Science
-
We may finally know what causes will-o’-the-wisps
An 1849 engraving depicting a will-o’-the-wisp SSPL/Getty Images Bubbles merging in water can spontaneously generate electric sparks powerful enough to ignite methane, which could explain mysterious flashes of light known as will-o’-the-wisps. In bogs, swamps and marshes, people occasionally see mysterious blue-tinged flashes of light above water, which have commonly been associated with ghosts or spirits. A more likely explanation…
Read More » -
Venus has lava tubes, and they’re weird
We are learning more about Venus, the hot, high-pressure planet JSC/NASA We now know for sure that massive underground tunnels, carved by lava, exist on Venus – and they are surprisingly wide and different from those on any other planet. It is uncontroversial that lava tubes – underground tunnels carved out by molten rock – exist on Earth, the moon…
Read More » -
The oldest human mummies were slowly smoked 14,000 years ago
Left: The remains of a middle-aged woman at the Liyupo site in southern China, who was smoke-dried prior to burial about 8000 years ago. Right: A modern smoke-dried mummy of the Dani people in West Papua, Indonesia Zhen Li, Hirofumi Matsumura, Hsiao-chun Hung Human bodies carefully preserved by smoking up to 14,000 years ago have been found at archaeological sites…
Read More » -
Can a strange new treatment finally relieve chronic sinus infections?
“It has a huge, huge impact on almost every facet of life,” says Duncan Boak. “Not being able to breathe properly. Being bunged up all the time. Blowing your nose constantly, snot running out of your nose constantly, not being able to sleep, facial pain. And it is one of the biggest causes of smell loss, which, for the majority…
Read More » -
Just 1 minute of vigorous exercise a day could add years to your life
Exercise doesn’t have to last long to deliver big benefits SOL STOCK LTD If you don’t exercise for the sake of exercising, doing five or six vigorous activities, each lasting just 10 seconds or so every day, can make a big difference. A study in the US has found that people who did a total of just over 1 minute…
Read More » -
Is Africa about to see the solar energy boom it needs?
Solar panels for sale in Niamey, Niger, a country where solar energy is booming BOUREIMA HAMA/AFP via Getty Images A record surge of solar panels flowing from China to countries in Africa over the past year is a sign the continent is seeing a rapid build-out of renewable energy. That could help expand access to cheap, clean electricity and reduce…
Read More » -
Unprecedented Arctic heatwave melted 1 per cent of Svalbard’s ice
Svalbard saw record-breaking high temperatures in the summer of 2024 Xinhua/Shutterstock During the summer of 2024, six weeks of record-smashing heat led to a record-obliterating amount of ice melting on the islands of Svalbard in the Arctic. By the end of the summer, 1 per cent of all the land ice on the archipelago had been lost – enough to…
Read More » -
Microwaving rocks could help mining operations pull CO2 out of the air
Nickel West in Australia is one of many mines that could use microwaves to store CO2 in waste rock BHP Mining generates billions of tonnes of waste rock each year. If those piles of unused rock can be made to react with carbon dioxide, they could help remove large amounts of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. However, current methods…
Read More » -
Deep-living microbes could ‘eat’ energy generated by earthquakes
Microbes might find energy in surprisingly inhospitable places ublic domain sourced / access rights from The Book Worm / Alamy Rocks fractured by earthquakes could unlock a wide menu of chemical energy sources for microbes living deep underground – and similar processes could potentially support microbes within other planets. “This opens up a whole new set of metabolisms,” says Kurt…
Read More » -
Steadfast lifestyle changes seem best to improve cognitive decline
Regular exercise could help keep us sharp YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP via Getty Images A structured course of exercise, diet, cognitive challenges and social engagement seems to be particularly effective at warding off cognitive decline, compared with more relaxed self-guided efforts. The brain’s capacity to remember, use language and solve problems tends to decline with age, often leading to dementia. Yet, research…
Read More »