Black holes are notable for many things, especially their simplicity. They’re just … holes. That are ‘black.’ This simplicity allows us to draw surprising parallels between black holes and other branches of physics. For example, a team of researchers has shown that a special kind of particle can exist around a pair of black
Massive greenhouse gas reserves, frozen deep under the seabed, are alarmingly now starting to thaw. That’s according to an international team of scientists whose preliminary findings were recently reported in The Guardian. These deposits, technically called methane “gas hydrates”, are often described as “fiery ice” due to the parlour trick of burning atop a Bunsen
People in wealthy, industrialized countries are used to finding their supermarket shelves fully stocked. Yet for a brief period early in the COVID-19 pandemic, some of those shelves emptied out, as panic drove shoppers to stockpile and supply chains were interrupted. For many, this came as a reminder that our food supply system is
Traditional computer chips use separate areas for calculations and data storage, but new research has shown how these areas can be combined together on a 2D material for the first time – which should lead to smaller, more powerful, more energy-efficient devices. It’s technically known as a logic-in-memory architecture or a single architecture, where
Inch by inch, they gently pick through the soil in search of thousand-year-old relics. Racing against on-setting mould yet painstakingly meticulous, archaeologists in Norway are exhuming a rare Viking ship grave in hopes of uncovering the secrets within. Who is buried here? Under which ritual? What is left of the burial offerings? And what
An ancient grave in Austria may represent the oldest burial of twins on record, a new study finds. The 31,000-year-old burial dates to the Upper Paleolithic (a period lasting from 40,000 to 10,000 years ago), also known as the Old Stone Age. One of the infants died shortly after birth, while his twin brother lived
They’ve been watching us for decades. Monitoring our movements. Studying our behaviour. Tracking our routines. Stealing our chips. In the seaside city of Bristol gulls are the ultimate human stalkers, and the timing of their peck is impeccable. Scientists tracking these birds have discovered gulls are so well adapted to human urban environments, they
Even if humanity stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, Earth will warm for centuries to come and oceans will rise by metres, according to a controversial modelling study published Thursday. Natural drivers of global warming – more heat-trapping clouds, thawing permafrost, and shrinking sea ice – already set in motion by carbon pollution will take
It may sound like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, but real-life scientists have been busy working on a super-precise laser tractor beam system to change the path and direction of lightning. There’s a very practical reason behind it too: lightning strikes are the main natural cause of bushfires in Australia, and a growing
It appeared in 1973, seemingly out of nowhere: a hole in the sea ice off the coast of Antarctica. But this was no ordinary hole. It was so big it could swallow California. The mysterious opening remained in place for the following three winters. Then it seemed to largely disappear before emerging again in 2017,
After months of searching, in October scientists located and destroyed the first nest of giant ‘murder hornets’ ever discovered in the US, eradicating a hidden enclave of the invasive insects concealed in a tree in Washington State, close to the Canadian border. While the discovery and elimination of the nest is considered a victory
In 1934, theoretical physicist Eugene Wigner proposed a new type of crystal. If the density of negatively charged electrons could be maintained below a certain level, the subatomic particles could be held in a repeating pattern to create a crystal of electrons; this idea came to known as a Wigner crystal. That’s a lot easier
The Virgin Hyperloop made its first journey carrying passengers Sunday, in a test the company claimed represented a major step forward for the “groundbreaking” technology capable of transporting people at 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) an hour. The Hyperloop is intended to carry passengers in small pods through a vacuum tube, with proponents arguing it
The remains of a giant, ancient lake have been discovered under Greenland, buried deep below the ice sheet in the northwest of the country and estimated to be hundreds of thousands of years old, if not millions, scientists say. The huge ‘fossil lake bed’ is a phenomenon the likes of which scientists haven’t seen
The bigfin squid (Magnapinna) is one of the most elusive creatures that we know. It dwells in the permanently dark depths of the ocean and is an extremely rare sight, with only around a dozen confirmed spottings worldwide. Now, for the first time, bigfin squids have been seen off the coast of Australia not
Amongst the many problems we’ve had with the spread of COVID-19 is the coronavirus‘s ability to survive on surfaces for hours on end. While we can effectively wipe down hard materials or sterilize them with alcohol, what about more delicate surfaces like cardboard? Even in the atmosphere, SARS-CoV-2 can survive up to a few
Two ancient mummies discovered in a rock-cut tomb in Egypt more than 400 years ago are finally spilling their secrets, now that scientists have CT scanned their remains, a new study finds. Both mummies, as well as a third on display in Egypt, represent the only known surviving ‘stucco-shrouded portrait mummies’, from Saqqara, an
This year’s hurricane season has seen a record 29 named tropical storms wreak havoc across the southeastern United States, the Caribbean and Central America, experts said on Tuesday. The cyclonic storms, which are given named status in the Atlantic when their wind speeds exceed 62 kilometres per hour (39 miles per hour), have already
The discovery of a 2-million-year-old skull in a South African cave is changing what we think we know about one of humanity’s primitive ancestors, scientists report in a new study. But the newly unearthed fossil specimen from the extinct human species Paranthropus robustus is also giving researchers a unique snapshot on the transformations that
Growing microbes in a petri dish is pretty simple – swab basically anything, wipe it on an agar plate, let it sit for a few days in a warm room and presto! You’ve grown some new furry friends. But the microbial species you can cultivate in a petri dish are only a tiny fraction
A 2-inch-long (5 centimeters) spider thought to be extinct in Great Britain is actually alive and thriving on a British military base. A program manager at the Surrey Wildlife Trust rediscovered the great fox-spider (Alopecosa fabrilis) on an undeveloped portion of a military installation in Surrey, England, after a two-year search. The last time the
Scientists in Australia have made a remarkable discovery, with DNA evidence revealing that one of the country’s adorable airborne marsupials is in fact three separate species. The furry-bodied greater glider subsists on eucalyptus leaves much like its marsupial mate, the koala. But unlike the distinctly tree-bound koala, the greater glider can take to the air,
Several close relatives of our species, Homo sapiens, have walked this Earth since the genus Homo evolved more than 2 million years ago. These hominins lived in diverse habitats and challenging environments. Some even crossed paths and interbred. Though more than one may have reached significant technological and cognitive milestones, such as controlling fire,
Neanderthals may have lost out to Homo sapiens in the evolutionary battle for survival, but as time goes on we’re learning about more and more similarities between the species – and according to new research, that extends to the raising of children. A new study used geochemical and histological techniques to look at three
Fitness, the way the naturalist Charles Darwin conceptualised it, refers to the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce successfully. Reproductive success lies in species’ ability to have offspring that are also capable of surviving and reproducing, as are their offspring and so on down the line of descent. Species optimise their Darwinian fitness
They may be naturally suited to swinging in rainforests, but monkeys in a Finnish zoo have demonstrated a “significant” preference for traffic sounds instead of the noises of the jungle, researchers have found. As part of an experiment to see how technology could improve the well-being of captive animals, researchers installed a tunnel fitted
Birds are one of the most well studied groups of animals in the world, and yet, we’re still finding new species, some of which we’ve never seen before and others that have been hiding in plain sight for hundreds of years. The gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) was first discovered in the cold Southern Ocean
Shellfish such as scallops, mussels, and oysters – bivalve molluscs – readily take up tiny specs of metals into their tissues and shells. In sufficient concentrations, this can harm their growth and survival chances, and even threaten the health of any human who eats their contaminated meat. Such shellfish provide one-quarter of the world’s
Quantum physics promises huge advances not just in quantum computing but also in a quantum internet – a next-generation framework for transferring data from one place to another. Scientists have now invented technology suitable for a quantum modem that could act as a network gateway. What makes a quantum internet superior to the regular,
Most of us know about the vast stores of carbon in our atmosphere, and yet beneath our feet, Earth’s soil contains nearly three times as much CO2, absorbing roughly a quarter of all human emissions each year. If the world warms by 2 °C or more, we risk turning that vital sink into a
Between the two halves of our brains is a gap filled with fluid and spanned only by the corpus callosum: a bridge of neural fibres that ferries information to either side. Some people, however, are born without a corpus callosum, meaning they lack the usual neural highway of approximately 190 million axons that would typically carry
Hermit crab numbers in southern Thailand have boomed as foreign tourists have stayed away – so much so that the national park authority appealed on Friday for the public to donate extra shells for them to live in. The population of the crustaceans – which protect themselves by wearing and living inside the discarded shells
The final chapter of dinosaur history is a tale stretching across two very different worlds, each a vast supercontinent dominated by its own unique mix of predators and herbivores. Fossilised remains of a plant eater common to one of the two major land masses have been unexpectedly unearthed in rocks belonging to the other,
Albanerpetontids, or “albies” for short, are the cute little salamander-like amphibians you’ve likely never heard of. Now extinct, albies had a dream run. They’d been around since the Middle Jurassic around 165 million years ago, and probably even earlier. They lived through the age of dinosaurs (and saw out their extinction), then lived through the
The world’s biggest iceberg is on a collision course with a remote South Atlantic island that is home to thousands of penguins and seals, and could impede their ability to gather food, scientists told AFP Wednesday. Icebergs naturally break off from Antarctica into the ocean, but climate change has accelerated the process – in
For most of us mere mortals, tackling even a typical marathon would be a major achievement. So what kind of mindset are ultra-runners tapping into when they complete gruelling races that can go way beyond the 100 kilometre mark? Researchers surveyed 56 elite runners taking part in the 2019 Hawaiian Ultra Running Team’s Trail
A subterranean ‘conveyor belt’ of magma, pushing up to Earth’s surface for millions of years, was responsible for the longest stretch of erupting supervolcanoes ever seen on the planet, according to new research. Shifts in the seabed caused channels to form, through which the magma could flow freely, researchers say. This resulted in an
Between COVID-19 lockdowns and nail-biting elections, 2020 is certainly driving many of us to spend more time on social media than ever before. We all know this habit isn’t necessarily a good thing, with studies suggesting it can have negative impacts on our mental health, especially in young people. In turn, this can affect our
Sri Lanka’s navy and volunteers rescued 120 pilot whales stranded in the country’s biggest mass beaching, but at least two injured animals were found dead, officials said. Sailors from the navy and the coastguard along with local volunteers pushed back at least 120 whales by dawn Tuesday after a gruelling overnight rescue, navy spokesman Indika
Nearly five years ago, world leaders gathered in Paris and agreed to collectively cut greenhouse-gas emissions. The US ratified that landmark climate accord in 2016, alongside almost every other nation. But on Wednesday, the US withdrew from Paris climate agreement – the only nation to ever do so. Because of processes established in the agreement,
Silently moving in the wilderness of the Andes mountains, ancient hunter-gatherers stalked a herd of vicuña. The hunters threw stone projectile points with ease, hitting some of the beasts and leading the rest to scatter. The vicuñas, wild ancestors of alpacas, fell and the skilled hunters – both females and males – went to examine
The afterglow of the mineral hackmanite (or tenebrescent sodalite) is a fascinating natural phenomenon that has long been a mystery to scientists – even if we’re now able to engineer synthetic materials that glow in the dark more effectively than anything in nature. Geologists first described the mineral in the 1800s, who were intrigued
Recently, a team of researchers noticed something odd about ants. Every time the insects swallowed food or water they would start cleaning the glands on their butt ends. “The behaviour didn’t seem to be linked to digestion, because ants do this even after they have only ingested water,” said zoologist Simon Tragust from the Martin
For the second time in just three months the Indian Forest Service has announced the discovery of a golden flapshell turtle. Like a slice of cheese, a slab of butter, or the yolk of an egg, this zesty creature with its vivid yellow shell, head, and limbs looks good enough to eat – and has
How long have mammals been social creatures? At least since the Late Cretaceous part of the dinosaur age, according to a new study, which puts back the earliest evidence of the behaviour by some 10 million years. Studying fossils of the small rodent Filikomys primaevus (meaning “youthful, friendly mouse”) dated to around 75.5 million
After a long, seven-year development, an experimental fusion reactor in the UK has been successfully powered on for the time, achieving ‘first plasma’: confirmation that all its components can work together to heat hydrogen gas into the plasma phase of matter. This transition – achieved last week by a machine called MAST Upgrade in
Whether it’s Mozart or metal, listening to music can be an intense, even euphoric experience. Hearing your favourite tune might bring up joyful memories soaked in nostalgia, while a soaring melody might send a chill down your spine. This tingly ‘chill’ sensation you feel can actually be seen on brain scans; has been linked
Around 600,000 years ago, humanity split in two. One group stayed in Africa, evolving into us. The other struck out overland, into Asia, then Europe, becoming Homo neanderthalensis – the Neanderthals. They weren’t our ancestors, but a sister species, evolving in parallel. Neanderthals fascinate us because of what they tell us about ourselves –