In September 2022, NASA performed the first serious test of planetary protection in space. The DART mission was sent to smash into asteroid Dimorphos, the small moon of asteroid Didymos. It was the first time humanity moved a celestial body. DART stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, and as tests go it did very well. […]
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Scientists Take Smallest Measurement Of Gravity Ever In Quantum Quest
Scientists have broken the record for the smallest measurements of gravity using a technique they see as having the potential to go much smaller. So small in fact it may help us determine if gravity is quantized, and if so, how general relativity and quantum mechanics are reconciled. One of the great revelations of the […]
For The First Time Since The Apollo Missions, NASA Is Operating On The Moon
On Friday, Intuitive Machines made history, becoming the first private company to make a soft landing on the Moon. The Odysseus lander, also known as IM-1, safely landed in the South Pole region of the Moon. As well as touching down nearer the lunar pole than any previous lander, the mission marks the first time […]
SS Nemesis: Ship Lost Over A Century Ago Found On Edge Of Continental Shelf
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia has solved a century-old mystery, locating the wreckage of the steamship SS Nemesis. In July 1904, the SS Nemesis was transporting coal from Newcastle to Melbourne when it went missing in a violent storm somewhere off the New South Wales coast. Over the next few […]
It’s Alive! Japan’s Moon Lander Has Survived Its First Lunar Night
It’s been a few days of good news for lunar exploration. First, Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus became the first US lander in over 50 years, and the first private one, to land on the Moon – even if it did land a little wonky, as is the trend. Now, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) reports that […]
Uranus Gets First New Moon In 20 Years While Neptune Gets Two More
Astronomers have added three new moons to the Solar System. Both Uranus and Neptune have got new companions – well, new to us at least – although one was once observed back in 2002 before disappearing from our observations for 22 years. This brings the number of moons in our Solar System to 293. The […]
Eight Beautiful New Iridescent “Island-Hopping” Bee Species Found In Polynesia
Way back in the 1930s, American entomologist Elwood Zimmerman discovered three tiny beautiful bees on tahetahe flowers in Polynesia. While the bees themselves were beautiful, what fascinated subsequent entomologists the most was how these tiny insects came to be on the islands – over 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) away from the nearest other bee population […]
Pet Dogs Trained To Sniff Out Parkinson’s Disease With Up To 90 Percent Accuracy
Dogs are not called our “best friends” for nothing. Apart from being our loving companions and protectors down the ages, many have impressive skills and talents. We’re all familiar with assistance dogs, like seeing eye dogs for those with visual impairments, but they are often specially bred and undergo years of training to learn their […]
New Titanium “Metamaterial” Has Supernatural Strength
A new 3D printed “metamaterial” that apparently has levels of strength for weight that appear to supersede those in nature and most of the manufacturing world has been created by a team from RMIT University, Australia. This new material could have significant implications for everything, from medical implants to aircraft to rockets. The new metamaterial […]
AI Just Cleared A Big Hurdle On The Road To Nuclear Fusion Energy
Futurists of the past used to imagine that breakthroughs in technology and science could create a utopian world fueled by boundless clean energy. Now, an artificial intelligence model from researchers at Princeton may have proven them right. Or at least, it’s gotten us a step closer. Fusion – the nuclear reaction in which two or […]
A Pilotless Plane Has Been Cruising Around Antarctica’s Skies
A pilotless aircraft has recently taken to the skies above Antarctica in a test flight that could revolutionize the way scientific data is gathered on the world’s ice-covered continent. Under the command of the British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Rothera Research Station, the Windracers ULTRA UAV is a fully autonomous plane with a 10-meter (32-feet) wingspan, […]
Does Technology Help Or Harm Grief? Find Out More In Issue 20 Of CURIOUS – Out Now
Issue 20 (March 2024) of CURIOUS is out now, bringing you science highlights for the month plus deep dives into intriguing topics, interviews, exclusives, diary dates, and explanations for some of Earth’s most perplexing natural phenomena and landscapes. In This Issue… Advertisement OUR COVER STORY: Does Technology Help Or Harm Grief? Find out how technology is changing […]
Drug Produced In Space By California-Based Startup Has Safely Landed Back On Earth
The California-based startup Varda Space Industries made history earlier this week after it successfully returned samples of a drug it made in orbit. After months of setbacks where the company’s in-space manufacturing capsule was held in orbit due to re-entry denial, the re-entry capsule safely touched down in the Utah desert on Wednesday, February 21. […]
Is There Really A Link Between Math Skills And Musical Skills?
It’s an idea that’s become so widespread as to be repeated as gospel – people who are good at math also tend to be good at music. Most of us know someone who fits the stereotype. Maybe it was a kid at school who got top marks in math class and could rattle off a […]
Sharks Can Have Bellybuttons – And Other Facts About Their Incredible Diversity
The first thing that pops into most people’s minds when they think of sharks is of big dumb fish with pointy teeth that are to be greatly feared. But as someone who spends their days studying these creatures, I know just how wrong that image is. For one thing, the diversity of sharks is astounding. […]
New Giant Anaconda Species Discovered While Filming With Will Smith, Lab-Grown Testicles May Be Capable Of Producing Sperm, And Much More This Week
This week a tiny star only slightly bigger than Earth is the smallest ever discovered, a battery breakthrough could see electric cars travel 1,000 kilometers on one charge, and a 40,000-year-old glue suggests neanderthals were actually pretty smart. Finally, we question if math was discovered or invented. Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the […]
Extreme Environments Are Coded Into The Genomes Of The Organisms That Live There
An organism’s genome is a set of DNA instructions needed for its development, function and reproduction. The genome of a present-day organism contains information from its journey on an evolutionary path that starts with the “first universal common ancestor” of all life on Earth and culminates with that organism. Encoded within itself, an organism’s genome […]
How Come Dinosaur Bones Can Survive For So Long?
When you learn about fossils, you start seeing dates thrown about like “265 million years old” and “dating back to the Jurassic” like it’s no big deal. Fossils can be incredibly, inconceivably old, but how do they survive so long while animal bones decay in just a few years? It all comes down to the […]
A Drug To Treat Frostbite Is Finally Available
Frostbite can occur at temperatures just below freezing (-0.55°C), though at such temperatures frostbite is typically mild and no permanent damage will result. But what happens if you live and work somewhere where it gets much colder? As a Canadian, I am used to seeing news reports during cold snaps warning people to avoid going […]
Patient CAL-1: The Most Radioactive Human Who Ever Lived
In May 1945, Californian house painter Albert Stevens started his incredible run of bad luck, getting misdiagnosed with stomach cancer and being told he had six months to live. While a terrible thing to happen, his luck was going to get much worse. Across at the Manhattan Project the previous year, scientists had been getting […]
