News

A new paper has taken a look at the orbits of megaconstellations around Earth, and found that we may be tiptoeing dangerously close to the catastrophic “Kessler syndrome” first hypothesized in 1978. Simply put, the Kessler effect, or Kessler-Cour-Pallais syndrome (KCPS), is where a single event (such as the explosion of a satellite) in low-Earth […]

In the Northern Hemisphere, astronomical winter runs from around December 21 or 22 until March 20 or 21, while meteorological winter runs from December 1 to February 28 (or February 29 if it’s a Leap Year). This difference isn’t to annoy climatologists and confuse migratory birds – there’s an understandable reason why these two systems […]

We’ve all watched Jaws with baited breath, laughed our way through Cocaine Bear and secretly wondered whether it would be possible to get a few pets in before being mauled to death by a tiger Gladiator style. But are there actually any animals that would actively hunt and eat a person in the real world? […]

Since the 1990s, humanity has discovered some truly bizarre exoplanets. Very hot, very big, orbiting multiple stars, or at a weird angle. Still, no matter how familiar you are with the strange worlds out there, you are not ready for the utter all-you-can-eat weirdness of exoplanet PSR J2322-2650b. PSR J2322-2650b is already peculiar because it […]

Anyone who’s been on the receiving end of a toddler or puppy chomp might argue that it feels like the strongest bite ever, but which animal really has the most powerful bite of them all? The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. And the crown […]

A new preprint from David Kipping, assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia University, has suggested that our first contact with aliens will likely be atypical, and particularly bleak. Since at least the time of Epicurus, who lived from 341-270 BCE, humans have speculated that there might be other forms of life out there in the […]

It’s looking like the generations of the future will inherit a world where glaciers are a shockingly rare sight. Our planet is currently home to more than 200,000 glaciers, but if climate change is left to fester, this figure could plummet to as low as 18,000 within this century. The rest of this article is […]

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered just five and a half months ago, and in that time has taken the world by storm. This peculiar object, only the third interstellar object discovered among the thousands estimated to be passing through our Solar System, is endlessly fascinating. There have been a few studies in the last several […]

The oldest hominin fossils outside of Africa hail from Dmanisi in Georgia, yet the debate over which human species these ancient remains belong to is far from settled. Dated to around 1.85 million years old, the collection of prehistoric skulls has been officially classified as Homo georgicus, although new research suggests that the assemblage may […]

For many of us, few things in life feel as comforting as a warm hug. But aside from signaling that we’re loved and cared for, have you ever wondered about the science behind why hugs make us feel good? According to a new study, it’s all wrapped up in how our bodies sense temperature, and […]

Another twist has been added to the puzzling mix that is early human ancestry with evidence that one of the most complete pre-human fossil skeletons we have found doesn’t belong to any recognized species. The team who made the discovery say they don’t know where StW 573, nicknamed Little Foot, fits from an evolutionary perspective, […]

Arctic animals are some of the most hardy on Earth, with special adaptations that help them survive freezing temperatures, vast sea ice, and long periods with nothing to eat. Among these adaptations, the Arctic fox possesses beautiful white fur, helping to blend in with the snowy background. But did you know that some of these […]

Analysis of data from almost 20,000 pregnancies in Canada has revealed that getting a COVID-19 shot is a great idea for pregnant people – not just for their health, but the baby’s too. As well as being linked to a lower risk of hospitalization and serious illness, vaccination was also found to be associated with […]

There are few things more pleasing to your average mathematician than when a result surprises you. Take e, for example – a transcendentally irrational number equal to a little more than 2.7 – and raise it to the power of π multiplied by the imaginary unit i. Add one to your total, and you get… zero. […]

At 4,100 meters (13,450 feet) beneath the ocean’s surface, scientists witnessed a never-before-seen behavior in a deep-sea cephalopod: an unknown species of whiplash squid burying its head into the muddy seabed with its tentacles rigidly poking out like chopsticks.  The researchers can only speculate on the purpose of this mysterious behavior in an undescribed species, […]

Coffee, probably the world’s favorite perker-upper and pooper-shaker, can have surprising benefits to those with severe mental illnesses, a new study has found. So long as you don’t overdo it, it seems the beverage can slow down the telomere shortening that diseases like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia can cause, taking roughly half a decade off […]

Pet nutrition has gotten complicated in recent years. There’s the ethics of where that meat comes from (David Attenborough’s OCEAN revealed how Antarctic krill is supplementing pet food). Then there’s the matter of whether raw meat is safe, or if pets can be healthy on a vegan diet. Owners put a lot of time, effort, […]

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself,” Carl Sagan famously said in the 1980 TV series Cosmos. Forty-five years later, the quote has not lost its incredible impact on how profound our curiosity about the universe and our place in it […]

Lonesome George was an endling, the last of a rare subspecies native to a far-flung island in the Pacific. When he died, the subspecies died with him, but his legacy still lives on (and not just in the form of his stuffed taxidermized body). This truly unique animal was a Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis niger […]

Bermuda is an island remnant of a volcano active 30-35 million years ago. However, it lacks the familiar features of other volcanic islands. Seismic waves reveal a unique structure that two scientists say explains these differences, but the theory of mantle plumes will need to be rewritten to understand how it happens. When hot plumes […]