News

What may be Britain’s oldest giant chalk figure, the iconic Uffington White Horse, has been given some much-needed care after it had started to shrink and thin out. The restoration work has spruced up the ancient horse, allowing it to put on weight again and return to its former glory. Advertisement Last year, archaeologists with […]

It’s almost forty years since Voyager 2 checked out Uranus, leaving some great mysteries behind. Three planetary scientists think they’ve shown two of these are connected – why its proton radiation belts are so weak and why its magnetic field is off-kilter – possibly solving one. Advertisement Magnetic fields affect the movements of charged particles, […]

Parents in the animal kingdom often have their work cut out for them, from octopus moms who can’t eat while looking after their eggs, to those animals going it solo. What is unusual is large mammals having multiple offspring, but that is exactly what’s happened in Yellowstone National Park as a grizzly bear female was […]

After a suspicious set of test results triggered an investigation last week, public health officials in Pueblo County, Colorado, have now confirmed a case of plague in a local resident. Advertisement Plague is a bacterial infection that’s best known for decimating Europe’s population in the mid-14th century, with what came to be known as “The […]

The largest of the star clusters that surround the Milky Way, Omega Centauri, has a black hole at the core with a mass 20,000-50,000 times that of the Sun, new evidence reveals. At 18,000 light years away, this object is hardly close, and certainly no threat, but the discovery is important. Astronomers have long sought […]

A woman from New Jersey has died less than three months after becoming the second person in history to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. Lisa Pisano underwent the historic procedure in April as an experimental last resort for severe illness, but had to have the porcine organ removed 47 days later. Advertisement The […]

Analysis from environmental charity WWF shows that, as of this week, the amount of fish consumed this year in the European Union (EU) has already reached the annual amount that can be obtained from the Mediterranean. To match demand, Italy and other southern European countries have to rely on imports. The WWF and New Economics […]

Younger generations in the US are way more skeptical about the “American Dream” than older folks, according to a new poll. The American Dream is a phrase used to describe the optimistic idea that anyone in the US can attain their own version of success through hard work and determination.  It was popularized by historian […]

The discovery of an immune system pathway that appears to be a driving force behind lupus could herald the development of targeted treatments for the autoimmune disease. With 1.5 million people affected in the US alone, this new study will be welcome news for scores of patients living with this long-term condition. Advertisement Systemic lupus […]

Building sandcastles is one of the great joys of a day at the beach, but when you’re sourcing building materials it’s vitally important you don’t go digging giant holes. Why? Because statistics suggest that suffocating in the sand may be a bigger killer than shark attacks. The threat of sand suffocation comes down to the […]

When you think of a lion, what is the first thing that comes to mind? A catchy song from a Disney movie, their majestic roar, or maybe the similarities between these predators and the housecat curled up on your lap? What perhaps doesn’t enter your mind is the swimming prowess of these African beasts. Well, […]

With just one living fluent speaker, N|uu is one of the most endangered languages in the world. Its story is one of pain and tragedy – but also great hope and determination. Together with her family and local linguists, the last remaining speaker of N|uu is striving to keep the dying embers of the language […]

A dinosaur with a hip bone the size of a dinner plate has been discovered in the UK, and it’s the country’s most complete to have been found in the last 100 years. The remarkable remains belong to an ancient herbivore that dates back 125 million years and marks a new-to-science species and genus that’s […]

Fiberglass has been found in the food chain for the first time. A “disturbing level” of the artificial material was recently detected in oysters and mussels along the south coast of the UK, although the researchers say it’s likely to be a global issue.  Advertisement Scientists at the Universities of Brighton and Portsmouth collected oysters […]

Back in May, we brought you the news that Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) would soon be visible in the night sky, as it made a close approach to the Earth.  Advertisement With its closest approach to the Earth on October 12, at approximately 70.6 million kilometers (43.9 million miles), it was estimated by some that […]

A 59-year-old man from Massachusetts has become the first known person to have received a total larynx transplant whilst having active cancer. Patient Marty Kedian has joined a very short list of people who’ve undergone this surgery in the past, with surgeons at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona hoping the procedure could soon be offered […]

When you picture dinosaurs you probably imagine huge, fearsome beasts chilling above the ground – but not all dinos fit this bill, as one small, semi-subterranean species that has been freshly discovered proves.  Advertisement Fona herzogae, as the new species has been named, lived 99 million years ago in what is now Utah – and […]

A team of researchers looking at seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander has found that around 280 to 360 objects that cause craters over 8 meters (26 feet) in diameter impact Mars every year. Advertisement Exoplanet scientists use meteoroid impact data from Mars and other planets to estimate the age of other bodies in the […]

Peering into the Chamaeleon I, a part of space known as a nursery for stars, the JWST has detected the spectrum of ice with water molecules only partially bound inside. Known as “dangling OH”, this indicates the presence of water molecules that have not bonded to all their neighbors, as can occur when ice is […]