It’s easy to see why the Great Sphinx of Giza – a giant stone statue in the middle of the desert resembling ancient pharaoh Khafre but with the body of a lion – has been the subject of a number of crank theories over the years. Among the pseudo-scientific theories and conspiracy theories are some […]
News
Can Plants Die Of Old Age? How Long Can They Live?
We know a great deal about aging in humans – we even have some idea of how to slow the process. But what about plants? Do they have a predetermined lifespan? Can they die of old age? As you may have found out if you’ve ever dabbled in horticulture: plants die. Too much water, too […]
Belly Button Stones Can Be Found Exactly Where You’d Expect
Belly button stones can be found hiding in the navels of humans, sometimes popping out as an extra surprise during pregnancy. These rare lesions are normally asymptomatic, but sometimes they can encourage an infection which can be serious if left untreated. A case study of a 96-year-old woman describes how a suspected urinary tract infection […]
You Can Test Your Susceptibility To Fake News With Real Scientific Quiz
A team of researchers has developed a test to measure people’s susceptibility to misinformation, finding that on average, US adults fail to classify one-third of real or fake headlines into their correct category. The test, which is takeable online, asks the user to rate 20 headlines as real or fake. Ten of the headlines were […]
Welcome To The Anthropocene? Scientists Propose Where And When It Started
In recent years a growing movement has arisen to argue that humans have changed the Earth so much we should consider ourselves in a geological timescale known as the Anthropocene. Geologists use markers in rocks at specific sites to define when these epochs begin, so if the Anthropocene is to get general recognition it needs […]
Does The Direction Water Rotates Down The Drain Depend On Which Hemisphere You’re In?
In countries near the Earth’s equator, tourists are often dazzled by a demonstration of a mysterious physical phenomenon. A presenter will position three buckets of water – one in the Northern Hemisphere, one in the Southern Hemisphere, and one directly on the equator – and let the water drain out. Tourists are shown that, as […]
Lake Titicaca Has Been Home To Human-Made Floating Islands For Centuries
When Indigenous Uros people arrived at Lake Titicaca hundreds of years ago, they built dozens of artificial islands to protect themselves from hordes of angry Inca – and many haven’t moved since. Lake Titicaca is a freshwater lake nestled in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It’s the largest lake in […]
The World’s Highest Lake Isn’t Lake Titicaca
At an impressive elevation of 3,810 meters (12,500 feet) above sea level, Lake Titicaca in the Andes Mountains of South America is widely considered to be the world’s highest lake. In actuality, this famous body of water is trumped by 14 higher elevated lakes, the highest of which sits over 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above […]
What Are The Tropic Of Cancer And The Tropic of Capricorn?
The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn are the two lines you’ll see above and below the equator, respectively, on the globe of Earth. But what do these two lines actually mean and what’s their impact on life on Earth? What is the Tropic of Cancer? The Tropic of Cancer is the most […]
Transparent Mice: New Techniques Turn Mice See-Through To Revolutionize Cancer Therapy
Researchers have created a new scanning method that turns dead mice “transparent”, allowing unprecedented detail when looking at internal organs and tissues. The method uses fluorescent markers and scanning to create a truly bizarre sight, and could be used to significantly improve cancer drug development. Mouse models are a controversial yet integral part of how […]
More Than A Third Of Americans Are Opting For A “Sleep Divorce”
A new survey has revealed something troubling happening in US bedrooms. Oh behave yourself, it’s nothing like that. Data from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) shows that one-third of people occasionally or frequently retreat into a separate room to get some shut-eye away from their partner. The “sleep divorce” appears to be a […]
First Week Of July Was The Hottest On Record And El Niño Will Make This Worse
The preliminary data confirm the satellite observations: Last week was the hottest ever recorded on the planet, continuing the trend set the previous month. June 2023 was also the hottest June on record. Sea surface temperatures were the highest ever recorded, and Antarctic sea ice was at its lowest ever extent. The incredible temperatures are […]
Asp Caterpillars Got Their Venom From Bacteria Genes
Fluffy asp caterpillars may look cute, at least to some eyes, but you wouldn’t want to pat them. Their spines carry venoms that can produce very painful stings. When scientists from the University of Queensland investigated, however, they found the venom is unlike other insects’ defense mechanisms. Instead, it resembles molecules produced by some bacteria, […]
German Authorities Spent 16 Years Chasing A Serial Killer That Didn’t Exist
In 1993, a 62-year-old woman was found dead in her house in the town of Idar-Oberstein, strangled by wire taken from a bouquet of flowers discovered near her body. Nobody had any information on what might have happened to Lieselotte Schlenger. No witnesses, no suspects, no signs of suspicious activity (except for the fact that […]
Giraffes Return To Historical Home In Angola For First Time Since Civil War
A group of giraffes has been successfully relocated to Iona National Park in Angola after the species was driven out of their historical homeland in the 1990s by civil war. On July 3, 14 Angolan giraffes were loaded onto a specially-designed truck and set off on a 1,300-kilometer (over 800-mile) journey along the southwest coast […]
Bisexuality Is The Norm Among Male Rhesus Macaques
A three-year study of a semi-wild monkey colony has revealed that most male macaques engage in sexual behavior with other males, and indeed it’s more common for males to mount other males than females. Same-sex sexual activity has been reported in hundreds of animal species, repeatedly refuting the “it’s not natural” trope. However, these observations […]
Lonely People’s Brains Work Differently And Could Be Making Their Isolation Worse
Loneliness is something many of us will experience, but in the long term, it is known to have all sorts of negative impacts on health and well-being. Now, new research trying to better understand why lonely people feel the way they do has found that their brains actually appear to process the world very differently, […]
150-Million-Year-Old Mineral Lump Becomes World’s Oldest Stomach Stone
A 150-million-year-old stomach stone has become the oldest known fossil of its kind after being discovered on a beach in the UK. Shaped like a fist, it’s 59 million years older than the previous oldest-known stomach stone, having been rolling around in the gut of some animal back in the Jurassic era. Stomach stones found […]
Human Skulls Suggest Necromancy In Roman-Era Cave Near Jerusalem
A cave in the Jerusalem Hills may once have served as a local oracle where people communed with the dead in the hopes of learning about the future. Known as the Te’omim Cave, the creepy crevice is littered with human skulls and other items associated with necromancy, and is described by researchers as a possible […]
If You Find An Archaeological Artifact, Do You Get To Keep It?
Amateur metal detectorists, rock hounds, or even an average member of the public might one day be in the right place at the right time and stumble upon a historic artifact. Roman coins, battle axes, and even ancient treasure can be found across the world. But if you find such an item, should you give […]
