News

A medievalist and cultural historian from the University of Liverpool has uncovered the history of the “mermaids of Staithes”, finding the legend of mermaids leaving a curse on an old English fishing village is likely centuries older than we thought. Great Britain, being entirely surrounded by water and having a tendency to see monsters in […]

The fungus Aspergillus flavus produces a class of molecules that have strong potential as future anti-leukemia drugs, although they have yet to be tried in living organisms. Several of the archaeologists, and their funders, who first opened Tutankhamun’s tomb in the 1920s died relatively soon afterwards. Given that the ancient Egyptians were less than keen […]

A new theory of the fabric of the universe has proposed that time has three dimensions. Moreover, this model leads to the conclusion that these three time dimensions are the true underlying feature of the universe, and the dimensions collectively known as space are just a byproduct, one might even say an offshoot. Currently this […]

Archaeologists in London have reconstructed ancient Roman frescoes that have not been seen for over 1,800 years. The work involved reassembling thousands of fragments that were once abandoned in a pit after the original building was demolished around 200 CE. The reconstruction work was performed by Han Li, the Senior Building Material Specialist at the […]

The dark dreams that haunt your nights may be leaving a deeper imprint on your life. Scientists at the UK Dementia Research Institute and Imperial College London analyzed data from 183,012 adults aged 26 to 86, as well as 2,429 children aged 8 to 10, collected from six long-term health studies. At the start of […]

By the end of the next 10 years, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is aiming to test the DNA of every baby born, as part of plans to better predict and prevent disease and reduce pressure on healthcare services. Babies born in the UK already receive the newborn blood spot test (also called the […]

Snow is beautiful, but also powerful and destructive – and, if we’re honest, a bit confusing. For something made entirely of water, it can come in many forms: light and fluffy, sticky and heavy, shaped like a perfect snowflake, or falling in needle-like flecks. Its consistency changes a lot, but so does its color, which […]

While memories of masks and enforced lockdowns may be fading for many, COVID-19 frequently rears its ugly head to make an appearance in world headlines.  British newspapers are now warning that the percentage of known COVID-19 cases attributed to the new Nimbus strain has increased in the UK over the past month , and may […]

Last year, a team of scientists working at TU Wein University measured the speed of quantum entanglement in action for the first time, pouring cold water on the idea that the process occurs instantaneously. Quantum physics is the study of the frankly downright bizarre world of atoms and subatomic particles, such as neutrons, photons, and […]

A rare geological event occurs every 300,000 years or so: the Earth’s magnetic poles flip.  The magnetic poles are the two ends of the magnetosphere, which surrounds the Earth like a giant, invisible force field. This celestial shield protects the planet by fending off solar wind, particle radiation and cosmic rays – particles which, if […]

This week, a site in Colorado may have been used as the “largest lekking arena in the world” by dancing dinosaurs, a child from the world’s oldest burial was a Neanderthal-Homo sapiens hybrid, and scientists have at last identified the first Denisovan skull, despite it hiding in plain sight since 1933. Finally, on the 50th […]

In the third century BCE, a clever Greek chap by the name of Eratosthenes came up with a novel new piece of mathematics: a “sieve”, by which one could painstakingly trawl through every integer in order and discard any with more than two factors, leaving only the primes behind.  It was smart for the time […]

The world’s most expensive cheese costs more than some people’s monthly rent.  By some accounts, picking up a pound of Pule in 2016 would have left you $1,700 out of pocket – accounting for inflation, that is somewhere in the region of $2,300 in today’s dollar. Other estimates put the cheese at a still eye-watering […]

All the elements in the periodic table exist in multiple forms, known as isotopes. These isotopes are classified as stable or unstable, with the unstable isotopes undergoing radioactive decay or fission to become something else. There are, however, hundreds of known stable isotopes that have never been seen to undergo decay, so you might think […]

The world is full of terrifying things,  jellyfish and hair loss, just to name two. And while 3 am isn’t exactly the ideal time to start panicking about them, that’s when many of us find ourselves wide awake, wondering if we’d really have to pee on ourselves after a jellyfish sting. Or is that just […]

After getting a plastic lid stuck around its neck as a cub two years ago, a young black bear in Michigan is finally free of his unwanted accessory, after state wildlife biologists successfully removed it. According to a statement from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the bear first caught the attention of biologists […]

Pangolins, the most trafficked mammals on the planet, could soon be protected under the US Endangered Species Act. These enchanting creatures aren’t native to the US, but the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has recently proposed that seven species of pangolin in Asia and Africa should receive federal protection as a tool to solve the […]

At up to 18 meters (60 feet) long, the whale shark is the largest fish in the ocean. That’s quite a size, especially considering that it, along with all other sharks, has no bones. So, how do these behemoths get so big? Sharks don’t have bones Instead of bone, shark skeletons are made up of […]

Buckle up and batten down the hatches: we’re almost halfway through 2025, and it’s already a whirlwind year for tornadoes. This season is highlighting a shift in US tornado trends, with more activity brewing in the East and rising danger across the board. At least 1,200 tornadoes were reported between January 1 and June 20, […]

For the last year or so, astronomers and sky lovers have been waiting for the explosion of T Coronae Borealis. The system is a notorious recurring nova, which is expected to go any moment now, but still has not. So, while astronomy can be a cruel mistress, making us wait, it can also be a […]