On 9 July 1962, during one of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War, the United States carried out one of the most extraordinary military experiments in history.In a test known as Starfish Prime, the US launched a 1.4-megaton thermonuclear bomb aboard a Thor missile and detonated it around 400 kilometres above Earth, roughly…
Two people can start the same ambitious project and expect completely different timelines for it to pay off. One assumes real progress should be visible within weeks, gets discouraged when it isn’t, and quietly abandons the work. The other accepts from the outset that meaningful results might take years, and keeps going long after the…
In a dry, remote stretch of central Queensland, tiny springs bubble up from deep underground to form shallow, ankle-deep pools in the middle of the desert. Living only in these springs is a fish so small it barely reaches the size of a thumbnail, called the red-finned blue-eye. It exists nowhere else on earth. For…
Two new studies published in the journal Science are reshaping what scientists understood about how dogs became so physically varied and how closely their history has tracked our own. Comparing a village dog, a toy poodle, and a mastiff makes clear just how extreme the physical range within a single species can be. Roughly 700…
From a great distance, the planet could easily give the wrong first impression. Seen in visible light, it appears as a rich blue world, bringing to mind the familiar colour of Earth as viewed from orbit. Yet the resemblance ends almost immediately. Instead of oceans reflecting sunlight, this distant planet is wrapped in an atmosphere…
Hand reaching into a mosquito enclosure. Credit: Credit: Edwin Remsberg / University of Maryland Low-income urban neighbourhoods in Baltimore and Washington, DC, have higher mosquito numbers partly because of the types of trees growing on their streets and in empty lots, according to new research published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.The study, co-authored by…
Image Credit: Jake Brooker / Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust Our closest animal relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, share a quick hug or a pat on the back before having their meal, to keep the tensions from rising and maintain peace among them, as their hunger could create conflict within the group. For years, scientists believed these…
For 25,000 years, the GunaiKurnai (an Australian Aboriginal nation) people carried grass into Cloggs Cave and burned it. Archaeologists have finally found physical evidence that proves the ritual existed. These people burned the grass as part of rituals tied to magic, healing and the spiritual realm. Researchers unearthed layers of ash rich in phytoliths, microscopic…
Giant sequoias (Image Credit: Canva) California’s giant sequoias have stood tall for thousands of years, surviving droughts, storms and countless natural fires. Yet, in just two wildfire seasons, these ancient giants suffered unprecedented losses. Between 2020 and 2021, record-breaking wildfires are estimated to have killed nearly 17% of the world’s mature giant sequoias, roughly one…
Still, the outlook for Hawaii’s snails is uncertain, symbolizing a new era in the conservation of endangered species. In 1955, wildlife officials in Hawaii released a meat-eating “cannibal” snail to control an invasive pest. But the plan went terribly wrong. Instead of eating the pest, the predator turned on the islands’ rare native tree snails,…