News

Air filtration systems – as well as a host of other supposedly risk-reducing strategies that have proliferated since the COVID-19 pandemic – may be ineffective in real-world situations, according to a new analysis from researchers in the UK. In a review of more than 30 studies conducted between 1970 and 2022, the team behind the […]

If you combine all the colors in the universe in proportion to the extent they are produced, you get a beige-ish white. Realizing that sounded a bit depressing, astronomers ran a poll for suggested names that would give the universe the PR boost it needs. Most suggestions centered on the similarity to milky coffee and […]

New research has seen scientists use 3D bioprinting to sprout hair follicle-like structures into lab-grown human skin tissue.  Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the US start the process by “growing “ samples of skin and follicle cells in a lab, after which they’re mixed with special proteins and other materials to create a […]

The world’s first CRISPR-based therapy has been approved by the UK medicines regulator, it was announced on Thursday. The pioneering treatment, which involves the much-lauded gene-editing method CRISPR, will target two blood conditions: sickle-cell disease and beta-thalassemia. “This is a landmark approval which opens the door for further applications of CRISPR therapies in the future for […]

Visitors to Hawai’i may not be aware that the 50th US state holds a unique secret – it is home to the longest lava tube in the world. What is a lava tube? As a set of islands created by volcanic activity, Hawai’i is dotted with numerous lava tubes. These natural formations, sometimes referred to […]

Hundreds upon hundreds of active volcanoes are scattered across planet Earth, but only a small number are currently in the grips of a violent eruptive episode. While it’s difficult to predict when a volcano might blow, geologists are constantly keeping tabs on those that are already neck-deep in an eruption.  There are approximately 1,350 potentially […]

The flavoring of McDonald’s Sweet & Sour dip has sent some TikTokkers into a tailspin after an account revealed which fruit plays a central role in its tang. While some suggested pineapple might be the elusive star of the smooth sauce, others have been left “shaken” by the discovery that it is in fact apricot. […]

In recent years, facial reconstruction technology has allowed us to come face-to-face with our ancient ancestors in a way that had never been possible before. From a 50,000-year-old geriatric Neanderthal, to a medieval man with achondroplastic dwarfism, and the ever-enigmatic “hobbit” hominid Homo floresiensis, our forebears faces can now be revealed in stark relief. In […]

Research on populations of green sea turtles suggests that specific pollutants that accumulate in female turtles could be passed onto their young and may cause them to become feminized. This situation may compound issues for a species that already has fewer male hatchlings.   “Green sea turtles are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red […]

The astonishing discovery of 27 fossil bird footprints dating back 120 to 128 million years is changing the way we view avian evolution and migration. Found in the Wonthaggi Formation south of Melbourne, they were laid down in the Early Cretaceous and created by birds stepping across soft sand or mud. The footprints are so […]

Modern day Texas is home to deer, rattlesnakes, and bobcats, to name a few animals, and – according to news from a de-extinction company – soon, it might also have mammoths. The company behind the ambitious target is Colossal Biosciences, and it’s their goal to have living, breathing mammoths at their Texas-based facility by 2028. […]

If you’ve ever spent time around babies, you’ll know that the main way they communicate their needs and feelings is through crying. New research suggests plants take a similar approach – when they’re thirsty or stressed, they make “airborne sounds.” How to detect a crying plant While you’d be hard-pressed not to hear a tiny […]

When humans get hungry, our stomachs appear to protest with a series of rumbles and growls that can be audible even to those around us. It’s a normal part of being human and something all of us have experienced, but what’s actually going on to make those peculiar sounds? The reason why our stomachs growl […]

If you hear the word “tetanus”, there’s a good chance you’ll have a cringe-inducing vision of stepping on a rusty nail, followed by a swift trip to the hospital. However, this is a bit of a misconception: tetanus doesn’t actually have much to do with rust.  Tetanus is a serious, life-threatening condition caused by the […]

This week Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has shrunk to the smallest we’ve ever seen it, a 71-million-year-old snoozing dinosaur suggests they slept like birds, and one of nature’s “most intimidating spectacles” may become a lot more common. Finally, we investigate how the natural world made ancient warfare pretty weird. Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for […]

The known universe is full of exciting things like black holes, hypernovas, and merging neutron stars. All of those, however, look tame compared to items physicists think might exist but have yet to find. Perhaps chief among these are wormholes, which theoretically join parts of space and time, allowing those who enter them a shortcut […]

Two phase 3 trials of an Alzheimer’s drug have failed to demonstrate significant improvements in cognitive function, throwing doubt on one of the leading theories as to the cause of the neurodegenerative disease. The so-called “amyloid hypothesis” proposes that build-up of a protein called amyloid-beta is responsible for the neuronal death and degeneration that is […]

Gender has a curious effect on pain perception, according to new research from Lund University in Sweden. In one study, it was discovered that male participants needed stronger pain stimulation to reach a required threshold when the scientist inflicting the pain was female. In another, male patients recovering from surgery tended to report less pain […]

Few people have shaped the global population to the same extent as Genghis Khan – a man whose armies killed as many people as his genitals later replaced. In amongst all the slaughtering and siring, however, the legendary warrior-ruler may also have inadvertently sequestered huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, possibly even cooling […]