When it comes to the great mathematical problems of the 21st century, the conundrums of jigsaws have been unjustly overlooked for too long. All that now changes thanks to the work of Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher, a data scientist at the University of Toronto and Kent Bonsma-Fisher, a quantum physicist, who have settled a problem that has bedeviled puzzlers the world over.The question at the heart of their endeavor is this: if you have a jigsaw of N pieces that once assembled, fills an area equal to A ...read more

In 2017, Jim Webster began going out at night near his New Jersey home to take pictures of our galaxy. With a 14-millimeter lens and a DSLR, he would capture long exposures of the Milky Way galaxy, revealing the delicate filaments of nebulae and countless clusters of stars hidden within the band of the galaxy’s arm.It was a rekindling of a childhood passion for science and astronomy, first sparked by learning about the Apollo program at school. At home, Webster would stick his telescope out of ...read more

Dog breeds like French bulldogs, pugs, and dachshunds may be suffering from an overdose in cuteness. Essentially, selective breeding for the traits that makes them popular is making it harder for some of them to live normal lives.“It’s truly incredible what people have done with really what is supposed to be our companion,” says Enid Stiles, a veterinarian in Montreal who has been practicing for more than two decades. “Unfortunately, we have managed to totally mess them up.”What Is the ...read more

My mother-in-law (a retired nurse and dietitian) used to say that in the U.S., we have some of the most expensive pee in the world. We’re taking so many vitamins and minerals to stay healthy and then urinating those pricey supplements right out.In truth, the absorption of nutrients via a daily multivitamin depends on a host of factors, including the quality of the supplement, whether you have certain diseases that prevent the absorption of nutrients, and the type of vitamin and mineral.Do Mu ...read more

Just as the shift to shorter days and colder weather can bring with it mood swings and other emotional challenges, the holiday season can also bring about somewhat predictable changes in mood and behavior.Around this time of year, many of us experience more stress, anxiety and frustration than usual. These stressors have been linked to higher levels of heart failure and alcohol poisoning and an increase in deaths from stroke.Learning how to recognize what brings about stress and what par ...read more

On Dec. 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) had made a major breakthrough in the pursuit of fusion energy. A team at NIF conducted the first controlled fusion experiment that produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it, a condition known as ignition. [embedded content]The team focused 2.05 megajoules of laser light onto a piece of fuel the size of a pepp ...read more

It’s difficult to know how dinosaurs slept because most dinosaurs didn’t die that way.Finding a dinosaur in a sleeping position is uncommon because most fossils we’ve found show dinosaurs in a classic death pose with their bodies contorted, fearing their imminent demise.The only way we can know how a dinosaur slept would be if they fossilized in a sleeping position, and while this has happened, it’s rare. According to Scott Persons, a paleontologist at the College of Charleston in Char ...read more

From the tiniest microbes that populated Earth billions of years ago to the various new species scientists are still discovering, today’s organisms have survived by braving nature’s trials and tribulations. Skirting death requires evolutionary creativity. Here are eight animals who employ unique and strange strategies to survive in the wild.Read more: 5 Unique Ways Animals Avoid Getting Eaten 1. Bombardier Beetles: Chemical Warfare(Credit: KASIRA SUDA/Shutterstock)The bombardier beetle earns ...read more

One archaeologist’s backwater is another archaeologist’s bustling waterway. Well, that’s what a new paper published about Interamna Lirenas, an ancient town in Italy, seems to suggest, anyways. The paper, which is included in Oxbow Books’ Roman Urbanism in Italy: Recent Discoveries and New Directions reveals that the riverside town was a popular port, and a surprisingly resilient settlement, surviving what was traditionally seen as a period of Roman stagnation.“We started with a site s ...read more

Forecasters have predicted the coming winter will be under the influence of El Niño. This climate pattern is expected to make the weather a bit milder and dryer for many parts of the country.But that doesn’t mean special weather events like blizzards or polar vortexes are out of the forecast — those can still happen.For some people, cold snaps are uncomfortable. But for people with cold-weather-triggering illnesses, cold weather can bring debilitating or even deadly diseases. Can Cold Weat ...read more