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There’s a rather unfair saying about putting lipstick on pigs, although new research would suggest that there’s some truth to the idea that the curly-tailed podgers are indeed immune to sophistication. After conducting a series of experiments, the study authors found that even pigs that had been raised as pets lacked the ability to communicate […]

The last time Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was visible in the night sky, Neanderthals were still roaming the planet with our ancestors. In the intervening 50,000 years, a lot has changed, and we can see these celestial objects with binoculars and telescopes – but you won’t need them to see this comet. C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is […]

Two cases of a novel strain of super-gonorrhea have been reported in the US for the first time. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) on January 19, the bacteria had picked up potent anti-drug resistance and showed reduced responses to five different antibiotics. Fortunately, both cases were eventually treated successfully with an […]

For nearly 100 years, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago has held a sword, thought to be a well-made replica of a Bronze Age weapon. A new analysis, however, has indicated that the sword looks quite authentic because it is, having been made around 3,000 years ago. While preparing for an exhibition on […]

Cliff Palace is like few other buildings on planet Earth. Found in the rocky cliffs of Colorado’s Montezuma County, this giant dwelling was constructed over 750 years ago and provides an invaluable insight into how Native Americans lived in the centuries before colonization.  Unfortunately, the condition of Cliff Palace is being slowly deteriorated by the […]

Residents in Wales, Alaska, are mourning the deaths of two residents following a polar bear attack on Tuesday, the first in the US state in 30 years. According to the Alaska Department Of Public Safety State Troopers Public Information Office, locals Summer Myomick, 24, and her 1-year-old son, Clyde Ongtowasruk came across the polar bear […]

Is there such a thing as nothing? – Reggie, aged seven, Darlington Could someone see nothing? What does nothing look like? – Maya, aged nine, Bristol Advertisement Imagine you hear a noise outside your window. You think it might be a dog barking, or maybe a child shouting. But when you get up and have […]

People’s first instinct when engaging with conspiracy believers is often to try and debunk their ideas with factual and authoritative information. However, direct confrontation rarely works. Conspiracy theories are persuasive, often playing on people’s feelings and sense of identity. Even if debunking conspiracy theories was effective, it’s difficult to keep up with how quickly they […]

A woman whose scalp was ripped off by a drill has undergone complex surgery to have it meticulously reattached. “Total scalp avulsion”, as the injury is described in a case report, is incredibly rare and the authors believe this to be one of the largest ever to have been successfully replanted, after the woman’s entire […]

The mummy of Lady Dai is in such spectacular condition she’s sometimes called China’s Sleeping Beauty. At over 2,100 years old, she might be looking good for her age, but scientific studies have shown that this noblewoman lived a lavish lifestyle that took a toll on her health.  The tomb of Lady Dai, also known […]

Fossil hunter Cody Goddard thought he’d reached the beachcombing peak when he found a whale vertebra last February. That was, until he blew the proverbial bucket list to smithereens by discovering the enormous skull of an ancient baleen whale, one of the most complete specimens of its kind ever found in the region.  What’s perhaps […]

It’s amazing how creepy the nighttime can be, so it’s perhaps no surprise that people tend to experience more paranormal activity after lights out. According to new research, an inability to sleep well could make the night appear even more alive, leading to stronger beliefs in ghosts, demons, aliens, and the afterlife. A number of […]

It’s possible to love both scientific validity and the idea of hypothetical beasts, which is exactly why our eyes went out on stalks when we spotted a new preprint that explores the theory that Loch Ness Monster sightings might actually have been European eels. The “eel hypothesis” suggests that particularly large Anguilla anguilla might be […]

When viewed from above, the Eye of the Sahara looks just like an enormous impact crater sitting in the middle of the Sahara Desert of Mauritania. Stretching 50 kilometers (30 miles) in diameter, comprised of a series of uniform ripples, this crater-esque anomaly is in fact entirely terrestrial. This spectacular ancient geological formation was used […]

What’s your favorite number? There are literally infinite options, and yet only a few which seem to stand out as more popular than others: there’s seven, obviously; 13 or 666 for the badasses among us; and √2 for anyone who just likes annoying Pythagoreans. But there’s really only one number out there that can claim to […]

Efficient cable communication uses fiber optic cables to transmit data. Light sent through them has a maximum theoretical transmission efficiency of about 92 percent. There are drawbacks to these fibers, but sending laser signals through the air cannot compete with that. However, over the last decade, researchers have started working on ways to do the […]

You might already be aware that the name “strawberry” is a misnomer, as strawberries aren’t really berries at all. Well, it seems strawberries are full of surprises, or rather covered in them, because those seedy-looking white dots aren’t actually seeds. The strawberries’ pitted accessories are called achenes, and they are in fact the plant’s fruit, […]

The longest lightning bolts on Earth can extend for hundreds of kilometers, but even the longest produced by our planet’s clouds are dwarfed by the kind of discharges the Sun can produce. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has caught a plasma discharge 500,000 kilometers long (which could wrap around the equator 12 and a half times) […]

A study on nearly 160,000 individuals in the UK shows that unvaccinated people that have been infected with COVID-19 have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death for a prolonged period of time. Compared to a cohort of uninfected individuals, their likelihood of dying was 81 times higher in the first three weeks after […]