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The pet dog lounging on your sofa and the feral wolf roaming the harsh wilderness share some clear differences – as well as some very significant similarities. Given their proximity in the family tree, it is possible for domestic dogs to breed with a number of wolf species, including gray wolves, eastern wolves, red wolves, […]

Whether power corrupts a person – or if a corrupt person is more apt to pursue a position of power – has long been a question amongst the scientific community.   Take, for example, the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, an inherently flawed study that was halted after six days following the abuse doled out by one […]

Music is such a central part of what it means to be human, yet there’s so much scientists don’t know about what goes on in our brains when we listen to our favorite tunes. Now, a study has broken new ground by showing that it is possible to reconstruct a song that someone was hearing […]

The world is on the cusp of a new “gold rush” – and it has the potential to be disastrous for the marine environment. As demand for electronics and batteries continues to grow, eagle-eyed investors are looking to make a fortune by mining the deep sea for rare minerals. While an appetite for profits is […]

An exceptional explosion 1.3 billion light years from Earth produced enough heavy metals to outweigh all the planets, moons, and asteroids in the Solar System combined, just from the scarcest elements in the universe. Despite the rarity of the event, the production of precious metals and other rarities was so great that these events could […]

In 1999, box office hit The Matrix introduced a wider audience to an age-old philosophical problem: how do you know what you’re experiencing is real? In the Wachowskis’ Matrix series, humans far in the future have been enslaved by sentient robots, to be used as one of the most inefficient batteries imaginable and somehow power […]

Quantum computers are the next step in computation. These devices can harness the peculiarities of quantum mechanics to dramatically boost the power of computers. Not even the most powerful supercomputer can compete with this approach. But to deliver on that incredible potential, the road ahead remains long. Still, in the last few years, big steps […]

Sick of lengthy gym sessions but still desperate for gains? We have just the study for you, as researchers demonstrate a simple exercise that could get results in just three seconds a day. When performed three days a week, the surprisingly efficient move was found to significantly improve both concentric (when the muscle shortens) and […]

In a landmark trial, a Montana court has ruled in favor of a group of young activists who have accused the state of violating their right to a clean and healthy environment. Ending the trial a few days early, District Court Judge Kathy Seeley said a state law that allows fossil fuel projects to be […]

A short jump away from an industrial park filled with modern machinery and factories, a glimpse of the ancient past has emerged. Israeli archaeologists recently stumbled across what they believe to be the oldest city gate in the country. At around 5,500 years old, the researchers say this intriguing relic is helping to shed some […]

NASA has conducted tests on the rockets that will become the first to launch from the surface of an alien planet. The rockets will be used as part of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which will help return samples from the Red Planet to Earth. Mars Sample Return is set to launch in June 2028, […]

Fascination with language and communication between humans and apes is never more apparent than in the story of Washoe the chimpanzee and the primates that came after her. When teaching spoken language to primates proved unsuccessful, scientists switched to American Sign Language (ASL) and taught Washoe over 250 signs. It all started in West Africa […]

The thymus gland, integral in childhood immunity, is generally thought to be non-functional in adults. However, recent research suggests this may not be the case, and that the organ might in fact be crucial to our health and cancer prevention as we age. Once considered a kind of “graveyard” for dying cells and deemed “an evolutionary accident […]

Doctors have described the case of a man whose legs turned purple, believed to be a rare complication resulting from long COVID. The 33-year-old was referred to a specialist clinic after experiencing the unusual symptom for six months. Upon standing, his legs would begin to feel heavy, itchy, and tingly, while also turning an unusual […]

The quest to locate the brain centers responsible for sex drive in males could be one step closer to its goal, as a new study has mapped a dedicated brain circuit that gets all fired up when a male mouse is in the presence of a potential lady friend. “We’ve singled out a circuit in […]

The oldest lakeside settlement ever found in Europe has been discovered beneath the waters of a million-year-old lake in Albania. Dated to around 8,000 years old, the ancient village was built on stilts and once sat above the surface of the lake, while a fortress of wooden spikes surrounded the settlement to protect it from […]

China has proved to be one of the planet’s strongest trailblazers in the field of wind energy (while simultaneously doubling down on its massive reliance on coal, the most polluting of all fossil fuels). The East Asian giant host the world’s largest wind turbine, as well as the world’s largest wind farm complex, but it’s […]

People are once again discussing the mystery of vinyl records, and how they are probably really created by magic. But without invoking wizards, how do vinyl records contain music which can then be played back? The first ever sound recording was made in 1860 by French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. His device, which he […]

Saturn’s atmosphere might not be as featureful as Jupiter’s but it is not as quiet as first impressions might suggest. There is, of course, the unique color-changing hexagonal polar vortex, but deep beneath the clouds of methane, water, and ammonia lies a turbulent environment where incredible megastorms can form, change, and alter the planet for […]

Breathing occurs so automatically that we rarely think about it, yet given the obvious impact it has on our health (just try not breathing if you need a demonstration), it’s not unreasonable to wonder whether it might be a useful tool to improve our overall wellbeing. With that in mind, a range of techniques collectively […]