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Going with the flow
Inkanoack (CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay)Ice is often overlooked. A small fraction of water, hostaged on land – it’s even missed out on the water cycle provided by the national curriculum. However, as...
View ArticleOf quartz – A colourful problem
Where does colour come from? Pigments, we say: the ability of certain materials to absorb and reflect different colours of light as electrons are excited along or within their structure. It’s true:...
View ArticleThree Things I Don’t Know (Part I): Cold
So, I asked myself, what unanswered scientific questions do I have, and are there answers out there for me? I had a think. And I came up with a list of three questions – and did my research. So here is...
View ArticleThree Things I Don’t Know (Part II): ‘Flu
So, I asked myself, what unanswered scientific questions do I have, and are there answers out there for me? I had a think. And I came up with a list of three questions – and did my research. So here is...
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Three Things I Don’t Know (Part III): Eyes
So, I asked myself, what unanswered scientific questions do I have, and are there answers out there for me? I had a think. And I came up with a list of three questions – and did my research. So here is...
View ArticleTypes of twins
Scientists are very interested in twins because it helps us identify the differences between genetic and environmental factors that influence health and behaviour. As a result, there’s been a lot of...
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Stress inner ear
Whale earwax has been studied to unlock the chemical history of the oceans[1]. Forming as a plug, whale earwax has rings in it like a tree that map the history of their hormones – letting us know when...
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The smallest astronauts ever
The extremes of space are sufficient to rip the atmosphere off Mars (our is protected by our magnetic field!) – so what hope does a little bacterium have? Actually, it turns out, rather a lot. Despite...
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The methane mystery
The methane mystery Methane on Mars is really interesting – and really hard to explain. On Earth, methane signals microbes: they produce it, lots, as they break down organic matter. Although there are...
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Sailing stones – a SOLVED scientific mystery
Have you heard of the sailing stones? One of the strangest natural phenomena ever identified, these are dolomite and syenite rocks around 8-17 kg that rest on the flat, barren lakebed known as the...
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Whale geologists
The voice of the fin whale penetrates the earth’s crust beneath the sea floor – a whale born ultrasound. The Earth’s layered structure. (1) inner core; (2) outer core; (3) lower mantle; (4) upper...
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Talking of naked mole rats...
BFS Man via Wikipedia Commons.Social animals, naked mole rats live in colonies of around 60 individuals, but groups of as much as 300 are not uncommon. They have a single queen, and the workers pull...
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Snake acrobatics
By Pavel Kirillov via WikiCommons.Brown tree snakes make a lasso with their tails to help them climb up wide trees. A non-indigenous invasive species in Guam, scientists think that this climbing...
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Plastic waste and the pandemic
Our use of plastic is changing worldwide – and not for the better. Many governments with bans or restrictions on the consumption of single-use plastics have withdrawn the bans and, during the COVID-19...
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Transphytoism
You’ve heard of transhumanism? The concept of modifying humans with technology to make ourselves stronger and more able. Some people have argued that that’s exactly what prosthetics are, whilst others...
View ArticleMoving moss
In glacial landscapes across the world, small balls of moss form, oval in shape, and tumble simultaneously as the glaciers melt, as if moving in a herd. Known as “glacier mice”, these moss balls are...
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What has Juno found on Jupiter? Part I – Water and weather
One of Juno’s findings has been some measurements of the Great Red Spot – a giant Jovian storm that could fit three Earth-sized planets inside it. Although Juno has the power to image up to 350 km deep...
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What has Juno found on Jupiter? Part II – It’s magnetic
Built with a 20 radius and designed to spin, Juno is made to measure the magnetic field of Jupiter. Thanks to Juno, we now know that the planet’s dipole is the opposite way round (North and South) to...
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Wielding (quantum) fields!
Quantum field theory takes an infinite number of field configurations and add them up with the proper weighting to come to a single conclusion. The Standard Model is one well-known example, but this...
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The cannibal in the ocean
I’ve just learnt about a new shark – Orthacanthus– and maybe it’s Latin name will give you a clue as to why I hadn’t heard of it before: it’s extinct. But even when animals are long gone, the mysteries...
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Green ammonia
Ammonia may be a chemical you don't think about very much – but, perhaps, you should...75-90% of all the ammonia made is used to make fertiliser, which is used to grow 50% of global food. Other...
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Why do Narwhals have tusks?
Narwhals, the unicorns of the sea, have large tusks (which are actually large canine teeth) protruding from their foreheads. Each tusk holds 10 million nerve endings. But what do they do? Narwhals have...
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Déjà vu
I’m thinking of anaglyphs: those blue-green offset images: you put the glasses on, your brain brings the colours together, and suddenly you see a crisp, 3D image. Anaglyph: planet and moon. Reimund...
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Co-sleeping: time to talk
Monkey baby-carrying. User 825545 via Pixabay.Co-sleeping has been demonised by SIDS networks because evidence suggests that it correlates with higher levels of unexplained infant deaths. However, in...
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The plant-eating shark
Sharks are normally carnivorous, but there appears to be one that bucks the trend. The bonnethead. The bonnethead shark eats seagrass, and scientists think it may be omnivorous. But not everyone...
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