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We May Finally Know Where Ebola Hides in The Brain to Emerge Years Later

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Since 2013, medical experts in West Africa have been playing whack-a-mole with what looks like the same strain of Ebola virus, and we don’t really know why it continues to pop back up.   Even though we keep hammering away at the virus with effective antibody treatments and vaccines, this incredibly fatal infection keeps re-emerging … Read more

We Have The First Direct Evidence of a White Dwarf Violently Ripping Apart a Planet

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Black holes may be well known for their gluttonous tendencies, but they’re not the only dead stars capable of slurping down passing objects. For years, evidence has been mounting that white dwarf stars also have a penchant for snacking – and on their own planets, no less.   Now, for the first time, astronomers have … Read more

The First Evidence of Omicron Spilling Over Into Wild Animals Has Just Been Found

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Vaughn Cooper sees white-tailed deer every day in his neighborhood outside Pittsburgh. The species is common in most US states. Pennsylvania alone has around 1.5 million white-tailed deer – about 30 per square mile (2.6 square km) – while the US has around 30 million in total.   “My dog goes ripping after the deer … Read more

Changing Your Diet Can Add Up to 10 Years to Your Life Expectancy, New Study Shows

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Everyone wants to live longer. And we’re often told that the key to doing this is making healthier lifestyle choices, such as exercising, avoiding smoking, and not drinking too much alcohol. Studies have also shown that diet can increase lifespan.   A new study has found that eating healthier could extend lifespan by six to … Read more

Meteorite Fragment Reveals an Extreme Asteroid Impact Hidden in Mars’ Ancient Past

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Evidence for an intense asteroid impact on Mars has been found in a Martian meteorite, which could alter the timeline for when the red planet might have been habitable. In a famous meteorite named NWA 7034, or ‘Black Beauty’, scientists discovered a shocked crystal of the mineral zircon, showing a feature only seen on Earth … Read more

The Lost City of Cahokia Was Mysteriously Abandoned, And We Still Don’t Know Why

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For a couple of hundred years, Cahokia was the place to be in what is now the US state of Illinois. The bustling, vibrant city was at one time home to some 15,000 people, but by the end of the 14th century it was deserted – and researchers still aren’t sure why.   A study … Read more

Teeny Tiny 500-Million-Year-Old Fossils Could Help Explain The Evolution of Spiders

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Two tiny fossils, each smaller than an aspirin pill, contain fossilized nerve tissue from 508 million years ago. The bug-like Cambrian creatures could help scientists piece together the evolutionary history of modern-day spiders and scorpions.    Still, it’s not clear exactly where these fossils – both specimens of the species Mollisonia symmetrica – fit on the arthropod … Read more

Mysterious Effects of Smoking May Surface Even 3 Generations Later, Study Finds

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The great-granddaughters of men who smoked cigarettes when they were pre-pubescent boys are more likely to carry excess fat on their bodies as young women several decades later, a rather startling study has found.   The discovery – which scientists claim is one of the “first human demonstrations of transgenerational effects of an environmental exposure … Read more

This Medieval Italian Man Replaced His Amputated Hand With a Knife

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In 2018, archaeologists described a truly fascinating puzzle. It looks like this medieval Italian man went through life with a knife attached to his arm, in place of his amputated hand.   The skeleton in question was found in a Longobard necropolis in the north of Italy, dating back to around the 6th to 8th centuries … Read more

What Is The ‘Lunar Effect,’ And What Does It Have to Do With Shark Attacks?

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When the full Moon rises, strange things can happen here on Earth. Oysters snap close. Corals spawn. Zooplankton dive deeper. Seabirds stick to the shore. And lions hunt less.   Several of these behaviors are tied to moonlight; others, to tides. But some have no clear explanation at all. More than 50 years’ worth of shark … Read more