Category archives: science

Incredible images from 2019’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition show the Milky Way above a Bavarian mountain and the Southern Lights as seen from Tasmania.The 8th edition of the contest, organised by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in south east London, saw 4,600 hopefuls – both amateur and professional – submit their best snaps of […]

The robotic submersible was given the name originally chosen for a polar research ship by irreverent contestants in a public competition. Red-faced officials decided to ignore the popular vote and instead named the vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough in honour of the veteran broadcaster. But a protest on social media led to a compromise […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Overcrowding. Violence. Infectious diseases. Environmental degradation. It may sound like the worst of modern mega-cities. A researcher excavates the ruins of Catalhoyuk, a prehistoric settlement located in south-central Turkey that was inhabited from about 9,100 to 7,950 years ago, in this photograph released from Istanbul, Turkey, June 17, 2019. Scott Haddow/Handout via […]

San Diego’s ‘Lorax Tree’ falls: 100-year-old cypress said to have inspired Dr Seuss’s famous children’s story about environmental destruction has toppledOfficials say there’s ‘no definitive cause on why it fell’ after 100 years standingThe tree in La Jolla, California was visible from Dr Seuss’s mountaintop homeIt’s said to have been the inspiration for the Truffula […]

Researcher scrapes MILLIONS of Venmo transactions after finding the app’s privacy settings can be easily abusedA student was able to download seven million user transactions from VenmoVenmo’s developer API makes it so that anyone has access to this sensitive dataIt’s not the first time these concerns have been raised, as an expert in 2018 was […]

Facebook will now rank comments to make conversations on public posts more ‘meaningful’Facebook is making some changes to how it displays comments on public postsComments that get engagement from the original poster will be ranked higherAdditionally, comments that are spammy may be ranked lower on public postsMove is part of Facebook’s broader effort to make […]

Domino’s will begin using self-driving robotic trucks to deliver pizzas in Houston this yearDomino’s pizza will use robotic delivery fleets to deliver pizzas in Houston Nuro’s self-driving vehicles are completely autonomous and travel 25 mphCustomers will be given a pin number to unlock the trunk and collect the cargoNuro’s robots will still continue to be followed […]

NASA’s Mars orbiter snaps stunning photo of 50-foot crater that formed on the red planet after recent collisionNew image was captured by the HiRISe instrument on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter back in AprilAccording to NASA, the impact crater formed sometime between September 2016 and February 2019It’s estimated to be about 50 feet wide, and was […]

Instagram is testing new features to help users regain control of their accounts after they’ve been hackedInstagram is bolstering security against thieves who steal users’ accountsThe new features will add more authentication and other safeguardsHackers steal accounts and sell them to bidders or hold them for ransomInfluencers and people with desirable handles are often targeted By […]

Dogs evolved “puppy dog eyes” to help them get on better with humans, according to a new study.  During domestication, dogs developed a facial muscle allowing them to raise the inner part of the eyebrows – giving them “sad eyes”. Wolves do not have this muscle and the only dog species without it is the Siberian husky, one of the most […]

Boaty McBoatface’s maiden voyage helps uncover why the Antarctic Southern Ocean is warmingBoaty McBoatface’s first mission studied temperatures in the Southern Ocean. Boaty McBoatface is carried on the research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough Boaty completed the perilous route using an echo sounder device to navigateIt reached depths of up to 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) to undertake […]

Global population could surge by more than three billion people before the end of this century, according to a new UN report.The UN Population Division has released its biennial prospects for fertility rates and population changes around the world, estimating overall population will swell to 10.9 billion people by the year 2100.The world’s population currently […]

The 2019 summer solstice will arrive in the northern hemisphere this week. The summer solstice is the point in the year when Earth’s north pole tilts furthest toward the Sun. Technically, the solstice takes place at a specific point in time, which this year will be 4.54pm BST (11.54am EDT) on Friday, June 21, according […]

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says he’s not sure YouTube will ever be able to fully eliminate hateful content on the video-sharing site.   YouTube has increasingly relied upon a mix of humans and technology to take down videos that violate its rules, but it may never get rid of this content completely, Pichai admitted in a new […]

The Full Moon tonight (June 17) marks the midway point of the monthly lunar cycle when the Sun fully lights up the lunar orb. The lunar cycle, which is approximately 29.5-day-long, lasts from one New Moon to the next. During a New Moon phase, the Earth-facing side of the Moon is not reflecting any sunlight […]

Global trade in and consumption of meat, metals and fossil fuels are putting the world’s primates at risk of extinction as their habitats are destroyed, experts warnCommodity export demand is putting the world’s primates at risk of extinction Researchers found that 50% of this habitat loss was due to  commodity demand Alarmingly, around 60% of primate species […]

When the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Northern Ukraine exploded on April 26, 1986, the nuclear disaster threatened the whole of Europe. The nuclear disaster, triggered by a failed safety test, killed at last 30 people within three months of the blast and thousands more are believed to have suffered the effects of radiation. When […]

Fish and chips could be off the menu as global warming threatens to wipe out cod and haddock stocks, study warnsRising temperatures reduce oxygen in the oceans, which makes fish smallerOver last 50 years, oxygen in oceans has already reduced two to five per centLarger marine species, such as cod and haddock, could shrink or […]

Tonight’s Full Moon is the sixth Full Moon of the year and it makes an appearance a month after May’s beautiful Flower Moon. In some cultures, the June Moon is known as the Strawberry Moon because of wild fruit ripening around this time of the year. And in some European traditions, the Moon is sometimes […]

Asteroid QV89 will come barreling past our home planet on the morning of September 9, 2019. Astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey first discovered the rocky object flying around the Sun in August 2006. Nearly 13 years later and the space rock has been placed on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) list of potential impactors. […]

Mobile phones could soon protect themselves against pickpockets by detecting thieves and vibrating rapidly so the device is too ‘slippery’ to be picked upEricsson’s patent says technology may use heartbeat to sense unauthorised userOnce detected, phone will vibrate rapidly so thief can’t get a grip on deviceSame technology will make users less likely to drop […]

One of Africa’s largest wildlife reserves is marking a year without a single elephant being killed by poachers.  In recent years, thousands of animals had been killed in Mozambique’s Niassa park, reducing the number of elephants from 12,000 to little over 3,600 in 2016.  Rigorous anti-poaching strategies were introduced in the park – which is larger than Switzerland […]

An armband that promises to help you kick bad habits like eating too much fast food or biting your nails is being sold by Amazon for £193 ($242).The Pavlok bracelet gives users a penalty of a 350-volt electric shock every time they step out of line. It works for a wide range of nasty habits including […]

Tonight’s so-called Strawberry Moon marks the sixth Full Moon phase of this year’s lunar calendar. The Full Moon peaked earlier today around 9.30am BST (8.30am UTC) but will remain bright and full when it reappears later tonight. And the good news for astronomy enthusiasts is the Full Moon will appear incredibly close to the planet […]