It may be a single-celled organism, but the slime mould Physarum polycephalum has some pretty fascinating tricks up its pretty yellow sleeves. Now new research has found that it seems to “remember” where it previously found sources of food – even without a brain or nervous system. This could help explain how network organisms
Month: February 2021
There’s an old stereotype about the difference between cats and dogs. Dogs are loving and fiercely loyal, they say, while cats are aloof and indifferent. Most cat people probably disagree – I certainly find it hard to believe, with my cat purring away in my lap, that she doesn’t care about me. Overall, cat
Near the Markha River in Arctic Siberia, the earth ripples in ways that scientists don’t fully understand. Earlier this week, NASA researchers posted a series of satellite images of the peculiar wrinkled landscape to the agency’s Earth Observatory website. Taken with the Landsat 8 satellite over several years, the photos show the land on both sides of the
The coronavirus pandemic has had the world fixated on viruses like no time in living memory, but new evidence reveals humans never even notice the vast extent of viral existence – even when it’s inside us. A new database project compiled by scientists has identified over 140,000 viral species that dwell in the human
Scientists are using a radar-like weather system to watch as a storm of pathogens brew inside living tissue. The strategy is entirely novel, according to the authors, and relies on a technique very similar to Doppler radars, which can detect the motion of precipitation and predict upcoming weather patterns. Doppler ultrasounds, which use sound
An ornate Roman chariot has been discovered “almost intact” near Italy’s buried city of Pompeii, the archaeological park announced on Saturday, calling it a discovery with “no parallel” in the country. The four-wheeled processional carriage was found in the portico to stables where the remains of three horses were unearthed in 2018, including one
If you’re in the right place at the right time, and you turn your eyes to the sky, you just might catch sight of something eerily beautiful: Wisps of cloud, high in the sky, glowing softly even though the Sun has already slipped below the horizon. These are noctilucent, or night-shining, clouds, appearing at
Having dominated the planet’s surface for hundreds of millions of years, dinosaur diversity came to a dramatic conclusion some 66 million years ago at the hot end of an asteroid impact with what is today Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. It’s a theory so swollen with data that it’s hard to imagine any room for doubt remains that
A giant iceberg, more than 20 times the size of Manhattan, just split off from Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf. This dramatic breakup comes after a major crack formed on the shelf in November 2020 and continued to grow until the ‘berg finally broke off Friday morning (Feb. 26). The so-called “North Rift” crack is
Throughout the world and across various different cultures, it’s often assumed atheists are untrustworthy and lack the same guiding principles as those who believe in a god of some kind. In 2020, an international survey spanning six continents found 45 percent of people think it’s necessary to believe in a god to be moral
Like the Universe’s tiniest matryoshka dolls, atoms are typically modelled as particles within particles – a nuclei built of protons and neutrons, which in turn contain trios of fundamental particles called quarks. As convenient as this simple metaphor might be, the quantum engine operating within these subatomic particles is an incomprehensible ledger of quantum
Pollen grains from flowering plants were meant to fly, sometimes travelling hundreds of kilometres on the wind. Now it appears that the climate crisis has accelerated that travel, making allergy season in some areas of the world start earlier, last longer, and get more severe each year. In the past three decades, warmer temperatures
For the first time, physicists have captured an enigmatic state of matter on video. Using a scanning transmission X-ray microscope, the research team has recorded the oscillations of a time crystal made out of magnons at room temperature. This, they said, is a significant breakthrough in the study of time crystals. “We were able
A team of US scientists has demonstrated that the offspring of huge carnivorous dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex, who grew from the size of house cats to towering monsters, reshaped their ecosystems by outcompeting smaller rival species. Their study, published in the journal Science on Thursday, helps answer an enduring mystery about the 150-million-year rule
In total, there are thousands of them – a giant landscape of strange, hollowed jars, carved from ancient stone. Some have lids. Most are open to the sky. These surreal cauldron-like megaliths in Laos are known as the Plain of Jars, an archaeological relics whose original purpose is still shrouded in mystery, their significance long
A tiny, ancient bone fragment found in Southeast Alaska is a lot more than meets the eye. It belonged to a dog that lived in the region 10,150 years ago, which means it’s a piece of the puzzle of dog migration into the Americas – and the humans that likely came along with it.
It should be simple. When temperatures on Earth get hotter, huge amounts of water ice trapped in giant glaciers begin to thaw, releasing water into the oceans, and causing sea levels to rise. It’s the story of our lives. By contrast, when global temperatures plummet, which happens during ice ages, sea levels proceed to
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) sea currents are vital in transporting heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere, but new research suggests climate change might knock the AMOC out of action much sooner than we anticipated. That could have profound, large-scale impacts on the planet in terms of weather patterns, upending agricultural
Artwork that had adorned the walls of an Egyptian prince’s tomb for more than four millennia has been found to contain images of a bird completely unknown to modern science – until now. Although archaeologists have been eyeing the representations of local waterfowl since the fresco’s discovery at the dig site of Meidum in
In Western Australia’s northeast Kimberley region, on Balanggarra Country, a two-metre-long painting of a kangaroo spans the sloping ceiling of a rock shelter above the Drysdale River. In a paper published today in Nature Human Behaviour, we date the artwork as being between 17,500 and 17,100 years old – making it Australia’s oldest known
Sometimes, while waiting for quantum computers to become ubiquitous, or wondering whatever happened to flying cars, it’s easy to forget just how far technology has come over the past 50 years. Sure, we can all list off a bunch of innovations that have changed the way the world works – the Internet, smartphones, radio
People with extremist views aren’t only identified by their political, religious, or social beliefs, according to new research. Those ideological convictions run deep, scientists say – so deep, in fact, that they can be recognised in a ‘psychological signature’ of cognitive traits and aptitudes that typifies the thinking patterns of the extremist mind. “There
Scientific progress towards a quantum computing future has so far involved lots of different breakthroughs in lots of different (but related) fields, and there’s now a new one to report: the discovery of a crucial quantum speed limit. This latest research answers a fundamental question – how fast can a quantum process be? It’s
We find ourselves at a precarious time in global health. Many people are anxiously awaiting their turn to receive a vaccine for COVID-19, yet roll-out is slow and disorganized, with many countries facing supply shortages. The conditions are ripe for opportunists to exploit the situation. Reports of unethical line-jumping by wealthy elites have started
Researchers have discovered organic molecules trapped in incredibly ancient rock formations in Australia, revealing what they say is the first detailed evidence of early chemical ingredients that could have underpinned Earth’s primeval microbial life-forms. The discovery, made in the 3.5-billion-year-old Dresser Formation of Western Australia’s Pilbara Craton, adds to a significant body of research
Vampire squid have been lurking in the dark corners of the ocean for 30 million years, a new analysis of a long-lost fossil finds. Modern-day vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) can thrive in deep, oxygen-poor ocean water, unlike many other squid species that require shallower habitat along continental shelves. Few fossil ancestors of today’s vampire squid survive,
The amount of sunlight reaching Earth’s surface has been fluctuating for decades now, and a new study supports the idea that human activity is to blame. In the late 1980s, researchers first noticed a steady decline or ‘dimming’ in Earth’s brightness in various parts of the world, including a near 30 percent drop in sunlight
They contaminate the air we breathe, tea we sip, water we drink, and food we eat. They’re strewn across the deepest ocean trenches and the highest mountains. They’re in fish, insects, whales, corals, and our own poo. They’re even showing up in human placentas. Microplastics are everywhere. But we still have no idea what,
Launch yourself from a great enough height and it won’t take long to see which would win in a battle between gravity and the forces that bind solid ground. Gravity’s relative weakness, at least compared to the strength of electromagnetism and the nuclear forces, appears to limits its power to phenomena on the vast scales
A whitetail deer was found stumbling through the streets of Farragut, Tennessee, with thick hair growing out of both of its eyeballs. The hair protruded from discs of flesh covering both the buck’s cornea — the transparent part of the eye that covers the iris and pupil. The bizarre condition, called corneal dermoids, has been documented
Once, holograms were just a scientific curiosity. But thanks to the rapid development of lasers, they have gradually moved centre stage, appearing on the security imagery for credit cards and bank notes, in science fiction movies – most memorably Star Wars – and even “live” on stage when long-dead rapper Tupac reincarnated for fans at
An oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana killed eleven workers on 20 April 2010. The world then watched helplessly as BP’s oil gushed out into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days, killing untold millions of marine animals. Dolphins that survived one of the worst environmental disasters ever, still appear to be
When answering a question, your silence might say more than your words. A new psychology study has found pausing before replying, even for just a few seconds, can make you seem more insincere or dishonest. Even when listeners are told to ignore your pauses, they’re still more likely to judge a slower response as
Dogs might not be able to recognise themselves in a mirror, but that doesn’t mean our pets don’t have some level of self-awareness. Recent research has shown dogs can recognise the unique smell of their own odour, sort of like looking in an ‘olfactory mirror’, and now a new study suggests they might also have
Most of us living on planet Earth have to make it through some amount of cold weather for at least part of the year, and new research has identified a specific genetic mutation that makes a fifth of us more resilient to cold conditions. The genetic mutation in question stops the production of the
Creating a quantum computer requires an ability to stroke the edges of reality with the quietest of touches. Too much ‘noise’ and the delicate state of the system collapses, leaving you with a very expensive paperweight. One way to reduce the risk of this occurring is to build in checks and balances that help
Scientists have identified a new phenomenon they describe as “interactive dreaming”, where people experiencing deep sleep and lucid dreams are able to follow instructions, answer simple yes-or-no questions, and even solve basic mathematics problems. As well as adding a whole new level of understanding to what happens to our brains when we’re dreaming, the new
Fish poop is full of carbon, and the ocean is full of fish poop. A new study estimates up to 16 percent of all the carbon in the world’s oceans come from fish faeces, fish breath, and other fish excretions. That’s roughly 1.65 billion tons of carbon flushed into the depths each year, and
Americans often take electricity for granted – until the lights go out. The recent cold wave and storm in Texas have placed considerable focus on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the nonprofit corporation that manages the flow of electricity to more than 26 million Texans. Together, ERCOT and similar organizations manage
A global period of upheaval 42,000 years ago was the result of a reversal in Earth’s magnetic field, new research has found. According to radiocarbon preserved in ancient tree rings, several centuries’ worth of climate breakdown, mass extinctions, and even changes in human behaviour can be directly linked to the last time Earth’s magnetic field
Not all water ice is the same. Locked inside, the arrangement of molecules varies significantly, based on the pressure and temperature conditions under which it forms. We knew of 18 of these distinct phases of ice, some occurring naturally, some only seen in laboratory conditions. Three years ago, a team of researchers tweaked one
The severe winter storm raging through the southern US brought such extreme cold that it confused weather satellites monitoring the situation. On Tuesday, the cold air advancing south from the Arctic chilled the ground so much that one monitoring satellite mistook the ground for tops of clouds, which are usually much colder than surface temperatures.
There’s something about mummies that always fascinates people. We see this from the attention given to mummies in museum exhibitions and in their frequent appearance in books, films and games. Perhaps it’s the fact that they are dead yet still very identifiable as people – in some way simultaneously dead and living. Whatever the
In 1928, the renowned British archaeologist, Dorothy Garrod, excavated the Shukbah Cave in the hills of Palestine, just north of Jerusalem. This was some of her earliest work in a long and successful career, revealing a rich collection of ancient stone tools, animal bones, and a single fossilised tooth – what looked like a large
Male and female wood roaches are one of the few insect couples suspected of truly mating for life. The secret to one species’ long-lasting love? A bit of mutual cannibalism. In a revelry of post-coital bliss, mating cockroaches (Salganea taiwanensis) have been filmed chowing down on each other’s wings for days on end, taking turns
In a feat right at the limits of our scientific capabilities, an international team of geneticists has recovered and sequenced the oldest DNA to date. From the teeth of three ancient mammoths that roamed Siberia between 700,000 and 1.2 million years ago, the researchers extracted extremely degraded DNA, and pieced it back together to reveal
Protons don’t like to stay close to one another for very long. But if you’ve got the right number balanced neatly among enough neutrons, they just might build an atom that won’t crumble apart in the blink of an eye. Theorists had suggested 114 could be one such ‘magic’ number of protons – but
Admit it. We all have our favourite world maps, the one where the continent we call home sits right at the centre. And when that world map is flipped upside down or shifted to the left or right, everything feels… unbalanced. More than just a classroom squabble, it’s a reflection of how maps can