric past. Advertisement Over 80 volunteers from across the world were taking part in […]
Fly Through The Pillars Of Creation In Stunning New 3D Visualization
When we look at things in astronomy, we see them projected onto the vault of heaven. Often we cannot appreciate that they are three-dimensional structures spanning mind-boggling distances. But combining observations at different wavelengths with cutting-edge visualization tools let us bridge that gap. The latest beautiful example focuses on the Pillars of Creation. Advertisement These […]
What Was The First Human Species, And What Makes It Human?
What makes a human human? Is it underpants? Whatever it is that sets us apart from the rest of the animal world, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment in history when we became fully human, and there are a few different candidate species that could have been the first. Advertisement Planet Of The Apes […]
Magnitude 7.2 Quake Hits Coastal Region In Peru – No Tsunami Expected
A strong earthquake, reported by the USGS as magnitude 7.2, has struck the region of Arequipa on the coast of Peru. The epicenter of the tremor was 54 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of the small town of Yauca according to the Instituto Geofísico del Perú. The quake hit just after half past midnight local time, […]
Astronauts Take Shelter As Debris From Russian Satellite Breakup Swarms
It’s been an eventful week on the International Space Station (ISS). First, a spacewalk was canceled when coolant water spread everywhere in the airlock. Then astronauts had to take shelter in the spacecraft they used to travel into space because of a report of potentially dangerous space debris approaching. Advertisement The cause of the debris […]
Popsicle Wolves, Primordial Black Holes, And A Fleshy Robot’s Smile
This week on Break It Down, a puppy gets a post-mortem 44,000 years after being frozen in permafrost, altruism found among Neanderthals in Down Syndrome case, the world’s largest terrestrial mammal migration is recorded in East Africa, a robot’s fleshy smile that will haunt your nightmares, NASA is being sued, and the Tunguska Event may […]
What The 3.2 Million-Year-Old Lucy Fossil Reveals About Nudity And Shame
Fifty years ago, scientists discovered a nearly complete fossilized skull and hundreds of pieces of bone of a 3.2-million-year-old female specimen of the genus Australopithecus afarensis, often described as “the mother of us all.” During a celebration following her discovery, she was named “Lucy,” after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Advertisement […]
Turns Out Texas’ State Small Mammal Is Actually 4 Different Species
In news that’s likely to be awkward for whoever decided that the nine-banded armadillo should be the state small animal of Texas, scientists have discovered that it’s actually four different species – and the only one that’s kept the name doesn’t even live in the state. Advertisement At least until now, nine-banded armadillos were considered […]
