Science

El Niño is continuing to break records after pushing the global average temperature last month to its highest ever level for January. Not only was January the hottest ever, the new temperature was the biggest increase over the previous record in more than a century of records, according to figures released by NASA. NASA’s climate records go back to 1880.

Duck or rabbit? The animal you see in this 100-year-old optical illusion can reveal a lot about how your brain works and how creative you are – and now it’s taking the internet by storm. Some see a rabbit and others will see a duck – but are you able to see both alternatively? What you see (and how fast …

Researchers have long held that early inhabitants of Easter Island disappeared as a result of ongoing warfare, but a recent analysis of artifacts from the area suggests otherwise. The new study, led by Binghamton University anthropology professor Carl Lipo and published in the latest edition of the journal Antiquity, looked at the thousands of triangle-shaped, obsidian objects known as mata’a …

Recent studies have identified that individuals of Eurasian origins inherited somewhere between one and four percent of their DNA from Neanderthals. These findings have led to numerous postulations about how these genetic variants may have affected physical characteristics or the behavior of modern humans, ranging from skin color to heightened allergies to fat metabolism. Now, the first study that directly …

Researchers have discovered two flower specimens entombed in ancient sap that belong to a genus notorious for producing the deadly toxin strychnine. But these two 20-30 million-year-old fossil flowers, found perfectly preserved in a piece of amber, came from the dark side of the asterid family – they belong to the genus Strychnos, which ultimately gave rise to some of …

A McGill University astrophysicist known for her exacting studies of some of the strangest and most powerful stars in the universe has won the Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal, Canada’s top science prize. Victoria Kaspi, director of the McGill Space Institute, is the first woman to claim the prestigious award in its 25-year history, a startling reminder of the overwhelming gender …

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University (SBU), and the Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute have developed a simple and powerful method for creating resilient, customised, and high-performing graphene: layering it on top of glass. The researchers created a scalable and inexpensive process that helps pave the way …

Scientists have gotten straight to the heart of Pluto, striving to explain the dwarf planet’s geological complexity and evolution. Pluto’s iconic “broken heart” region is again in the scientific spotlight on a newly-released NASA colored map. Trying to learn more about the mysterious area and understand its surface, NASA scientists have mapped terrain on the “broken heart” region in different …

It has been found that billions of people face temporary water shortages every year. This figure is dismal to say the least. Some 4 billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water for at least one month of the entire year. And the situation is only going to get worse with the passage of time.

After nearly 50 years inside a plastic display case at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Apollo 11’s Command Module, Columbia, has a new story to tell. A series of never-before-seen handwritten notes and figures left by the astronauts themselves have been revealed thanks to 3D scanning technology, and will be used to help museum curators create a more …

Wisdom is a 65-year-old albatross living in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and she’s still kicking. She’s also been quite busy, as she just hatched her 40th chick. Born at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (which is part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument), the new (adorable) chick has been named Kūkini — the Hawaiian word for messenger.