Well, this blows. Microplastics — pesky particles that have contaminated our air, water, food and bodies — have been linked to a higher risk of inflammation, hormone disruption, DNA damage, respiratory illnesses and heart problems, among other health issues. A new study suggests that inhaling microplastics can suppress a type of white blood cell in…
What makes people happy? Is happiness the result of internal personality traits or from external factors such as relationships, health, and job satisfaction? Researchers explored this question in a study recently published in Nature Human Behaviour. Their goal was to better understand the source(s) of happiness in order to develop better public policy approaches and…
Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. For years, archeologists assumed the ancient Homo erectus population that lived on present-day Java existed in general isolation from nearby island relatives. However, a pair of fossilized skull fragments recently found off the Javanese coast are helping experts recontextualize the lives…
The AMOC is a system of ocean currents that circulates water within the Atlantic Ocean NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio The slowdown of a major current in the Atlantic Ocean is boosting the sea level and associated flooding in the Northeast US, on top of the already-rising sea level due to climate change….
France’s last two captive orcas were filmed stranded in an algae-infested marine park near Cannes months after the park closed, leaving the fate of the marine mammals uncertain. Animal activists have circulated footage of the killer whales’ plight in the hopes that the French government will rehome them before it’s too late. “The orcas need…
Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Archaeopteryx represents a pivotal point in the grand evolutionary journey linking dinosaurs to their avian descendants. But paleontologists still have questions about the Jurassic era animal’s anatomy and behavior roughly 165 years after its discovery. One of the most pressing lingering…
Could aeronutrients explain the benefits of being in nature? Daniel Ernst/Stills Around 10 years ago, British tabloid newspaper The Sun ran a memorable article about a couple who claimed to be “breatharians”, able to survive on a little water and even less food. Instead, they said, they derived sustenance from air, sunlight and the energy of…
They’re buggin’ out. After lying dormant for nearly two decades, billions of sex-crazed cicadas will be emerging from their subterranean sleep pods hungry for love. However, this year, many will be extra horny thanks to the spread of a creepy, “The Last Of Us”-esque zombie fungus. “Nature is stranger than any science fiction that’s ever…
This is a guest blog written by Anna Dimas, a graduate student in Clinical Psychology in Dr. Alleva’s lab at Maastricht University. Eating disorders are complex conditions that disrupt almost every aspect of a person’s life—including a person’s relationship with their body. While eating disorders can affect individuals from all backgrounds, regardless of gender, age,…
Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 You can now get a sense of the awe-inspiring Parthenon in all its former glory thanks to a multiyear endeavor merging history and 3D computer modeling. University of Oxford archeologist Juan de Lara combined primary source information, astronomical data, and CGI to digitally recreate the ancient Greek pilgrimage site…
