News

Homo naledi – the extinct human species of Netflix fame – had hands that were partially adapted to climbing and partly designed for crafting, new research has revealed. This finding helps to fill in a gap in our understanding of human hand evolution, suggesting that the manual hardware required for tool-making and other fiddly tasks […]

The strongest solar flare of 2025 so far has been unleashed by the Sun, causing radio blackouts over southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The Sun had quite an active year in 2024, sending plenty of solar storms our way as we headed to the peak of the Solar Cycle. But our star is […]

A troop of chimpanzees have been observed treating each other’s wounds and injuries, demonstrating both an understanding of the healing power of certain plants and care for others, irrespective of genetic relationship. Chimpanzees heal a lot faster than humans, but they still sometimes need help. Last year, it was observed that our closest living relatives […]

Tracks found in early Carboniferous-period rocks in southeast Australia appear to be from an amniote, most likely a reptile. If so, these beat the previous oldest evidence for amniotes by more than 30 million years, and will rewrite the timing on when the clade that includes mammals first evolved.  The first vertebrates to leave the […]

Vegetarians who reject meat do so for various reasons, but some do so because meat generates a feeling of disgust that matches the aversion to things like eating human flesh, feces, or dog meat. Have you ever noticed that the world is filled with various potentially ingestible things, and yet our diets are remarkably limited […]

A group of independent researchers from the US is rallying around a curiously ship-shaped ridge on a Turkish mountain – and they’re pretty confident they will eventually unearth the shipwreck of Noah’s Ark. It’s a fascinating project, but these bold claims of biblical archaeology should be taken with a pinch of Dead Sea salt. The […]

A US congressman has shown off a little history and caused a little concern on the Internet, after filming a hidden passageway in the United States Capitol building. Republican congressman Tim Moore shared a video of the secret passageway hidden beneath the carpet of the Lincoln Room. “This is one of the neat things about […]

Tomato sauce, coffee, engine oil – hands up if you’ve ever had a piece of clothing ruined by a tricky stain like one of these. It may not always work, but knowing how best to tackle specific stains at least gives you a chance of saving your favorite tee from a new life as a […]

When looking at a towel, you may have wondered a few things, such as, “Why do I have to wash my towel when I only use it when I’ve literally just been cleaned?” and, “Huh, what the hell are those lines for?” Another question people have post-shower or bath is; why do old towels dry […]

Do you love scary science fiction? Are you always up to date on the latest horror novels? Then our next CURIOUS Live virtual event is one you’re not going to want to miss. Yes, IFLScience’s festival of science is back with a haunting guest appearance from neuroscientist, Associate Teaching Professor at DePaul University, and author […]

In East Antarctica, a vast mountain range is hidden beneath thousands of meters of ice where it’s been trapped for millions of years. Soviet scientists first discovered this geological wonder back in the 1950s, but new research is continuing show that this subglacial landscape is truly bizarre. The frozen titans beneath the ice are known […]

Long before Visa and Mastercard, a currency known as the owl was the accepted payment method across much of the civilized world. Originating in Ancient Greece in the sixth century BCE, the avian-themed silver coins were renowned for their extraordinary purity and helped to change the entire course of history by financing some of the […]

Stone tools found on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, are of a style that flourished 12,000 years ago, when the Earth was plunged into a brief period of extreme cooling called the Younger Dryas, after apparently escaping the last glacial era. The location was thought to be far too close to the poles to have […]

History is full of crummy times. Flip to any chapter in the human story, and you’ll find that peace and prosperity are the exception, not the norm. Sure, periods of plenty and politeness have been enjoyed, but they often came crashing down in an outbreak of violence or, if you were lucky, they slowly rotted […]

There are many things that are creepy about I, Robot’s Sonny. He’s missing the back of his head, for starters, but then there’s also that way he looks just a little bit blank all the time (even when destroying Will Smith in two words). What is it about this robot’s way of thinking that makes […]

Ice cores are a pretty good way to get an idea of the Earth’s atmosphere in the ancient past, thanks to their ability to trap gas and other debris within them. “Like a prehistoric fly trapped in amber during dinosaurs’ days, airborne relics of Earth’s earlier climate—including dust, air bubbles, sea salts, volcanic ash, and […]

Flamingos are not passive filter feeders, but active hunters of prey, a new study reveals. Instead of chasing their diverse diet, they create disturbances in the water that force the food items to come to them, a much more efficient approach. The curiosity a trip to Zoo Atlanta inspired in Dr Victor Ortega Jiménez of […]

Off the coast of Central California there is a huge field of strange circular structures lining the ocean floor, created in prehistoric times and still visible today. Known as the Sur Pockmark Field, the Los Angeles-sized area is host to more than 5,200 circular depressions, each around 200 meters (656 feet) across and five meters […]

Jupiter has a stupendous magnetic field, so powerful that it makes our planet’s one look like a fridge magnet. It is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s own, and its power is responsible for the creation of incredible aurorae displays, shining from x-rays down to the infrared – and it’s in infrared where new insights and […]

The number of cases of measles in the United States in 2025 has surpassed 1,000, with the disease continuing to grow. In certain states, it is expected that the outbreaks will continue for months to come, with severe risks for unvaccinated people, especially children. As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), […]