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Drinking alcohol, even in small amounts, likely increases dementia risk – that is the conclusion of a huge new study, based on data from over half a million people.  Previous research, based on observational studies, hinted that light drinking may have a protective effect on the brain; some have suggested there may even be an […]

An amateur astronomer looking through data from NASA’s Perseverance rover may have spotted interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed overhead.  3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1, this year, moving through the Solar System at nearly twice the velocity of previous interstellar visitors ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov. The object was confirmed to be an interstellar comet […]

The Falkland Islands, now famous for its sheep, was once home to just one native mammal: the Falkland Islands “wolf”. I crack out “these guys” because we’ve since learned that these strange, tame creatures weren’t wolves at all, but the final stronghold of a curious species of domesticated fox that started out in South America. […]

For the first time, a wolf-dog hybrid has been confirmed in Greece, marking a new twist in the species’ controversial comeback to European landscapes. The hybrid was documented near Thessaloniki by Callisto, an environmental and conservation organization, while analyzing 50 wolf samples from the Greek mainland, AFP reports. One individual reportedly registered as 45 percent […]

George Smoot, who won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his role in the “discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation” in 2006, has died at home at the age of 80. Certain discoveries in science feel like they have been known about for a lot longer than they […]

Astronomers have discovered a new odd radio circle (ORC) that is more powerful and distant than any discovered before. What is even stranger is that this object doesn’t appear to live up to its name, looking like a spread-out smudge, because two near-circular rings overlap like a Venn diagram. ORCs are one of the completely […]

In 1715, a gang of Spanish ships crashed in a storm off the American coast, sending an eye-watering fortune in gold, silver, and jewels to the bottom of the Atlantic. Now, more than 300 years later, ocean explorers have uncovered a fresh trove from the legendary fleet. The rest of this article is behind a […]

Astronaut and keen astrophotographer Donald “Don” Pettit has shared a stunning image of the “Belt of Venus” he took whilst on board the International Space Station (ISS). The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. Pettit, a NASA astronaut and chemical engineer, is probably […]

You’re all alone. It’s dark. It’s near-silent – except for a quiet, rhythmic tapping that seems to be coming from inside the walls. The creature making that sound? The deathwatch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum), and if some tales are to be believed, its soft patter is a harbinger of death. The rest of this article is […]

Albert Einstein, recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the photoelectric effect and the great physicist behind general and special relativity, once said: “The exaggerated esteem in which my lifework is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler.” Given his […]

The idea that the menstrual cycle is synced with the phases of the Moon is a controversial one, and one that’s generally considered to have little scientific evidence to support it. A new study, however, has proposed that periods were once significantly linked up with the lunar cycle, but that the rise of light-emitting diodes […]

Astronomers have witnessed the second-closest asteroid fly-by ever measured. Or at least we think they have, with government shutdowns preventing NASA from releasing a statement. Luckily, the European Space Agency is still on the ball and caught it. Once again, however, we only noticed the visitor after it had already passed us. The rest of […]

Was the legendary sinking of Endurance in 1915 due to a string of bad luck or a series of fatal design flaws and risky decisions? New research suggests that Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous polar tale of survival and heroism may have been doomed before the ship even left the port. The story of the Endurance is an […]

The winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine are Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance”. The prize is worth 11 million Swedish kronor (around $1,170,000 USD at the time of publishing), which will be shared equally between the winners.  The rest of this […]

This week, a 13,000-year-old discovery is one of the earliest uses of blue pigment, Enceladus’s oceans may have every ingredient necessary to form life, and these 4,000-year-old mummified cheetahs are the first naturally mummified big cats ever found. Finally, Dr Jane Goodall, famed primatologist, passes away aged 91 – we explore what made her one […]

If you thought eagles nowadays were impressive, best believe they’ve got nothing on Haast’s eagle (Harpagornis moorei).  The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. Appearing in New Zealand sometime between 700,000 to 1.8 million years ago, everything about this now-extinct beast of a […]

From whale milk cheese to boiled penguin eggs, we at IFLScience love a freaky foodie story. This latest one, however, might just take the cake. Reviving a traditional Balkan recipe, intrepid scientists have made – and taste-tested – yogurt produced using a very unexpected secret ingredient: ants. This is not about finding new and bizarre […]

Where did snakes come from? It’s a question that’s puzzled researchers for years, and now they are even more confused. A new Jurassic fossil has been discovered and it’s a curious mix of snake and lizard features. The creature was actually discovered in 2016 on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Named Breugnathair elgolensis, meaning “false […]

This week on Break It Down: the second oldest use of the color blue ever has been discovered in Europe dating back 13,000 years, “chemical fossils” suggest the oldest life on Earth may have been sponges 541 million years ago, skin cells have been turned into fertilizable egg cells thanks to some pretty nifty genetics […]

Perhaps comets are like buses, because this month, there are three that are easily observable at once. In what looks like part of the marketing campaign for Wicked, they are also all green. And yes, if you care to find them, look to the western sky (at least for another few days). The three comets […]