The discovery of the Higgs boson has been a fascinating journey for physicists around the world, since the particle was first detected at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) about twelve years ago. This monumental discovery, which confirms the existence of the elusive particle theorized nearly half a century earlier, has opened up new avenues for … Read more
Scientists may have solved a long-standing mystery surrounding the ice giant Uranus and its faint radiation belts. It’s possible that the belts’ faintness is related to the planet’s oddly tilted and lopsided magnetic field, which could be causing “traffic jams” for particles racing across the world. The mystery dates back to Voyager 2’s visit to … Read more
The remarkable ability of migratory animals to navigate and remember routes may be attributed to their sensitivity to not only the Earth’s magnetic field, but possibly also to interactions with the magnetic bacteria that live in the field. The relationship between these magnetic bacteria and the animals they live in is not yet fully understood, … Read more
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the British Formula 1 Grand Prix proves that Mercedes is finally back in the race. Because while George Russell’s victory in Austria was largely due to the race leaders crashing, Hamilton’s victory at Silverstone was one based on pure speed. You could argue that the W15 was the fastest car there. … Read more
Rate of relative evolution of brain mass. Credit: Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). DOI file: 10.1038/s41559-024-02451-3 The largest animals don’t have proportionally larger brains, and humans are an exception to this trend, according to a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution has revealed. Researchers from the University of Reading and the University of Durham … Read more
A new study challenges the view that ammonites declined before their extinction 66 million years ago, showing instead that they remained globally diverse and robust. The research highlights that their extinction was influenced by a range of geographic and environmental factors, rather than an inevitable outcome. Ammonites bask in the Late Cretaceous sun. Credit: Artwork … Read more
This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows Aganippe Fossa, a fascinating groove at the base of Mars’s colossal Arsia Mons volcano. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin A fascinating feature takes centre stage in this new image from ESA’s Mars Express: a dark, uneven scar cutting through the marble ground at the base of a gigantic volcano. This … Read more
Angle down icon An icon in the shape of a downward pointing corner. A fragment of the 2,200-year-old Antikythera Mechanism, believed to be the oldest surviving mechanical calculating device, is on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Associated Press/Thanassis Stavrakis Researchers believe they have solved the 2,200-year-old mystery of the Antikythera Mechanism. The … Read more
Scientists may have unlocked the secret of the still-beating hearts of the universe’s most extreme “dead stars,” but the explanation is twisted. The team thinks that an avalanche of quantum tornadoes is causing this ‘disturbance’ in the rotation of a class of neutron stars called pulsars. This happens when they become entangled with neighbouring stars, … Read more
What do the early stages of pregnancy look like? Embryonic development has been studied extensively, but most of our knowledge about the earliest stages of a growing baby comes from stationary snapshots. However, understanding the dynamic processes that occur during these early stages can help us learn more about how congenital birth defects develop and … Read more