California bees may be fish, but Colorado elephants are not people. At least, that’s the ruling of the state’s Supreme Court, who this week decreed that five elephants currently held at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs have no legal right to pursue their release from the establishment. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE It is, […]
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Rabbit Feared Extinct Spotted For The First Time In 130 Years, And It’s Feisty
The Omiltemi cottontail rabbit was thought to have been lost to science since the early 1900s. Last seen 130 years ago, the future looked bleak for this little brown rabbit, but an expedition in the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountain Range in Mexico has changed all that. Not only did the team successfully capture the […]
People With ADHD Could Have A Reduced Life Expectancy, Says World-First Study
People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have a “deeply concerning” reduced life expectancy compared to those without it, a UK study of over 30,000 individuals with diagnosed ADHD has suggested. For male participants, ADHD was associated with a reduction in life expectancy of 4.5 to 9 years, and for female participants, the reduction […]
A23a: World’s Largest Iceberg Threatens Thousands of Penguins On British Island
The world’s largest iceberg – A23a – continues to move along its collision course with the remote British island of South Georgia. If previous iceberg crashes are anything to go by, a bump with this icy behemoth could be a catastrophe for their resident seals, penguins, and other wildlife. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE A23a weighs […]
The Moon Will Soon Get Its First-Ever Flapping Flag, Thanks To Chinese School Students
The Moon will soon get its first flapping flag, thanks to elementary school students from Changsha in central China’s Hunan Province. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE When the USA first sent astronauts to the Moon on Apollo 11, they wanted to plant an American flag on the surface. The problem was that a regular flag would […]
The Oldest Dinosaurs May Be Lying Undiscovered In The Amazon Rainforest
Failure to find the oldest dinosaur fossils may be because the areas in which they first evolved are now generally hard to explore like the Amazon rainforest or the Sahara desert, closer to the equator and not the far south of the Southern Hemisphere as previously thought, a team of paleontologists has proposed. ADVERTISEMENT GO […]
130-Year Mystery Solved As Orchid’s “Finger” Revealed As DIY Fertilization Fallback
Life can get a bit lonely for the orchid Stigmatodactylus sikokianus. It grows in dark and secluded places where it’s easy to miss and rarely visited by pollinators, but a 130-year mystery has revealed how it manages to fertilize all on its lonesome. If nobody shows up, it simply does the job itself. ADVERTISEMENT GO […]
Earth’s Quasi-Moon Finally Has A Name, Honoring The Roman Goddess Of… Hinges
One of Earth’s seven quasi-moons has just got a new name: Asteroid 2004 GU9 is now known as Cardea, one of the Roman deities of doors and thresholds with a particular focus on hinges. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Cardea is not a real satellite of our planet like the Moon – it is not gravitationally […]
Earliest Evidence Of Human Relatives In Europe Pushed Back 500,000 Years
Bones from Grăunceanu, Romania have been interpreted as evidence early humans made it to Europe 1.95 million years ago, long before other accepted examples. However, the find is not a clear-cut case, and may face considerable dispute. The bones are not from our relatives themselves, but from potential prey that appear to have been cut […]
FDA Approves First-Ever Standalone Therapy For Treatment-Resistant Depression
A nasal spray therapy for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) has now been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on its own, making it the first-ever approved standalone treatment for this condition. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE MDD is one of the most common mental health conditions in the US, affecting an […]
The Volcanic Eruption That Annihilated Pompeii Was 32 Hours Of Pure Hell
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, the scolding lava, ash, and gas that poured from its entrails converted the Roman city of Pompeii into a terrifying snapshot of death and destruction. Two millennia on, researchers have finally recreated a blow-by-blow account of the disaster, revealing exactly how the eruption progressed and dragged the city’s […]
Atmospheric Rivers Are Causing Ecosystem Chaos In West Greenland’s Lakes
West Greenland’s lakes have undergone an alarming change. Within just a couple of years, thousands of its great blue lakes have turned brown and become dominated by a stinking gunk that pumps out carbon emissions. According to a new study, atmospheric rivers might be to blame. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Scientists at the University of […]
Why Does Metal Smell Tangy? It Doesn’t, That’s Just Your Body Odor
Hopefully, you’ve never eaten any chunks of metal or chowed down on a coin, but you’ll no doubt have an idea of what metal tastes and smells like: musty, tangy, and sharp. We’re here to inform you that metal doesn’t actually have an innate odor; that aroma is basically a body odor. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD […]
World’s Fastest Supercomputer Goes Online, Focusing On Classified Research
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LNNL) in California is now home to the fastest supercomputer in the world. Dubbed El Capitan and officially dedicated on January 9, it’s only the third exascale supercomputer in the world, and by far the fastest. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE It cost $600 million to build and it will handle […]
Do We All Need To Consume More Iodine?
While there are a whole host of vitamins and minerals that are essential to our bodies being able to function properly, a critical one is iodine. Yep, that thing you used in high school to test for starch is actually good for more than just muddling through class. But are people getting enough of it? […]
Trump’s Vow To “Drill, Baby, Drill” Is Hitting Alaska’s Arctic Wildlife Refuge
In the first few hours of his second presidency, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that could pave the way for oil drilling in North Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last great wildernesses left in the US. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE Shortly after announcing the US was set to “drill, baby, […]
What Happens When You Stop Washing? The Filthiest Tales Of Humans Refusing To Bathe
Have you ever looked at a bath and thought “Nah, not today!”? Well, you are not alone, as bathing has been a very up-and-down trend across history and from culture to culture. Ancient Rome’s public baths could be a grand affair, with all classes of Roman society taking frequent hot soaks. This contrasts with people […]
From Science Fiction To Reality: The Rise Of Robotic Surgery
Imagine this scenario: You are about to undergo an important and delicate surgical procedure. You’re lying on the operating table, waiting to be anesthetized. The room is sterile and quiet. In the past, you would expect to see nurses and surgeons setting up equipment and instruments for the operation, their movements bustling around in busy […]
The Steepest Street In The World? It’s Surprisingly Controversial
We all know the tallest mountain: it’s Everest, of course. Or Mauna Kea. Okay, okay, or Chimborazo. Look, maybe that’s too controversial an item of trivia – let’s aim smaller. Where’s the steepest hill? ADVERTISEMENT GO AD FREE It’s difficult to know for sure, since, well, not all of them have been officially logged. Perhaps […]
A Spotted Hyena Became The First To Visit Egypt In 5,000 Years, Then It Got Shot
A spotted hyena embarked on a lengthy and unexpected journey when it traveled to southeastern Egypt, marking the first time these animals have been seen here in around 5,000 years. The hyena was traveling alone, and regrettably met its end 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Sudan border when it was shot. ADVERTISEMENT GO AD […]
