News

The world has warmed more since the start of the Industrial Revolution than previously acknowledged, new evidence indicates, with the world already exceeding 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial conditions. If so, it means the limits the world agreed on in the 2015 Paris Accord have already been exceeded. However, some climate scientists have expressed skepticism about […]

The Sun is particularly active at the moment, unleashing powerful solar flares and causing radio blackouts on Earth. This is all part of an 11-year cycle that sees the Sun’s poles reverse. Sun activity increases and decreases in an 11-year cycle known as the Schwabe cycle. From 1826 to 1843, German amateur astronomer Heinrich Schwabe […]

A 34-year-old woman in the US has become the first person to receive a brain implant that treats both epilepsy and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Having been fitted with the device at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Amber Pearson says her incessant hand-washing and anxiety about contamination have now all but vanished. Measuring […]

When we’re diagnosed with a medical condition, often the first place we look to for information and advice is the internet. Online communities can be powerful support and advocacy networks, particularly for those with long-term health conditions. They can also provide important data that alerts medical researchers to a problem, as we saw with long […]

Between its oxygen-free atmosphere, exposure to radiation, and the lack of nutrients, Mars is a hostile place for human life. However, it might not be quite so unfriendly to the microbe we bring with us – including some we’d really rather didn’t flourish too much. Three years ago, astrobiologists noted the presence of sugar in […]

This article first appeared in Issue 16 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS.  The hitchhiker seen above, a female paper nautilus, is carrying precious cargo: an egg case that can house up to 170,000 eggs, which she’ll tote around until they hatch. The egg sac itself can act as a flotation device, but a jellyfish is […]

Architects and real estate developers are drawing up the plans to build the tallest skyscraper in the US; not in New York City nor Chicago, but Oklahoma City. The building plan features three towers, each rising to 105 meters (345 feet), and a fourth supertall tower called Legends Tower that will measure 581 meters (1,907 […]

A quick recap of how hit TV The Traitors works, for the uninitiated. A group of contestants enter a mansion, where they are assigned either the role of traitor or faithful. There are only three traitors to begin with (they may recruit more at a later time, if people among them are caught) with the rest […]

Scientists have now fully mapped a legendary lake in New Zealand that was once an important setting for a famous Māori love story. Their analysis reveals never-before-seen details about the deep hydrothermal systems that are concealed below its disarmingly peaceful surface.  Peaceful water and violent histories  Lake Rotorua (Te Rotorua nui ā Kahumatamomoe in Māori) […]

The age of nuclear fusion is upon us. After decades of work by thousands of scientists, this fabled tree has started bearing its fruit: it is possible to have a fusion reaction on Earth that releases more energy than what is put in. The breakthrough, announced in late 2022, has now been confirmed. Fusion breakeven […]

Hurricanes have become so gnarly over the past decade that some scientists believe we need a new category to better reflect their intensity: Category 6.  Under the current Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, hurricanes are categorized on a scale of 1 to 5 based on their maximum sustained wind speed. A hurricane receives Category 5 status […]

We’ve reached that not-so-wonderful time of year when it seems like everywhere you go, everyone is coughing – trying to avoid catching something feels like an extreme sport. For most people unlucky enough to join the ranks, a cough might make them feel rough, but shouldn’t be too much cause for concern. However, with COVID-19 […]

Bridges come in all shapes and sizes: from the world’s longest suspension bridge that connects Europe and Asia, to India’s ingenious bridges made of living roots. However, the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China holds not one, but two titles for both the longest and second-longest bridge in the world. Forming part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed […]

In the early hours of January 21, asteroid 2024 BX1 flew through the atmosphere over Germany, burning up and breaking apart about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Berlin. It was only the eighth asteroid ever predicted to collide with Earth before it hit the planet, giving us a rare 95-minute warning. This led to […]

If you thought playing music to cheese or digging up 2,600-year-old halloumi was as wild as dairy-based research gets, boy have we got the study for you. Scientists at the University of Nottingham have – in their own words – broken “the mold” by discovering a way to make blue cheese in a whole new […]

Fugu is a Japanese delicacy made out of sliced pufferfish. As alluring as it be may for adventurous gastronauts, this dicey dish can prove deadly with just one wrong slip of the knife.  What is fugu? Fugu is made of chopped pufferfish served in a sashimi style. Chefs will often arrange the thinly sliced flesh […]

Welcome to the wonderful world of underwater creatures. From seals to sharks, and whales to whale sharks, we break down just what is swimming beneath the ocean waves and where they fit in with those animals that are much happier gallivanting about on land. Why are sharks not mammals? To start with, let’s address a […]

Despite happening to so many of us – around 1.8 billion every month – menstruation is blighted by myriad myths and misconceptions, from the long-standing, and incorrect, belief that periods can “sync up” to the equally improbable idea that menstruating people attract bears. It’s also been suggested that a person’s cognitive skills could be impacted […]

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has just broken the world record to become the person who has spent the most time in space ever. He has now been in space for over 879 days, beating the previous record of fellow cosmonaut Gennady Padalka’s 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds in space. Both cosmonauts […]

Beefalo are a domesticated breed of cattle that was created with a little bit of encouragement from humans in the 1960s. Made up of part bovine, and part bison, the goal was to create a “superior” cattle that combined the milking ability and general ease of domestic cows, with the hardiness and meat quality of […]