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There are two great mysteries at the heart of console gaming: Why are there people out there who don’t invert their controllers? And why on Earth would the makers of such games label this perverse layout as “normal”? For those of you who aren’t gamers, a brief explanation. The so-called normal layout of a controller […]

We all love a mathematical brainteaser here at IFLS. Monty Hall? Done it mate. Two circles shoved into a quadrilateral of unknown size? Been there, solved that. Some Singaporean kids’ seemingly impossible homework? Debunked it, found the real answer. It’s kind of our thing. So, when we saw a new probability puzzle making the rounds […]

It’s beginning to look a lot like fall, and with the crisp sound of a crunchy leaf underfoot and the smell of pumpkin spice in the air, it’s time to tackle some of the more unwanted aspects of the third season. What can we do about the spiders? The rest of this article is behind […]

High-tech tags are revealing a side of the Hector’s dolphin the world rarely sees – its showstopping acrobatics beneath New Zealand’s waters. At just 1.4 meters (4.5 feet) long, Hector’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori) are the smallest marine dolphins in Earth’s seas. They are not to be confused with other record-holding small cetaceans, like the vaquita, […]

A large asteroid strike on the Moon could have negative consequences for the artificial satellites we now depend on. That being the case, a NASA-led team has looked into the options for preventing Asteroid 2024 YR4 from making such an impact in 2032. Contrary to the usual conclusions that asteroids should be diverted, not destroyed, […]

Prior to the start of the Ice Age, a period of global warming may have led to a northward shift of the monsoon rains, allowing prehistoric hominins to migrate out of Africa before crossing the Kazakh Steppe and the Hindu Kush, finally reaching northern India almost 3 million years ago. At least, that’s the theory […]

While keeping tabs on the whale sharks around the US coast, scientists came across one individual with an unusual bent back, curved like a curly S towards its tail. They believe the animal might have a form of kyphoscoliosis, making it the first whale shark with a spinal deformity ever recorded. The 6-meter (nearly 20-foot) […]

There’s a strange phenomenon reported among some recipients of organ transplants whereby people report altered memories, tastes, and personality changes. A particularly curious example included a woman who, having never much liked chicken nuggets, found herself compelled to eat them after receiving an organ from a man who had nuggets on his person when he […]

Across North America, elk are gearing up for their annual breeding season, known as the rut. As exciting a spectacle as it may be to behold, visitors to a number of national parks are being warned to keep their distance from the amorous elk, which are especially unpredictable during this time. The rest of this […]

Practice, the saying goes, makes perfect. And, if you believe a common piece of wisdom, it’s a specific amount of practice: 10,000 hours. Make that threshold, the advice goes, and you will achieve expertise, no matter how low your skill level at the start. It’s an attractive idea, not least because it implies that greatness […]

For some ophiophobes, even the thought of a snake is enough to set pulses racing. But while there might be something to fear from the pythons and king cobras of the world, surely most people could be persuaded to enjoy the world’s smallest snake? Meet the Barbados threadsnake. The rest of this article is behind […]

The man who first unified China in 221 BCE was so determined to live forever that he commanded a group of alchemists to venture to a mythical mountain in search of the source of eternal youth. Evidence of this harebrained mission has now been discovered on the shore of Gyaring Lake on the Tibetan Plateau, […]

Two centuries ago, a French inventor gazed out of his window in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes and captured a defining moment in the history of science (not to mention art). As the sunlight poured down on the rooftops ahead, Nicéphore Niépce set up a peculiar contraption on his windowsill: a darkened box holding a pewter plate coated with […]

Fifteen years after launch, Japan has announced the end of the “Planet C” mission, leaving humanity with no presence around Venus. In May 2010, Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the “Planet C” spacecraft – also known as “Akatsuki” or the Venus Climate Orbiter – towards Earth’s “sister planet”. The early stages of the mission […]

For 20 years, National Geographic explorer and archaeologist Kathleen Martínez has been on a mission to find Cleopatra. It’s the sort of thing someone might tell you, only for you to roll your eyes and think “you and every other archaeologist,” but Martínez has been piecing together some very curious finds discovered in places that […]

From plankton to seabirds, it’s bad news for foodwebs in the Pacific and coastal environments: there are some hints that the Blob may be back for another round. Clues about the possible reemergence of the Blob – a recurring Pacific marine heatwave – can be seen in this summer’s global ocean data.  In August 2025, […]

Inaccessible environments and secretive species make discovering certain aspects of animal biology challenging. However, new research has revealed something surprising about the mating habits of leopard sharks. Never-before-seen behavior filmed in the wild has shown that in the leopard shark world, it takes more than two to tango. The rest of this article is behind […]

High energy scans or the body looking for tumors or infections could be greatly improved by adopting perovskite detectors instead of the fragile or low-resolution options currently in use, a new study reports. The process would not only make the diagnosis of health threats more accurate, but reduce exposure to radiation that can cause problems […]

Measuring 6.17 meters (20 feet and 3 inches) from snout to tail, Lolong was the largest crocodile ever caught, measured, and placed in captivity. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content. The male saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) was officially measured in November 2011, […]

A poem of praise for the famous sultan Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Saladin) has been misdated, a new paper argues, and refers not to an unusually close planetary conjunction but to the supernova of 1181. If the claim is correct, the poem’s words could be of scientific value to astronomers hoping to establish how […]