News

Astronomers have announced a pretty cool discovery thanks to JWST, coming all the way from the very early universe. The space observatory has revealed that a far distant known galaxy is not a single object but two. The object is known as MACS0647-JD, and the light we can see today has been travelling since 400 […]

The Tusk Conservation Awards for 2022 are taking place this November, marking their 10th year, and Miguel Gonçalves – a park warden for the National Administration for Conservation Areas, Mozambique – is one of the named nominees. Working at the Maputo National Park since 1999, Goncalves’s efforts over the past 12 years have seen areas […]

When galaxies merge, the gravitational fields can stir gases, dramatically accelerating star formation. The end result is known as a starburst galaxy, and the JWST has turned its powerful eye to one of the most impressive examples, IC 1623, also known as VV 114. Lying 270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus the […]

Aye-ayes have specialized fingers which are incredibly long and narrow, enabling them to slip into small holes and dig out grubs for dinner. As it happens, those fingers are also very good for picking noses. Noodly-fingered aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) are a species of strepsirrhine primate whose closest relatives are lemurs. As nocturnal primates go, they […]

The Cassini spacecraft may have burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere years ago, but its data is still being analyzed. Researchers have now completed a catalog of data from 41 solar occultations of Saturn’s rings (when the rings are in front of the Sun). The particles in the rings block part of sunlight, and this provides […]

For millennia, people have used mind-altering techniques to achieve different states of consciousness, envision spiritual figures, connect with nature, or simply for the fun of it. Psychedelic substances, in particular, have a long and controversial history. But for just as long, people have been having these experiences without drugs too, using rhythmic techniques such as […]

Many across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and West Asia saw a partial solar eclipse yesterday. The Moon covered a fair bit of the Sun as it orbited the Earth. The European Space Agency’s Proba-2 also saw the eclipse happening and, due to its orbit, saw it not once, but twice. The mission looks […]

What’s the difference between a coffin and a casket? To the average person, probably nothing – but to funeral directors of the past, the difference was a key part of their marketing. As human funerary practices grew more complex, we moved from the kinds of wraps seen in Egyptian mummies to baskets. However, as culture […]

Step aside, SETI. A strange figure caught in the backside of a car on Google Maps has caught the eye of alien hunters. While we doubt NASA will be too eager to follow up on this tip-off, it certainly is a strange sight.  Crystal Patterson, 45, reportedly came across the figure while searching for a local […]

NASA’s Lucy is on its way to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids but passed by our planet for a “hello again” and a boost. It was the first of three flybys of Earth, which are necessary to send it on the right trajectory, and it took place on October 15. As it approached, Lucy captured a […]

You are more likely to take a trip to the Moon than to see a microbe called Legendrea loyezae under a microscope. Nasa’s Apollo programme has sent a total of 24 people to the Moon between 1968 and 1972. Only four people (including us) have ever found Legendrea loyezae from its discovery in 1908 to […]

Researchers have taken musical notes to the world of pinnipeds, testing whether harbour seals can feel the rhythm in their flippers. While some evidence suggests lemurs have categorical rhythm and other apes and songbirds can be trained to recognize certain rhythms, it is a fair cry from a human ability to discriminate between rhythmic patterns. We’ve all experienced dad […]

“Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes” reads the headline of the Santa Cruz Sentinel published on August 18, 1961. Accounts from that fateful day tell of thousands of birds crashing from the skies and littering streets and lawns. Curious residents who ventured out with torches to take a look were sent scurrying back into their homes, […]

After sequencing the oldest human DNA ever obtained in the UK, researchers have confirmed that at least two completely unrelated groups of people migrated to the British Isles at the end of the last Ice Age. Aside from their distinct genetic ancestries, these diverse populations also brought their own unique cultures to the region, with […]

The chance of finding life on Mars has just gone up a bit: Some bacteria can survive cold and dry conditions while being bombarded by radiation for millions of years, researchers have now discovered. The endurance of Earth-native species Deinococcus radiodurans is thanks to its incredible genetics, netting it the world record for “Most radiation-resistant […]

Elon Musk has reportedly lost more than $100 billion in less than a year. But try not to feel too sorry for this multi-billionaire; he’s still the richest human on planet Earth, maintaining over $50 billion more than the second richest human, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Hard times, eh? Musk’s fortune fell to a mere […]

COVID-19 cases are ramping up for the winter in the Northern hemisphere once again, but this season we can expect to see the disease reveal itself through slightly different symptoms than before. Part of this is because different variants are currently doing the rounds and a different demographic of people are being infected – but […]

This article first appeared in Issue 1 of our new free digital magazine CURIOUS.  Some impulses are more dangerous than others – say, for example, the urge to ingest lava. Weird as that may sound, many half-joking posts on social media proclaim that lava looks very delicious, with users expressing curiosity as to how the blistering […]