The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a loosely defined region in the North Atlantic Ocean, where a number of aircraft and ships have disappeared. The vicinity of this so-called triangle is among the most heavily travelled shipping lanes in the world, with vessels frequently crossing through it for ports in the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean islands. Popular culture has
Month: December 2019
More than 50 polar bears have gathered on the edge of a village in Russia’s far north, environmentalists and residents said, as weak Arctic ice leaves them unable to roam. The Russian branch of the World Wildlife Fund said climate change was to blame, as unusually warm temperatures prevented coastal ice from forming. The
A study that called attention to a remote cluster of islands off Australia’s coast was met with international concern when it published in May. In a harrowing account of their trip to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands two years prior, researchers recalled seeing beaches that were “literally drowning in plastic.” An estimated 414 million pieces
NASA has been accused of a major cover up over an archive photo which some claim shows an “organic alien craft”. Scott Waring presented photographic and video “proof” of alien activity captured by the NASA astronauts during the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-115) mission. Speaking on his etdatabase.com blog, Waring said: “I found an organic UFO
A mysterious 300ft-object has surfaced on Google Earth in the middle of Antartica, appearing completely “out-of-place”. Video of the unexplained and unusual finding sparked a frenzy of speculation as to its origins from UFOs to natural phenomena. The peculiar discovery reveals a massive dark object unlike anything else seen in the nearby Antarctica region. The
Huntsmans may be the gentle giants of Australia’s spider world, but they definitely have a somewhat alarming mien. With their round furry bodies and long, gangly, sideways-jointed legs, just one of these hand-sized beasties can deliver an impressive startle. Now imagine the surprise of Bush Heritage Australia ecologist Angela Sanders when she opened a
Three thousand years ago, the village of Deir el-Medina in ancient Egypt was home to a community of artisans, all living and working together on the tombs of the Valley of the Kings necropolis. But new evidence has emerged that tombs were not their only creative outlet. Infrared imaging has revealed a range of
It’s a common refrain from those who question mainstream climate science findings: The computer models scientists use to project future global warming are inaccurate and shouldn’t be trusted to help policymakers decide whether to take potentially expensive steps to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. A new study effectively snuffs out that argument by looking
Plate tectonics have played a vital role in the geological evolution of our planet. In addition, many scientists believe that Earth’s geologically activity may have played an important role in the evolution of life – and could even be essential for a planet’s habitability. For this reason, scientists have long sought to determine how
SpaceX launched a 3-ton shipment to the International Space Station on Thursday, including “mighty mice” for a muscle study, a robot sensitive to astronauts’ emotions and a miniature version of a brewery’s malt house. The Dragon capsule also is delivering holiday goodies for the six station residents. NASA’s Kenny Todd isn’t giving any hints,
Artificial flesh is growing ever closer to the real thing. Scientists in Australia have now created a new jelly-like material which they claim has the strength and durability of actual skin, ligaments, or even bone. “With the special chemistry we’ve engineered in the hydrogel, it can repair itself after it has been broken like
Scientists researching a key aspect of biochemistry in living creatures have been taking a very close look at the tiny Caenorhabditis elegans roundworm. Their latest results show that when these nematodes get put under more biochemical stress early in their lives, they somehow tend to live longer. This type of stress, called oxidative stress
NASA’s exoplanet-hunting satellite TESS caught a rare glimpse of the entirety of a “comet outburst”, which is an epic cosmic event in which a comet spontaneously combusts in a brilliant explosion. The satellite captured a time-lapse video of the event, according to a NASA release. The footage is grainy, but it’s an awe-inspiring glimpse
The microbe Metallosphaera sedula is known to have a penchant for eating minerals. We’re not talking about garden-variety granite or chalk, though. This particular mineral connoisseur loves to dine on far more exotic rocks – ones that come from space. The discovery of the bacteria-like archaeon’s preference for meteorites not only invites speculation on
When humans choose the wrong mate, it can end in divorce. When cichlids choose the wrong mate, it can fuel the development of a whole new species. That’s not a bad outcome for what’s usually an unfortunate mistake, and it’s one of the main reasons this colourful little fish is so exceptionally diverse, coming in
As the Southern Hemisphere enters summer, a catastrophic bushfire season is well underway on Australia’s east coast. Homes have been destroyed, koalas are dying, and there’s currently a thick smog of smoke blanketing parts of the state of New South Wales. Some think the effects of the extensive fires could even be travelling across
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made the closest ever flyby of the Sun in August 2018, collecting massive amounts of data using cutting-edge scientific instruments from a distance of 15 million miles – a mission that also, incidentally, set the record for the fastest-ever human-made object of all time. Now, scientists are starting to release
There was no greater honor for a Viking than to die in battle, beginning a journey from the flat Earth up toward Valhalla, where an eternal feast awaited. “They can have a fight and party every day,” Knut Paasche, a period archaeologist said, “and then the next day, do it again.” But they needed
In 1906, zoologist Herbert Spencer Jennings reported a remarkable discovery. He found an example of intelligent behaviour in a freshwater organism made of just a single cell, known as Stentor roeseli. When stimulated under the microscope, this colourless, trumpet-like creature was able to make complex decisions, Jennings claimed. The organism was changing its response according
Sometimes, if you look deep into the soft glow of a dying sun, you might see the rocky remains of small planets slowly being digested. For the first time, astronomers have watched a collapsed star pull apart the remains of something a little more hearty. An analysis of the spectral fingerprints of the white
Cyborg super soldiers enhanced by advancements in bioengineering and other research fields are coming, but the Department of Defence is not prepared for what that will mean for the warfighter, the military as a whole, and civilians. “In the next 30 years, you’re going to need to have to deal with these legal and
There’s some irony in the fact that the darkest objects in the sky – black holes – can be responsible for some of the Universe’s brightest light. Simulations of the magnetic fields surrounding black holes and neutron stars have now provided new insights into their astonishing brilliance. Astrophysicists from Columbia University in New York
This decade is set to be the hottest in history, the United Nations said Tuesday in an annual assessment outlining the ways in which climate change is outpacing humanity’s ability to adapt to it. The World Meterological Organization said global temperatures so far this year were 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) above the
After spending at least 30,000 years living alongside humans, dogs have become really good at reading our emotions. Not only can they understand some of our most iconic words, signs and gestures, studies have shown these animals can recognise our facial expressions and determine whether our responses are positive or negative. Even our closest
Set in the middle of a mass of laser equipment, researchers have managed to trigger the coldest chemical reaction in the known Universe. This feat promises to reveal some essential truths about how the building blocks of matter react at ultra-low temperatures. How cold is the reaction exactly? We’re talking in the region of
And the trio were seen and photographed from NASA’s Space Shuttle, during the STS 32 and STS 61 Shuttle missions. The first object discussed was spotted in a photographic burst outside of the Space Shuttle STS032 mission as it orbited over the ocean. Waring said: “This object is moving fast as you can see the
A menacing white foam covered one of India’s most famous beaches in Chennai for the fourth straight day on Monday, creating a new pollution hazard for the country. Children have been playing and taking selfies in the clouds of white suds on Marina Beach, even though they give off an acrid smell and fishermen have
Scientists said Monday they had used a drone to observe the rapid fracturing and draining of a lake on the Greenland ice sheet, a phenomenon that may become more frequent as a result of climate change. The ice sheet is typically about a kilometre thick (1090 yards), and during summer, it is normal for
Life has faced many challenges as it has scrambled over this blue marble; many times, it has seemingly reached the brink, only to come back with surprising vigour. Now, researchers have finally figured out how living things could have survived a colossal glaciation event known as the Cryogenian Period. This Snowball Earth, as it is
There are a number of health risks that come with going to space. Aside from the increased exposure to solar radiation and cosmic rays, there are the notable effects that microgravity can have on human physiology. As Scott Kelly can attest, these go beyond muscle and bone degeneration and include diminished organ function, eyesight,
NASA announced Monday that it had finally found the crash site of India’s lost lunar lander, Vikram. Images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera show the lander’s crash site about 600 km (372 miles) from the Moon’s south pole, shown below, including an impact point and field of debris surrounding it. The impact point.
The Anak Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia – the so-called “Child of Krakatoa” – was formed by one of the most deadly volcanic disasters in modern history. Last year, unbeknownst to the world, it was close to unleashing something similar. In 2018, as Anak Krakatoa violently erupted, its middle suddenly collapsed, triggering a tsunami that
How typical is our Solar System? The question bedevils planetary scientists, but making detections of analogous features in other planetary systems is pretty hard. Yet astronomers have just made one – of a Kuiper belt-like feature around a star 320 light-years away. It is, they say, the first polarimetric detection of the inner ring
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that the world’s efforts to stop climate change have been “utterly inadequate” so far and there is a danger global warming could pass the “point of no return.” Speaking before the start Monday of a two-week international climate conference in Madrid, the UN chief said the
When it comes to pregnancy and babies, the closer to full-term the better. Compared to full-term pregnancies, we know that near-term babies have a higher risk of medical problems soon after birth, and lower cognitive outcomes later in childhood. So, with that in mind, we have some bad news. Researchers have found that extreme
Fireballs explode in Earth’s atmosphere all the time, usually unremarkably. And a fireball that exploded over the Australian desert in 2016 might have been mistaken for any other bolide, if not for a network of cameras monitoring the sky to search for just such events. It was thanks to images taken by these cameras
We generally assume a purring cat is a contented cat. It’s safe to say a hissing cat, its ears drawn back, is not pleased. But aside from the visage of Grumpy Cat – who may not have been grumpy at all – feline faces don’t tell us much about how cats feel. Or rather, as a new
Nearly 3,000 feet (900 metres) below the surface of Monterey Bay, a network of deep sea cables helps scientists to study marine life. Spanning 32 miles (51 kilometres) across the floor of the Pacific Ocean, the cables record sounds like the high-pitched squeal of a dolphin or the deep moans of a humpback whale. They
The desperate search for ways to help the world’s coral reefs rebound from the devastating effects of climate change has given rise to some radical solutions. In the Caribbean, researchers are cultivating coral “nurseries” so they can reimplant fresh coral on degraded reefs. And in Hawaii, scientists are trying to specially breed corals to be
The Chang’e-4 mission, the fourth installment in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, has made some significant achievements since it launched in December of 2018. In January of 2019, the mission lander and its Yutu 2 (Jade Rabbit 2) rover became the first robotic explorers to achieve a soft landing on the far side of the Moon.