Science

Dan Shechtman found a forbidden pattern while looking at an aluminium alloy through an electron microscope. Image credit – Wikimedia When Dan Shechtman analysed the aluminium-manganese alloy rapidly cooled in April 1982 through a transmission electron microscope, the materials scientist found something unusual. The diffraction pattern on the metal revealed the tenfold symmetry, a structure…

A routine fishing trip on Lake Michigan led to an extraordinary discovery: a pre-Civil War shipwreck, the George L. Newman. Image Credit: Gemini A typical weekend fishing trip ends with stories about what went wrong. When Tim Wollak and his six-year-old daughter, Henley, took their boat on a trip near Green Island on Lake Michigan,…

A unique, emoji-shaped Lake Rouge in Quebec vanished overnight due to a catastrophic outburst flood. Image Credit: NASA/Landsat The secluded boreal forest in southwest Quebec has secrets that are revealed when you study it with a keen eye or look at it from a distance of thousands of miles. Within this vast expanse, the remarkable,…

Maria Branyas Morera, who lived to 117, defied aging expectations. image Credit: Wikipedia Imagine having a 117th birthday celebration with a sharp mind, a strong heart, and enough energy for the daily walk. If you’re Maria Branyas Morera, this was not just a wish; it was her reality. Although most people think of getting older…

Scientists have uncovered a colossal magma reservoir, the largest ever imaged, lurking miles beneath the Andes. This molten body, approximately 125 miles wide, is actively expanding, causing the entire Altiplano-Puna plateau to rise. In the high Andes region of South America lies the Altiplano-Puna plateau, a harsh, windswept terrain reminiscent of something found on another…

A routine fishing trip in 1938 yielded an astonishing discovery: a living coelacanth, a fish thought extinct for 66 million years. This ‘living fossil’ challenged scientific understanding of evolution and extinction. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons Some of the greatest scientific findings indeed tend to occur when people least expect them to. For example, on one…

Long before celebrity environmental campaigns became common, Morgan Freeman quietly began transforming his 124-acre ranch in Mississippi into a safe haven for bees. Concerned about declining pollinator populations and the growing environmental threat posed by disappearing honeybees, Freeman imported 26 beehives from Arkansas in 2014 and began planting bee-friendly vegetation across his property, including lavender,…

A routine cleaning in 1900 at China’s Mogao Grottoes led to a major historical find. Monk Wang Yuanlu uncovered a hidden chamber, the Library Cave, packed with nearly 50,000 ancient documents and artefacts. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons Some of the greatest secrets of history come about simply while cleaning up after oneself. It was in…

This discovery challenges the centuries-old perception of “classical purity,” showing a far more lively and decorated ancient world than previously understood. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons When you think of ancient Greece in the dark of night, what do you visualise? You are likely imagining a land that is full of white marble. This comes from…

What scientists found beneath East Antarctica could change how we understand sea level rise? Image credit – Wikimedia The enormous and stationary Totten Glacier, located in East Antarctica, seems uninteresting from the surface. However, according to various studies, the essential point lies far beneath its frozen surface. Studies using sonar measurements and radar images have…

Trees Cut Extra City Heat By Half, But Not Quite Where Most Needed (Image credit: ANI) Study Finds That Urban Cooling Remains Weakest In Poorer, Hottest Regions Of The WorldTrees are countering nearly half the urban heating from pavements and buildings in the world’s cities, but they’re not doing enough cooling in hotter, poorer cities…

For decades, a strange patch of the Pacific Ocean has quietly puzzled earthquake scientists around the world. Deep beneath the seafloor, near the coast of Ecuador, a massive underwater fault has been producing almost identical earthquakes every five to six years. The quakes strike with nearly the same magnitude, rupture almost the same sections of…

Scientists have identified the Yarrabubba impact crater in Western Australia as the Earth’s oldest, dating back 2.229 billion years. Were you to visit the Yarrabubba station in the remote regions of Western Australia, you would not notice a huge open wound in the ground. The area does not feature dramatic rock formations like those that…

Mexico’s Taam Ja’ Blue Hole has been identified as the world’s deepest, plunging to an astonishing 420 meters. This remarkable natural filter, located in Chetumal Bay, presents unique research opportunities. Should you chance to take a glance at the Chetumal Bay area from above in Mexico, then you will only be able to notice one…

Scientists found shock scars inside South Africa’s oldest giant crater, and the hidden rock clues reveal a violent ancient collision. Image credit – UNESCO The popular mental image of an enormous impact crater is an obvious circular depression seen from space. However, the Vredefort crater in South Africa dispels this conception entirely. This location is…

A tiny silhouette against a blazing Sun with a commercial jet is cutting across the solar disc at the exact centre, looks like a random lucky shot, but the reality is far more complex. Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has captured what many are calling one of the rarest solar transit images ever recorded. The image shows…

NASA astronauts participating in the Artemis program could soon be wearing spacesuits designed by Prada. The luxury fashion company partnered with Axiom Space to help develop the new AxEMU lunar spacesuits intended for future Artemis missions. The collaboration has drawn global attention because it combines high-end fashion expertise with advanced aerospace engineering. NASA currently plans…

Sir Isaac Newton (Image: Wikipedia) People usually expect great scientists to leave behind complicated ideas or technical explanations. Equations, theories, discoveries. Things that sound difficult enough to belong inside textbooks. That is partly why this quote from Isaac Newton catches people off guard even now.“If I have seen farther than others, it is because I…

Scientists have discovered a massive magma ocean beneath Africa’s Afar Depression. This vast network of underground structures is actively pushing the Earth’s crust apart. The Afar Depression of Eastern Africa is an area where you could literally see the world break into pieces. It is a mesmerising location where the Earth’s crust is slowly separating…

One of the mysterious places in the world is the Bermuda Triangle, a triangular-shaped area located in the Atlantic Ocean, which is often associated with ship and airplane disappearances. The reported disappearance of ships and planes has been the subject of various studies in an attempt to unravel the mysteries behind their occurrences through natural…