After several years of controversy and debate, researchers in Sweden are more convinced than ever that female Viking warriors once existed. Re-examining a contentious discovery from 2017, the researchers have again determined that the ancient Birka skeleton, found in a 10th-century Viking warrior tomb, did, in fact, belong to a biological female.   “The buried person

For those of us outside the conspiracy, the idea that Earth is flat is so ridiculous, the people who believe it are easy to make fun of. But on forum groups, in YouTube comments, and in person at conferences, flat-Earthers are deadly serious. And one of the biggest sources for renewed interest in flat Earth

Almost a century ago, British geologist and archaeologist Herbert Henry Thomas provocatively claimed he knew where Stonehenge’s famous rocks came from. While his findings and methods have since been disputed, it turns out Thomas was almost right – with new results from a painstaking eight-year excavation project finally identifying where the mysterious megaliths originated.  

Something inexplicable has been going on at the Grand Canyon museum, and the truth is stranger than fiction. It all started in March of 2018, when the teenage son of a park employee was testing out their Geiger counter in the museum collection room. As the young radiation enthusiast was wandering around the space, they

We finally have real evidence about what microdosing psychedelic drugs does to your brain. Long advocated by people who claim that a teensy daily dose of LSD helps them with their high-pressure jobs, microdosing has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms and stress while boosting focus and levels of neuroticism, according to research published in

It was a cold and hazy afternoon when Travis Kauffman set out on a scenic run through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. The 31-year-old runner told reporters that he ran up a nature trail earlier this month near Fort Collins and made his way to the top to take in the

The Pinna-Brelstaff illusion is tremendous fun: concentric rings of shapes, with inverse shading. When you move your head closer to or farther from the illusion, the rings appear to rotate, expand, and contract (go ahead, we’ll wait while you try this with the picture above).   We know the shading effect plays a role in tricking our

Thousands of years ago, an ancient hominin strode through a sand dune, leaving footprints behind. Most of these marks were lost to the ravages of the years, but one was preserved as the sand hardened to stone.   That print, scientists have now determined, may have been made by a Neanderthal on the island of

There’s been a recent increase globally in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This can be seen in recent measles outbreaks in parts of the world where it was thought to have been eradicated.   This has prompted the World Health Organisation to list “vaccine hesitancy” (the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines)

There’s an old saying, “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” In other words, before you give up, take matters into your own hands and try a little harder.   As a psychology researcher, I believe this adage applies to relationships, too. Before you let go,

The British Columbia Coroners Service has asked the public to help identify a foot found in West Vancouver, on the shores of the Salish Sea. It might sound like a gruesome find at first,  but it’s actually a surprisingly common occurrence in these parts.   Detached human feet in various states of decay have been

The life of a sperm isn’t easy. From cervix to egg, the female reproductive tract puts these tiny swimmers through an obstacle course of doom. It’s like being forced into a haunted house where the only way out is forward. At every turn there are more ways to die: bathed in acid, tangled in mucus, attacked

It’s the start of a new year, which means it’s time for another stern talking to from Harrison Ford. Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai this week, the 76-year-old actor and climate activist practically begged us to stop electing people who don’t understand science.   “All of us whether rich or poor, powerful or

Humans have a need to leave a legacy behind us when we pass on. For some, that might mean inspiring an entire region to build massive rock structures, such as Stonehenge. New research suggests the megaliths littering ancient Europe weren’t conceived independently, but were all influenced by the work of a single hunter-gatherer community that lived in

All the war, conflict, and misery that has beset civilisation for centuries and longer may lead you to think human society is tragically defined by a constant clash of irreconcilable cultures.   Not so, according to a new study, which in fact found startling and optimistic evidence to the contrary: all cultures are actually bound

Nobody knows who she was, just that she was different: a teenage girl from over 50,000 years ago of such strange uniqueness she looked to be a ‘hybrid’ ancestor to modern humans that scientists had never seen before.   Only now, researchers have uncovered evidence she wasn’t alone. In a new study analysing the complex

It’s one of the weirdest, most magical-seeming tricks there is: the ability to instantly transform hot, boiling water into an icy mist in the blink of an eye. This bizarre demonstration of what’s called the Mpemba effect might seem like sorcery, but just because you can impressively fling hot, scalding water into the sky above

We’re not sure why it happened. Even ‘when’ is a topic of ongoing debate. But at some point, for some reason, our brains got big. There are plenty of hypotheses as to how we got here, but to find supporting evidence we need experiments on the brains of chimpanzees and humans, which involves practical (not to

There’s a saying in medicine: You’re not dead until you’re warm and dead. Turns out it applies to cats, too. The polar vortex was raging in the Upper Midwest last week, and temperatures had dropped below zero on the morning of Jan. 31 in the city of Kalispell, Mont., near Glacier National Park.   Fluffy

Mind reading and the ability to predict the future are not skills people generally associate with the human race. Yet, research shows many people genuinely believe in the existence of psychic powers.   You would think that instances of proven psychic fraud over the years would weaken the credibility of psychic claims. There have been

Back in 2005, professional yo-yo performer Dave Schulte AKA “Dazzling Dave” started having weird sensations in the index finger of his right hand. It felt cold, and later became tender and even began to turn purple – not ideal in the hand he uses for yoyo tricks.   “I had no idea what caused it

The scientific community has strict standards for organ transplant research. Researchers can’t use organs from executed prisoners or ones obtained without the consent of the donor, and an international ethics committee must green light every study prior to publication in a research journal.   But a startling new report reveals that Chinese researchers may have

Humans have learned to travel through space, eradicate diseases and understand nature at the breathtakingly tiny level of fundamental particles. Yet we have no idea how consciousness – our ability to experience and learn about the world in this way and report it to others – arises in the brain.   In fact, while scientists

Science has the power to change the world, but it’s not always an easy path to enlightenment. At many junctures throughout history, proponents of revolutionary ideas have come up against criticism and pushback from the establishment.   Science is all about experimentation, trial, error, and evidence. It may have taken years, but each of the

From a distance, anybody would have been fooled. It was the same size as a potato, and its brown, dirty appearance resembled every other muddy spud in the potato chip factory. But this was no harmless vegetable. The unusually heavy spud-like object discovered in a Hong Kong potato chip plant this weekend was in fact

Scientists have just found a new distinction between the brains of the two sexes: age-related changes to the brain occur more slowly in women than in men. The jury is still out on whether cognitive differences between men and women are created by nature or nurture – or to what extent they even exist –

Over the past week, record levels of rain have deluged Queensland in northeastern Australia, prompting emergency evacuations – as well as some surreal sights. Hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes in and around Townsville, a city on the coast of Queensland that has suffered the bulk of the unprecedented flooding.  

Harvard Business Review’s recent cover story makes the case for prioritising time over money, and making daily decisions accordingly. Unfortunately, writes Harvard Business School professor Ashley Whillans, most of us do just the opposite.   One of the most intriguing points in the article is this: “We overestimate the amount of time needed to enjoy

Imagine being confined to a small, dark room, with no social interaction whatsoever for 30 days. Not many people would jump at this opportunity. But, in November 2018, a professional US poker player Rich Alati bet US$100,000 that he could survive 30 days alone and in total darkness.   He was kept in a small,

Humans have travelled to the moon and uncovered the secrets of the Taos Hum, the Devil’s Kettle, and maybe even the pyramids of Egypt. But there are still plenty of phenomena that science can’t explain yet.   Though scientists may have theories about the following phenomena, no one can say for certain why they occur. Here are nine

In the current polarized climate, it’s easy to find yourself in the midst of a political disagreement that morphs into a religious argument. People’s religious affiliation predicts their stances on abortion, immigration and other controversial topics, and disagreements about these issues can seem intractable.   The seeming futility in arguing about politics and religion may

It happens to me more often than I care to admit. I check my calendar for the following workday and see a call I scheduled weeks ago, when I was busy and overwhelmed and couldn’t take on any new assignments.   The only issue? Right now I am also busy and overwhelmed and can’t reasonably

We know that some modern human genomes contain fragments of DNA from an ancient population of humans called Denisovans, the remains of which have been found at only one site, a cave in what is now Siberia.   Two papers published in Nature today give us a firmer understanding of when these little-known archaic humans

Those of us who pay even a little bit of attention to the news would probably agree that today, the world is intensely polarised. Yet despite the feeling that global conflict is all that rolls across our newsfeeds, this collective despair is a gross misreading of the situation, and it could even be perpetuating our

Since its discovery in 1938, the drug LSD — that’s lysergic acid diethylamide — has puzzled researchers. They knew the drug had a profound effect on people, causing hallucinations and an altered state of consciousness, but they couldn’t figure out why.   Now that could be changing. A research team from the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich thinks it’s figured

Long after your flesh is dust and your stories forgotten, your bones will whisper secrets about your life. Future archaeologists will wring out truths about your health, your past, and your place in society.   Many of these clues can vanish if our remains are split and warped by the heat of cremation, but a

What was once thought to be a scattering of ancient stone huts on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, has turned out to be the remnants of a thriving city, lost to history for 200 years.   Beneath the dense vegetation, there isn’t much to see with the naked eye. And after three decades of

One of them is a little green gnome-like figure. The other is half-human, half-Vulcan. Both have pointy ears and considerable wisdom. But which is ultimately wiser? It’s a reasonable thing to wonder, perhaps even logical. After all, Yoda from Star Wars and Spock from Star Trek have come to represent the quintessential archetypes of sage

Today, art and science are often seen as two wildly different pursuits. Historically, the pair are not always so easily distinguished. Ever since the Folkton Drums were first discovered 130 years ago, the three chalk cylinders have been praised for their remarkable and intricate decorations, carved more than 4,000 years ago in Britain.   Now,

One of the biggest cultural shifts in recent years is the rise of fake news – where claims with no evidence behind them (e.g. the world is flat) get shared as fact alongside evidence-based, peer-reviewed findings (e.g. climate change is happening).   Researchers have coined this trend the ‘anti-enlightenment movement‘, and there’s been a lot

There are few monuments in the world that are as iconic as the Pyramids of Giza, a necropolis that dates back nearly 5,000 years. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only one of the ancient seven wonders of the world still standing and, in 2007, 100 million people voted to select it as one

When you play a game of thrones, there are only two outcomes: you either win or you die. The question is, who amongst us has the iron dice stacked in their favour? If you are a male of low birth with a penchant for unwavering loyalty and an insistence on living, you will probably have your

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is keeping the Doomsday Clock set at two minutes to midnight – a metaphor for the end of the world – calling the threats against humankind “a new abnormal”.   The scientists announced Thursday that the clock is stuck at 11:58, citing nuclear weapons and climate change as two

Human sacrifice has been around for centuries – the Maya, Aztecs, and ancient Egyptians killed prisoners of war, volunteers, and slaves over the course of their histories. But child sacrifice, especially mass killings, are incredibly rare.   Previously, evidence of the largest youth sacrifice ever – 42 children – was discovered at Templo Mayor in

The idea came to him in a dream, he later claimed, a vision delivered by supernatural forces. It was 1941, and Rudolf Hess – the Deputy Führer and second-in-line to Hitler himself – embarked upon a perilous solo flight to Britain in a wild bid to broker peace with Germany’s bitter enemy. Or did he?

We don’t wish to alarm you, but your mutations just aren’t what they were a million years ago. Sorry. By comparing genetic changes in the offspring of various primates, researchers have determined the mutation rate of humans has slowed since we parted ways. X-Men franchise fans might be disappointed, but the results could clear up

High in the Himalayas, Sikkim is one of the tiniest states in India. But it is about to embark on an experiment of global interest. Sikkim’s ruling party has announced an ambitious plan to implement a universal basic income for every one of its 610,577 citizens.   If successful, the scheme would represent the largest

Archaeologists investigating a stone circle thought to be thousands of years old in Aberdeenshire, Scotland have been a wee bit chagrined by an unexpected revelation. After reports of the circle’s discovery hit the news, a farmer revealed he actually built the monument just decades ago.   The “recumbent stone circle” found on the farm in