News

This stunningly preserved fossilized skeleton is “Barbara”, a new Tyrannosaurus rex specimen about to go on display at Auckland Museum in New Zealand. The palaeontologists analyzing the 66-million-year-old remains made a discovery that makes this T. rex especially rare – when she died, Barbara was probably pregnant. Computed tomography scanning of one of the recovered bones […]

The experimental drug lecanemab has been shown to slow cognitive decline in people with early Alzheimer’s disease. While the long-awaited trial has been heralded as a “historic moment for dementia research”, the death of some participants in the research has sparked concerns about the risk for some people. Lecanemab is a monoclonal antibody that works […]

You’ve been waiting all year for this day, and it has finally arrived—Cyber Monday. You know that you will get the very best deals around, and you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your home.  You’ve been looking for a complete overhaul of your computer software and apps, and we don’t blame you. […]

It’s not a common sight to see, but you may have spotted a viral image around the internet of the World Cup footballs being charged – not pumped up, but charged. Huddled around like dead phones at a festival, the balls are all plugged in to ensure the sensors within have enough battery for the […]

In the sewers deep beneath Rome’s Colosseum, archaeologists have discovered the remains of some unlikely gladiators. Along with bear bones and the skeletons of lions, they also found the ancient remains of wiener dogs. The discovery comes as part of a new project that looked to explore the murky tunnels that lay beneath the world-famous […]

Researchers have been able to perform the first quantum “simulation” of a holographic wormhole using a quantum processor. They did not create a tunnel through space and time, unfortunately, but they were able to create a quantum setup that behaves just like a particle traveling through a wormhole. And this approach could be invaluable in […]

In a move right out of a sci-fi movie set in a grim and corrupt dystopia, San Francisco is on the cusp of authorizing the use of killer robots by the police. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted in favor of approving a policy that allows police to use robots with lethal […]

Taking a single pill of an anti-inflammatory drug immediately after a traumatic event could help people in the process of forgetting intrusive memories, according to a new trial at University College London (UCL). It’s still extremely early days for the research, but the team behind the project suggests that this treatment has some potential to […]

Gravity could be the culprit behind irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to a new hypothesis. Yes, the force that keeps our feet planted firmly on the surface of the Earth could be responsible for a condition that is thought to affect up to 10 percent of the world’s population. It may seem out-there, but to […]

When the Viking 1 lander arrived on Mars it carried high hopes for a golden era in space exploration. What it found was puzzling, and the weak evidence for life disappointing. However, a new analysis suggests it may have been sitting in the aftermath of one of the most dramatic events in Solar System history.  […]

Space elevators – yes, literal elevators that will carry us into orbit – may not be as far from reality as we think, says one aerospace engineer and physics professor. According to his ideas, such a crazy concept could be realistic relatively soon – or, in his wise words: “We’ll know we are close when […]

Elon Musk has said he is confident that his brain chip Neuralink is ready for humans, and can begin human trials once it has approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In a “show and tell” of the company’s progress on the brain implant, Musk made a number of bold claims about the […]

Kids’ owl-drawing abilities don’t appear to have progressed much over the past five millennia, according to the findings of a new investigation into Copper Age animal engravings. Previously, these ancient owlish depictions had been interpreted as ritualistic artefacts, yet the “cartoonlike” nature of the etchings implies that they may actually have been toys created by […]

Back in October, JWST delighted us with two new images of the famous Pillars of Creation, a cosmic feature of dust and gas rendered famous by Hubble. The images were taken by two different instruments on JWST: the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and the Mid-Infrared Camera (MIRI), which look at the universe in slightly different lights. […]

A new mechanism that enables bacteria to form resistance to antibiotics has been discovered in a recent study conducted by researchers in Perth, Australia. In a process currently undetectable using traditional laboratory testing methods, the team observed the bacteria group A Streptococcus – the cause of strep throat – absorbing nutrients from the host organism that, in […]

Space tourism is looking to boom in the next decade, but frankly, companies have some work to do to make the journey interesting. Yes, you are leaving the planet and entering space at around  28,000 kilometers per hour (17,000 miles per hour) on a hydrogen-powered fireball, but the trip can take a while and humans […]

When Amelia Earhart disappeared attempting to circumnavigate the world, plastics were so rare their waste was a minor problem, even in major cities. In the central Pacific, where Earhart was last seen, the idea of plastic pollution probably seemed unimaginable. Yet reanalysis of one of the possible clues to Earhart’s last location has had a […]

Arming cows with “smartwatches” could prove to be an ideal way to make “smart farms” healthier, happier, and greener, according to a team of scientists from China. In a new theoretical study, researchers from Southwest Jiaotong University in China proposed the idea of fitting cattle with “smartwatch-style sensors” that are powered by their own steps. […]

Before we get into the Flynn effect and the steady increase (and possible subsequent decrease) in IQ scores across the world, we should probably talk about the elephant in the room: there are all kinds of problems with IQ tests. The tests, created in 1905 by psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon, were originally intended […]

Researchers report the positive results from a Phase 1 clinical trial focused on a vaccine against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The pathogen does not usually produce an immune response large enough to stop it, which has made it a dangerous and deadly virus. One of the goals in the creation of a vaccine is […]