Observing Greenland from a helicopter, the main problem is one of comprehending scale. I have thought we were skimming low over the waves of a fjord, before noticing the tiny shadow of a seabird far below and realising what I suspected were floating shards of ice were in fact icebergs the size of office blocks. […]
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Solar-Powered Reactor Gobbles Up Carbon Dioxide And Spits Out Sustainable Fuel
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a brand-new device designed to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air and turn it into fuel – and it does so with only the power of the Sun. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Direct air carbon capture is far from a new idea, but time has yet […]
In The Chilly Bering Strait, The US And Russia Are Only 3.8 Kilometers Apart
Russia and the US might feel like two places that are worlds apart, but sitting in the middle of the Bering Strait are two tiny islands that prove otherwise. With just 3.8 kilometers (2.4 miles) between them, the Diomede Islands mark the closest point between the two countries. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE On the Russian […]
Car Brake Dust Can Be More Harmful Than Diesel Exhaust – New Study
Exposure to air pollution is associated with around seven million premature deaths per year across the world. When we think of urban air pollution, diesel exhaust emissions are often portrayed as a key culprit – rightly so, given previous research findings. However, our latest research shows that dust from brake pads could be more harmful […]
When Did People Start Drinking Coffee?
I think it’s probably safe to say coffee is a popular drink. If you’re anything like me, it is not only a staple of your morning routine but perhaps the cornerstone on which the rest of your day’s functionality rests. You can barely walk down a street these days without seeing some sort of café […]
Watch Usually Solitary Wild Koalas Captured On Film Snuggling Socially For First Time
Three male koalas have been filmed grooming each other in a manner only reported once before. Although stroking a koala is near the top of most tourists to Australia’s wishlist, this is only the second reported example of males doing it to each other and the first time it’s been caught on film. ADVERTISEMENT GO […]
Asteroids Can Strike Earth With Such Force They Form A Material Harder Than Diamond
When carbon is subjected to extreme heat and pressure within the Earth, it can crystalize to form diamonds; the hardest (though not necessarily the toughest) natural mineral on the planet. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE But it turns out that there is more than one way to make a diamond. In 1891, examining a meteorite in […]
This US Flu Season Is Seeing The Most Doctor’s Visits For Respiratory Illness Since 2010
As the US enters what is usually the peak month of the flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its latest surveillance data on influenza activity – and the 2024-2025 season seems to be particularly intense. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE In the update, the organization stated that 7.8 percent of […]
Iron Age Sites In Spain Are Littered With Severed Heads. Who Was Decapitated And Why?
As political violence spread across the northeastern Iberian peninsula during the Iron Age, a gruesome practice that involved nailing decapitated heads to walls became increasingly fashionable. To find out why, a team of researchers has applied stable isotopic analysis to seven of these bodiless bonces, revealing new information about where the victims came from. ADVERTISEMENT […]
The Pale Blue Dot At 35: The Making Of An Iconic Photo
Thirty-five years ago, on February 14, 1990, the Voyager 1 probe took its last series of photographs. The mission has completed its goal of traveling across the Solar System to see Jupiter and Saturn. Launched in 1977, it encountered the king of the planets in January 1979, and 21 months later, it flew by the […]
Dolphin Pee Party, Inside Asteroid Response, And That Ancient Mummy Smell
This week on Break It Down: Amazon river dolphins are saying it with urine proudly sprayed directly into the air, an inside look at the planetary defense response to asteroid 2024 YR4 (and no, it isn’t too late), find out what mummies smell like thanks to a team of “sniffers”, whale song follows Zipf’s Law, […]
Why Do You Rub Your Skin When You’re Injured? There’s Actually A Very Good Reason
Imagine you’ve just walked into a table. As well as turning the air blue, you’d probably immediately bend down and start rubbing the affected shin – but does that actually do anything? Well according to one theory of how pain works, it turns out that weird little instinct of ours could genuinely be helping to […]
Ancient Megalodons May Have Dueled One Another With Their Teeth
Some fossilized teeth from giant ancient megalodon sharks have unique scratches on them. These scratches, researchers believe, were possibly caused by the serrated cutting edge of other megalodon teeth, suggesting that these prehistoric leviathans may have spared with one another. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Many people have probably heard of megalodon (Otodus megalodon) by this […]
H5N1 Bird Flu Spreading Silently In US As CDC Data Reveals Unknown Infections In Vets
The current human case count of H5N1 influenza in the US could be an underestimate, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). After testing 150 veterinarians, the researchers found three with antibodies to H5N1, suggesting they had been infected recently. However, none had reported any symptoms, and one […]
North America’s Farthest Inland Seaport Is 3,700 Kilometers Away From The Atlantic
If you thought oceangoing ships could only go so far as the coast, the Port of Duluth-Superior is about to prove you wrong. Situated a whopping 3,700 kilometers (2,342 miles) away from the Atlantic Ocean, it’s the farthest inland port in North America to serve oceangoing ships – and that’s not the only thing that’s […]
What Is “The Ick”, And Why Do We Feel It?
For Millie Bobby Brown, it’s men holding umbrellas; for Ed from the UK, it’s weird sandwiches. Small, objectively inoffensive things, but immediate dealbreakers for these two in particular – these habits, they say, give them “the ick”. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE But what is the ick? And why do we get it? Is it helpful […]
Most Things Soften When Heated, So Why Do Eggs Go Hard?
Heating is usually a way to soften things. Solids turn to liquids, liquids to gas – and when the process doesn’t go all the way, extra heat can lead to a softer solid or a more runny liquid. So why are eggs, normally liquid inside, an exception, turning hard when cooked appropriately? The answer turns […]
Going To The Moon Or Mars Next? NASA And Congress Are Not Seeing Eye-To-Eye
If everything goes according to plan, in just over two years we should see humans back on the Moon. That has been the goal of NASA over the last several years, a goal that seems now a lot more uncertain than previously thought. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE There is the problem of Starship – the […]
Do Any Animals Whistle? The “Whistling Dog” Dholes Do-hoo-hoo-hoo
You’re running through the forest, flashes of orange all around, when suddenly, it all goes quiet. Gone are the high-pitched vocalizations they chirped while in pursuit. Now, there’s only a faint whistling. You’re a deer in one of Asia’s forests, and you’re about to get chomped by a pack of dholes. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE […]
Underwater Mountains Are Teeming With 41 Times More Sharks Than The Open Ocean
Oh, you didn’t get an invite to the shark party? Shame, because on the underwater mountains off Ascension Island, it’s popping off. New research has revealed that there are 41 times more sharks found here than out in the open ocean, a trend that could indicate seamounts represent vital “hubs” where these animals can socialize, […]
