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2024’s gigantic solar storm gave the Earth two new temporary radiation belts, according to NASA’s CubeSat mission. One of these belts could stay in place for a “very long time”, according to NASA scientists. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Just beyond low-Earth orbit, the planet is surrounded by radiation belts sometimes called the Van Allen belts […]

We all know the ocean is full of a whole host of weird-looking creatures, from flying buttocks and sea pigs to the plethora of strange species living in vents deep in the ocean. Now, we’re taking a close look at another ocean oddity – time to pucker up for the red-lipped batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini). ADVERTISEMENT […]

ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE It can sometimes feel like you’re playing mold Whac-A-Mole when you’ve found yourself in a particularly damp property, something fungus needs to thrive. There’s a host of species that have evolved to flourish in the conditions our homes provide, and sometimes their coloration can be an indicator of what you’re dealing […]

A new study has found evidence that the Earth’s inner core may have changed shape. Far from taking place over geological timescales, the changes appear to have taken place within the last two decades. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE As much as we have explored and modeled our planet, there are a number of mysteries that […]

The emergence of artistic expression, abstract thought, and symbolic behavior may have occurred much earlier in human history than previously assumed. Presenting a collection of deliberate engravings found on Paleolithic cave rocks from various caves in key Levantine sites, researchers say they now have clear evidence for creative activities at a time when Neanderthals and […]

A 183-million-year-old fossil with exceptionally well-preserved soft tissues has revealed that some plesiosaurs were covered in both skin and scales, suiting them to a life stalking the seas for prey. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE The iconic marine monsters went extinct with the dinosaurs and have been discovered all over the world, but to find fossilized […]

The European Space Agency (ESA)’s Euclid Mission has been working over the last 18 months to understand what dark matter and dark energy really are. These are components of the universe whose existence is justified by observations and models, but we do not know what they really are. This quest is performed by Euclid, with […]

In 1976, the American Viking 1 Orbiter spotted something very peculiar on the surface of Mars. There among the many lumps and bumps of the Red Planet’s surface was a formation that “resembles a human head,” as ESA reports NASA said in a July 31, 1976 press release. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE In case your […]

There are many things that inspire scientific discoveries. The search for a better future; the endless quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe. Boredom’s always a good one. But there’s one that often goes underappreciated, and it’s this: spite.  ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Like, say you – as many of us have – noticed […]

A team of international researchers has found conclusive evidence of something a little grim: human communities in the Magdalenian era – around 18,000 years ago – practiced cannibalism, even going so far as to snack on human brains. The research offered valuable new insights into the mortuary and ritual practices of this period in ancient […]

This week, the earliest runestone ever to be reliably dated may have been carved by a woman, a “gorilla-like” human relative that lived some 1.4 million years ago has been revealed by a jawbone, and an Antarctic fossil dating back 68 million years proves the existence of dinosaur-era ducks. Finally, as conversations around ownership of […]

Quantum computers hold the promise to revolutionize so many different aspects of science. They can tackle problems that even the most powerful supercomputer wouldn’t be able to deal with. The problem is that these quantum devices are still a work in progress and they are not ready yet for that revolution. But that doesn’t mean […]

We’ve all been there: you’re standing in the cereal aisle of the supermarket, staring up at countless near-identical boxes of multicolored hoops, frozen in indecision over which brand to buy. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Should you choose this one, which boasts a higher fiber count? Or that one, which is better value by weight? The […]

Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile have imaged a filament of the cosmic web connecting two galaxies in unprecedented detail. Running simulations, the team says that the data collected lends further support to the current cold dark matter model of the universe. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE As we […]

Millions of years ago, our early ancestors roamed an area of Africa known as the Cradle of Mankind, scouring the landscape in search of perfectly round rocks. According to a new study, these long-extinct human species valued the lithic spheres for their uniqueness and may have experimented with different uses for them, although exactly what […]

Electricity is extremely dangerous, but also extremely useful when we can contain it and send it from A to B. It turns out that we do not need wires, tubes with special gases, or lasers to do that – even sound can be used to manipulate electric charges to behave how we wish, new research […]

Chances are you have a nighttime ritual that really isn’t doing you any favors. A 2022 poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that 58 percent of Americans regularly scroll through their phone within an hour before bed or even while in bed.  ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE A snooze-worthy pile of studies shows why this […]

This week on Break It Down: the world’s oldest runestone might have been carved by a woman in a language that predates the Vikings, asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2.3 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032 (but we’re not panicking yet), an ancient jawbone might reveal a new branch of the hominid family tree, […]

How do you let someone know you’re interested in them romantically? Perhaps a nice dinner, a cheeky DM. Science has even weighed in on the best way to flirt, but everything that humans have to offer is frankly rubbish compared to the dating game of pufferfish. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE We didn’t quite appreciate the […]

Spiders might cause some fear among arachnophobes, with their unusually high number of legs and scuttling way of moving, however, new research has found that they don’t need all eight limbs to get around and can even drop as many as two to avoid predation.  ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Losing limbs might appear to affect […]