Pure Science

Science Focus

Whether it’s lava carving through frozen terrain or sharks gliding through shimmering shoals in turquoise seas, seeing nature from above reveals a stunning new perspective on our planet’s landscapes and wildlife. Enter the inaugural...

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A new study has revealed the astronomical scale of the US military’s carbon footprint – and how relatively modest budget cuts could significantly reduce it. Published in the journal PLOS Climate, the research found that US Department of...

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On 16 July 1945, the world changed forever when Manhattan Project scientists detonated the world’s first atomic bomb. The Trinity Test left a radioactive legacy, as did the subsequent decades of above-ground nuclear testing (528...

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Around 100 million years ago, on a tidal flat near what is now Denver in the US state of Colorado, dinosaurs may have gathered to dance. According to a new study published in Cretaceous Research, new findings suggest that dozens of...

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Whether it's a hot flash of anger, butterflies in the stomach or a light-headed rush of joy, we often experience emotions as physical sensations. This is all due to the interplay between our mental and physical experiences. If we're...

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We often hear about how ageing can affect sleep. And it’s true that as we get older, sleep can suffer. Changing circadian rhythms, nocturia – an increased need to pee in the night – and anxiety or chronic health conditions can all affect...

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Some so-called 'thermal' till receipts contain bisphenols (including BPA and BPS) as a result of the way they're printed. In the UK, BPA receipts are banned, but BPS receipts are not. A 2023 estimate of US receipts suggested that 80 per...

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Narcissists are more likely to be addicted to social media, according to new research. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Gdańsk, Poland, suggests that several, but not all, symptoms of narcissism are associated...

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Which animal has the sharpest teeth? Shout out to the extinct 'chainsaw shark' (Helicoprion) which receives an honourable mention, because it had, what looks like a circular saw jutting out from its bottom jaw. Terrifying? Yes, but its...

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When taking Ozempic (semaglutide), a medication prescribed for managing type 2 diabetes and sometimes used for weight loss, there are no specific foods that are off limits. But ultimately, to make the most of the weight loss and ensure you...

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What is the ekpyrotic Universe theory? Ekpyrotic cosmology is an alternative theory to the standard theory of cosmology, which is known as the Lambda-CDM, or ΛCDM model. In the ΛCDM model, the remarkable flatness of the Universe requires a...

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In the works of Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived around 2,400 years ago, the island of Atlantis was said to have been drowned in the Atlantic Ocean after the hubris of its people angered the Gods. Although Atlantis was fictional, the...

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In 2026, a team of astronauts will float inside a glossy white cylinder orbiting hundreds of kilometres above Earth. They’ll gaze down at the planet through a 1.1-metre domed window, sleep in inflatable beds designed for zero gravity, and...

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New Jersey is the new Roswell – or so it might seem after a swarm of bright lights, glowing orange-red orbs and unidentified flying objects filled the skies throughout December 2024. As expected, these strange orbs gave rise to a flood of...

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It’s rare for anyone to claim that something physicists have believed for a century is wrong. But this is exactly what two physicists argue in a paper recently published in the prestigious science journal Nature. The ‘something’ is about...

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Mars may look like a sphere, but it’s actually a triaxial ellipsoid. Unlike any other rocky planet in the Solar System, it’s shaped rather like a rugby ball, but with different sizes along all three axes. This is most evident as a...

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Although they were originally developed to treat diabetes, the rise of drugs like Ozempic has sparked a weight-loss revolution. While growing in popularity to help people with a high body mass index, the effects of these drugs have brought...

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Are you an empathic people-pleaser who prefers to stay out of the spotlight? Do you listen to others, but struggle to express your own thoughts and feelings? Did you grow up around, or are you in a long-term relationship with, a...

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The Schmidt Pain Scale for Stinging Insects ranks the pain of insect stings on a scale of one to four. On this scale, the sting of the Western honeybee scores a paltry two, while that of the red paper wasp and Klug's velvet ant achieve a...

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Our current atomic energy technology uses the process of nuclear fission. Here, the nuclei of heavy atoms (such as uranium) are bombarded with neutrons and broken apart, releasing lighter nuclei and large amounts of energy. The problem...

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Woken up covered in itchy red bite marks again? It’s probably mosquitoes you’re cursing – and those aren’t bite marks, but reactions to the grim little insects’ saliva where they sucked your blood. Worldwide, there are 3,500 species of...

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Researchers have discovered that endangered killer whales in the Pacific Northwest use tools made from kelp to groom one another – a behaviour never before seen in marine mammals. In a new study published in Current Biology, scientists...

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Could hidden dehydration be the cause of your daytime fatigue? We’ve all experienced thirst and it’s unpleasant. It’s also the first sign of dehydration, which can progress quickly. Mild to moderate dehydration develops after just a few...

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Will suspended animation ever exist? It already does, if you count animals hibernating over winter. But if you mean the sort of suspended animation depicted in science fiction (where a person is placed in a pod and frozen so they can...

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In the dark waters of the deep sea, lurk many curious and enigmatic animals that few have seen. Frilled sharks (Chlamydoselachus anguineus), for instance, have been known about for more than a century, but much of their lives remain...

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You may have seen videos circulating online of Donald Trump and Elon Musk doing outlandish things – recreating scenes from the TV show Breaking Bad, for example. You may have also seen footage of them getting down to the Village People’s...

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Middle-aged people in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease may become more sociable, not less, according to a new major study. The research, based on data from almost 500,000 British people over the age of 40, found that those at...

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In 2019, a radio telescope in Australia detected an interesting signal coming from the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth. The signal, designated Breakthrough Listen Candidate 1 (BLC1), had all the hallmarks of a...

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The zombie apocalypse might sound like a great opportunity to wipe your debts and catch up on your reading but if 28 Years Later has taught us anything, it’s that surviving in an undead wasteland is not easy. As the Danny Boyle film is...

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The best science isn't just smart – it's stunning. Don't believe us? Well, for 28 years the Wellcome Trust has held an annual photography competition celebrating powerful images that capture health, science, and medicine. The Wellcome...

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Every time you ask ChatGPT a question, you’re using energy – but how much? A new study has revealed just how environmentally costly it is to interact with large language models (LLMs), and what users can do to reduce their carbon...

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A positive outlook on life might protect against memory loss in middle age, according to a recent 16-year-long study by researchers in the UK, US and Spain. Published in Aging & Mental Health, the study suggests that wellbeing – a...

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Just when you thought TikTok couldn’t come up with anything stranger, here comes the coffee enema. Yes, that’s right – people are brewing up a fresh pot, and inserting it into their colon through their rectum to stimulate bowel movements....

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Snacking on 50g of almonds – that’s about 45 nuts – every day could improve your cholesterol levels, as well as provide a host of other metabolic benefits. That’s according to a recent study from Oregon State University (OSU), published in...

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Have you ever been out to dinner with friends, or on a walk through your favourite park, and found yourself curiously unmoved by any of it? The atmosphere is great, the food is good, the weather is beautiful – but you find no pleasure in...

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Tardigrades, also known among their many fans as ‘water bears’ or ‘moss piglets’, are quite possibly the cutest microscopic creatures on the planet – and off it. These mini beasts have been sent up for a stint on the International Space...

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Modern life isn't doing our hearts any favours. We sit too much (over nine hours a day, on average), are regularly overwhelmed by stress (now linked to chronic inflammation – a key risk for heart disease) and fill more than half of our...

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Whether it's to escape environmental collapse or to explore new, unknown territories, the drive to establish human colonies in places other than on Earth has been gaining momentum in recent years. And while proposed bases on the Moon or...

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Seagulls feasting on swarms of flying ants have disrupted traffic and made headlines across the UK. Some claim that the gulls are 'drunk', but can eating ants really intoxicate these birds? Many ant species produce formic acid as a defence...

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Pictures of adorable animals are a fast way to bring a smile to anyone’s face, and now a new study has shown that sharing them helps people bond together. When someone sends a cute cat pic to their parent, or shares a video of otters...

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New research suggests that the fats in olive oil may lead to greater weight gain than those in other sources. The study, recently published Reports, found that the main fatty component in olive oil, oleic acid, may promote the growth of...

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It may not be a household name like the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope, but NASA’s Landsat 7 has quietly transformed how we see our planet. For more than 25 years, it’s captured breathtaking views of Earth from...

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Though the idea might make you squirm, some tumours really can grow their own body parts – or at least fragments of them. These peculiar formations, called teratomas, arise from germ cells, which have the remarkable ability to transform...

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Utah became the first US state to ban fluoride from being added to public drinking water in March. Soon after Florida followed suit, with US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr telling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...

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In the same way that "space is big" (as described in Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), quantum physics is confounding. Science’s best minds have been puzzling away at it for over a century, pawing at the subject like...

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Short on time? Read our one-minute summary and get all the facts: Researchers have identified a key protein, MCL-1, that protects hair follicle stem cells and is crucial for new hair growth. Scientists found that turning off MCL-1 in mice...

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The electric vehicle (EV) revolution may be heading for a supply-chain snag, according to a new study published in Cell Reports Sustainability.  Rapidly rising demand for lithium – the critical ingredient in EV batteries – could...

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Mercury pollution from the early days of coal burning and gold mining is still poisoning Arctic wildlife more than a century later, according to a new study in Nature Communications.  Despite global efforts to curb emissions, mercury...

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It is difficult to trace the oldest cheese in the world, although we have direct evidence that humans have consumed milk for thousands of years. Archaeologists have identified milk residues on ancient pots unearthed from many regions of...

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Short on time? Read our one-minute summary and get all the facts: A study has claimed that out of 186 nations, only Guyana is fully self-sufficient in food production – every other country relies on imports for at least one major food...