For a brief moment in February, the world collectively held its breath upon discovering the plight of an orca pod trapped in sea ice. The frantic scene unfolded near the town of Rausu, off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture. According to Japanese media organization NHK, a local fisherman first contacted the town’s Coast Guard station on the morning of Feb. 6, 2024 to report an orca stuck between sheets of ice. Footage from later that afternoon revealed more orcas — abo ...read more

Astronomers may have found a dark, primordial galaxy — an enormous, undisturbed mass of cold hydrogen gas that has yet to form any stars — sitting in the modern-day universe.If confirmed, the object could offer astronomers a look at an early stage of galactic evolution. “I’ve been in this field for quite a few decades, and we’ve wanted to find something like this for a very long time,” study leader Karen O’Neil, an astronomer at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia, tells As ...read more

Venturing into the ocean's depths unveils a world akin to science fiction. Encompassing seventy percent of our planet's surface, the ocean potentially harbors over two million species – most of which have yet to be discovered. Beneath the surface, in realms devoid of sunlight, the cold, high-pressure environment unveils an astonishing diversity of ecosystems and animals, each uniquely adapted to thrive in extreme conditions."Animals have evolved the ability to tolerate extreme conditions,” ...read more

As you may have heard, the El Niño that has been contributing to severe weather in California and elsewhere is expected to fade between April and June. Moreover, its sibling, La Niña — which also can have a big impact on our weather — stands a good chance of taking center stage in the fall.But does this means a significant change in weather patterns will be happening soon? That's what the Weather Channel recently told its viewers: “El Niño giving way to La Niña means a warmer than aver ...read more

An ancient stone circle sits on the summit of a mountain overlooking the Cajamarca Valley in Peru’s northern highlands. At first glance, it doesn’t appear particularly remarkable — just a circle about the size of a convenience store, with a smaller circle inside. Meanwhile, what remains of its borders are made up of standing boulders.But new research has revealed that this unassuming plaza dates back nearly five millennia, to an era that far preceded the Inca and their predecessors, like t ...read more

Think of a typical creepy crawler, and you’ll probably conjure up the image of a hairy, eight-legged tarantula: the go-to spider in horror, and for those unaware, also a favorite pet among spider lovers.About 900 different species of tarantulas populate virtually every continent of our globe, save for Antarctica. They range from the tiny to the titanic, the colorful to the plain. Here are some things to know about tarantulas, who are not as scary as you’d think – as long as you don’t bot ...read more

Volcanologists can't predict eruptions. There is no reliable and tested method that can say that a certain volcano will erupt on a certain day or at a certain time. You might see such things on YouTube and elsewhere on the internet, but they are mostly people making patterns where there are none.However, volcanologists have been getting much better at forecasting eruption likelihood. Now, that might sound a lot like prediction, but it is not. Instead, it is like the weather: they can offer the c ...read more

Although they’re not very close together in the alphabet, and they don’t look much alike, the letters D and K actually have a lot in common — at least when you’re talking about vitamin D and vitamin K.But there are differences between these nutrients, too. Here, we’ll explore what each vitamin does for the body and also look at how taking them together might unlock other health benefits.What Are the Health Benefits of Vitamin D and Vitamin K?For starters, both vitamin D and vitamin K a ...read more

Back in 2015, the Kepler Space Telescope spotted a strange planet orbiting a red dwarf in the constellation of Leo, some 100 light years from Earth. K2-18b, as it was designated, is about eight times more massive than Earth with twice the radius, making it a type of planet astronomers call a mini-Neptune. It orbits its parent star in just 33 days, placing it firmly within the habitable zone, the region around a star where liquid water can exist.Precise conditions on such a planet are impossible ...read more

When you think of killer animals, odds are you picture a lion, a shark, maybe an elephant. But those fearsome beasts are but players in the bigger picture of human demise. The ones that truly take a toll on Homo sapiens are diverse, often surprising, and impressively lethal. The 10 deadliest animals combined kill less than a million humans per year.While any loss of human life is tragic, humans also have a part to play in the circle of life. We have contributed to habitat loss, and consume hundr ...read more