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Scientists have gone back over data to see that NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft’s flyby of Uranus occurred under rare planetary conditions which made it hard to probe. The flyby occurred in 1986 and still provides much of the scientific understanding of the gas planet. The new paper published in Nature Astronomy suggests that Voyager 2 […]

As the world struggles with climate change and the need for sustainable energy, the push for renewable energy and storage has become urgent. Solar energy, though abundant, faces the challenge of intermittent supply. Innovative energy storage systems are essential to address this challenge. While battery energy storage is widely used, a promising alternative — Gravity […]

A bond between a carbon atom and a hydrogen atom is a special thing. Very strong, and therefore highly inert, it’s very difficult to interfere with. The carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bond features in almost all biological molecules, padding them from unwanted reactions. But breaking the C-H bond can open up many new avenues in synthetic chemistry.. […]

Many animals today use bright colour displays as a means of attracting potential mates or to warn off would-be predators. The classic case of sexual selection using colour signalling is found in peacocks which proudly show off their vibrant tails to attract peahens for courtship. Bright colours are also displayed by toxic species including venomous […]

We have long known why plants grow flowers – to encourage pollination. But what prompts a flower to shrivel up, once it’s done its job? While there have been plenty of theories, the reason has not – until now – ever been directly tested. But some experiments on colourful Christmas bells (Blandfordia grandiflora) have finally […]

Private jets are emitting millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – and the number is growing dramatically, according to a new study. The study, published in Communications Earth and Environment, finds a 46% increase in emissions from the private jet industry between 2019 and 2023. In 2023, the industry emitted at least 15.6 […]

Astronomers believe they have narrowed down the search for the origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) to massive star-forming galaxies. Since the first FRB was detected in 2007, hundreds have been spotted. The observations all involve extremely energetic pulses of radio-frequency light which can travel across the universe. Evidence is mounting that the source of […]

In 1980, Mount St Helens erupted in the western USA, killing 57 people and destroying 350km2 of forest. In 1983, scientists captured 2 wild gophers, and put each of them on a small, fenced enclosure on the ruined volcanic plain. They let the gophers dig for 24 hours, then removed them. According to a new […]

Scientists have examined how honeybees build symmetrical nests, relating the process to how mirrored patterns emerge in biology such as human faces and bodies. Many multicellular organisms possess an outward appearance which is symmetrical. Some are very obviously asymmetrical. Of course, this symmetry is not perfect – in fact if you look at a perfectly […]

Researchers may have solved the centuries-old mystery of how plesiosaurs swam by constructing a robot to test the biomechanics of the extinct creatures. Plesiosaurs are marine reptiles, not dinosaurs, though they did live at the same time as the dinosaurs. The creatures died out during the mass extinction event 66 million years ago which spelled […]

It’s a fact of life: if you bath a dog, it will inevitably shake the water off all over you. Now, a new study has revealed the underlying neural mechanism that triggers the “wet dog shakes” reflex seen among dogs and many other hairy mammals. “Wet dog shakes are an evolutionarily conserved behaviour observed across […]

Does having eyes on you change how well you perform a task? If so, you’re not alone because new research has found the same for chimpanzees. The study in the journal iScience has found chimps’ cognitive performance can be influenced by the presence of audience members. The study analysed data from 6 captive chimps that […]

Sedimentary mineral deposits analysed by the Chinese Zhurong Mars rover appear to have been left by an ancient sea 3.5 billion years ago. Evidence is piling up that ancient Mars was a wet world – at least temporarily. Zhurong’s findings supporting this theory are published in the journal Scientific Reports. The rover landed on Mars […]

A chemical produced by the fungus Cordyceps militaris has been widely researched as a potential cancer medicine. Commonly known as the caterpillar fungus, C. militaris forms 1-8cm club-shaped fruiting bodies which grow out of dead underground caterpillar pupae. A new study has finally confirmed that the chemical behind its therapeutic effects, cordycepin, works by interrupting […]

Researchers studying how the brain responds to watching movies are now able to show it’s anything but a mindless way to wind down at the end of a busy week. Scientists mapped the brains of participants who watched clips from cinematic favourites like Inception (2010), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Home Alone (1990) to […]

A series of experiments has shown that neurons are not the only brain cells involved in memory recall. The study, published in Nature, could inform research into diseases of memory loss, like Alzheimer’s, as well as diseases where memories cannot be suppressed, like post-traumatic stress disorder. The brain’s remarkable adaptability, or plasticity, allows us to […]

Nations are not doing enough to address the rising impacts of climate change the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) latest Adaptation Gap Report 2024: Come hell and high water has found. The report recommends a dramatic scale up of adaptation efforts this decade, starting with a commitment to act on finance at COP29. Global average […]

The DNA of people killed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius at Pompeii has turned traditional ideas of the victims’ identities and relationships on their head. Located just outside of modern-day Naples, Italy, the Roman town of Pompeii was buried under volcanic material in 79 CE. The ash, which compacted around the bodies of many […]

Frogs are thriving in the area around the destroyed Chornobyl Nuclear Plant, with radiation levels causing negligible effects on their health. More than 30 years after the disaster, researchers have found Eastern tree frogs (Hyla orientalis) collected in and around the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone show only minor differences in health markers. The study is published […]

Scientists have found the first geochemical evidence of the slushy planet – the period when high carbon dioxide levels led to rapid melting after “snowball Earth”. More than 700 million years ago, ice covered our planet even reaching the equator. This snowball phase lasted nearly 70 million years, known as the Sturtian glaciation (717–660 million […]

As part of the Ultramarine project we are diving into our archives and republishing some paid content for free. Compact and easily overlooked, bar-tailed godwits make the longest known nonstop flight of any animal on Earth. In the June 2023 Cosmos Print Magazine, Drew Rooke reported on the research that led to the amazing feat’s discovery […]

An Australian researcher has been awarded $60,000 to build more complex models of the human lung, with the hope to discover new therapies for respiratory diseases. Dr Rhiannon Werder, team leader at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), was awarded the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia’s 2024 Metcalf Prize for her work using stem […]

A common mineral and earthquake and avalanche statistics can be used to measure the impact of hostile environmental events on materials. Such studies would provide important information about the degradation and failure of materials used for advanced solar panels, geological carbon capture and infrastructure such as buildings, roads and bridges. Muscovite is the most common […]

New research describes how sheets of carbon dioxide ice protected rivers of water flowing into a lake the size of the Mediterranean Sea on ancient Mars. The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets explains how an icy, cold Mars could have had flowing water more than 3 billion years ago. “This model […]