Popular Science

Mosasaurs are terrifying enough based on their fossils alone. The Cretaceous marine reptile family encompassed some of the undisputed apex predators of Earth’s ancient oceans (and possibly even some rivers). Species like Mosasaurus hoffmanii easily reached nearly 50-feet long, while weighing as much as 20,000 pounds—and there are many more mosasaurs just like them.

So what could possibly make them any scarier? Some of the ancient aquatic hunters employed speedy, “slam-start” sneak attacks to take down their prey. This new theory is detailed in a recent study for the journal Current Biology, and draws on anatomical fossil record reconstructions supplemented by the physiology of similar present-day predators like the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).

“Physics is physics,” Kiersten Formoso, an evolutionary paleontologist at Rutgers University, said in a recent profile.

Formoso and her colleagues focused on four types of mosasaurs, including the especially massive Tylosaurus. The nearly 10-ton carnivore that existed about 92 to 66 million years ago and grew to almost 45-feet long. Based on its overall anatomy and some basic physics principles, Formoso says Tylosaurus likely ambushed its prey. To accomplish this, the mosasaur relied on a single, immensely powerful sweep of the tail to launch it as fast as 15 miles per hour towards an unsuspecting target.

Tylosaurus and its close relatives belong to one of two primary branches in the mosasaur family tree that are separated by different tail anatomies. Their particular group featured tails with a longer, more flexible portion that provided further sweeping action. Formoso compared these “slam-start” attacks from predators like Tylosaurus and Platecarpus to a swimmer using their legs and feet to launch off a pool wall.

“It’s the tail itself pushing off the water,” she explained.

Of the four species Formoso examined, Mosasaurus and Plotosaurus probably preferred maintaining a comparatively steady speed in the open ocean, while Platecarpus and Tylosaurus often relied on slam-start ambushes in shallower water.

“That doesn’t mean Plotosaurus was slow,” clarified Formoso. “Its tail was [more] built for sustained, tuna-like swimming rather than sudden bursts.”

The team’s theory is further supported by existing knowledge of mosasaur fossil compositions, along with their tooth wear and estimated bite forces. Their data and tools are now available for free online so other researchers can examine other extinct marine species. But whoever those creatures might be, they likely weren’t nearly as imposing as the ocean’s largest—and sometimes sneaky—predators.

“At the same time dinosaurs like T. rex were ruling the land, mosasaurs were ruling the seas,” said Formoso.

The post 20,000-pound mosasaurs ambushed prey with sneak attacks appeared first on Popular Science.

Mosasaurs are terrifying enough based on their fossils alone. The Cretaceous marine reptile family encompassed some of the undisputed apex predators of Earth’s ancient oceans (and possibly even some rivers). Species like Mosasaurus hoffmanii easily reached nearly 50-feet long, while weighing as much as 20,000 pounds—and there are many more mosasaurs just like them.

So what could possibly make them any scarier? Some of the ancient aquatic hunters employed speedy, “slam-start” sneak attacks to take down their prey. This new theory is detailed in a recent study for the journal Current Biology, and draws on anatomical fossil record reconstructions supplemented by the physiology of similar present-day predators like the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).

“Physics is physics,” Kiersten Formoso, an evolutionary paleontologist at Rutgers University, said in a recent profile.

Formoso and her colleagues focused on four types of mosasaurs, including the especially massive Tylosaurus. The nearly 10-ton carnivore that existed about 92 to 66 million years ago and grew to almost 45-feet long. Based on its overall anatomy and some basic physics principles, Formoso says Tylosaurus likely ambushed its prey. To accomplish this, the mosasaur relied on a single, immensely powerful sweep of the tail to launch it as fast as 15 miles per hour towards an unsuspecting target.

Tylosaurus and its close relatives belong to one of two primary branches in the mosasaur family tree that are separated by different tail anatomies. Their particular group featured tails with a longer, more flexible portion that provided further sweeping action. Formoso compared these “slam-start” attacks from predators like Tylosaurus and Platecarpus to a swimmer using their legs and feet to launch off a pool wall.

“It’s the tail itself pushing off the water,” she explained.

Of the four species Formoso examined, Mosasaurus and Plotosaurus probably preferred maintaining a comparatively steady speed in the open ocean, while Platecarpus and Tylosaurus often relied on slam-start ambushes in shallower water.

“That doesn’t mean Plotosaurus was slow,” clarified Formoso. “Its tail was [more] built for sustained, tuna-like swimming rather than sudden bursts.”

The team’s theory is further supported by existing knowledge of mosasaur fossil compositions, along with their tooth wear and estimated bite forces. Their data and tools are now available for free online so other researchers can examine other extinct marine species. But whoever those creatures might be, they likely weren’t nearly as imposing as the ocean’s largest—and sometimes sneaky—predators.

“At the same time dinosaurs like T. rex were ruling the land, mosasaurs were ruling the seas,” said Formoso.

The post 20,000-pound mosasaurs ambushed prey with sneak attacks appeared first on Popular Science.

Mosasaurs are terrifying enough based on their fossils alone. The Cretaceous marine reptile family encompassed some of the undisputed apex predators of Earth’s ancient oceans (and possibly even some rivers). Species like Mosasaurus hoffmanii easily reached nearly 50-feet long, while weighing as much as 20,000 pounds—and there are many more mosasaurs just like them.

So what could possibly make them any scarier? Some of the ancient aquatic hunters employed speedy, “slam-start” sneak attacks to take down their prey. This new theory is detailed in a recent study for the journal Current Biology, and draws on anatomical fossil record reconstructions supplemented by the physiology of similar present-day predators like the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).

“Physics is physics,” Kiersten Formoso, an evolutionary paleontologist at Rutgers University, said in a recent profile.

Formoso and her colleagues focused on four types of mosasaurs, including the especially massive Tylosaurus. The nearly 10-ton carnivore that existed about 92 to 66 million years ago and grew to almost 45-feet long. Based on its overall anatomy and some basic physics principles, Formoso says Tylosaurus likely ambushed its prey. To accomplish this, the mosasaur relied on a single, immensely powerful sweep of the tail to launch it as fast as 15 miles per hour towards an unsuspecting target.

Tylosaurus and its close relatives belong to one of two primary branches in the mosasaur family tree that are separated by different tail anatomies. Their particular group featured tails with a longer, more flexible portion that provided further sweeping action. Formoso compared these “slam-start” attacks from predators like Tylosaurus and Platecarpus to a swimmer using their legs and feet to launch off a pool wall.

“It’s the tail itself pushing off the water,” she explained.

Of the four species Formoso examined, Mosasaurus and Plotosaurus probably preferred maintaining a comparatively steady speed in the open ocean, while Platecarpus and Tylosaurus often relied on slam-start ambushes in shallower water.

“That doesn’t mean Plotosaurus was slow,” clarified Formoso. “Its tail was [more] built for sustained, tuna-like swimming rather than sudden bursts.”

The team’s theory is further supported by existing knowledge of mosasaur fossil compositions, along with their tooth wear and estimated bite forces. Their data and tools are now available for free online so other researchers can examine other extinct marine species. But whoever those creatures might be, they likely weren’t nearly as imposing as the ocean’s largest—and sometimes sneaky—predators.

“At the same time dinosaurs like T. rex were ruling the land, mosasaurs were ruling the seas,” said Formoso.

The post 20,000-pound mosasaurs ambushed prey with sneak attacks appeared first on Popular Science.

Successfully sending Artemis II astronauts on their historic lunar flyby earlier this year required some of the latest and most precise technologies, but not everything in this mission needed the same intense equipment. As crewmates gazed through Orion’s capsule window at the moon’s eclipse of the sun on April 6, 2026, three of the travelers needed a way to easily sketch some of their preliminary observations. They took turns writing their notes on a shared tablet PC—and NASA has recently highlighted their work with a screenshot of their efforts.

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen had a lengthy list of tasks during their 10-day, 700,000-mile roundtrip. One of the most visually dramatic jobs involved carefully assessing lunar activity while passing across the moon’s dark side from a distance of about 46,000 miles away. The roughly hour-long observation period provided astronauts with an unprecedented opportunity to record meteorite activity.

A visualization of a dark Moon eclipsing the Sun is marked with handwritten notes in this April 6, 2026, screenshot from an Artemis II crew member’s tablet. Credit: NASA

The tablet screenshot includes notes taken by Wisemen (in blue), Hansen (in red), and Glover (in green) during the moon’s eclipse of the sun. The crew collectively spotted at least five faint flashes of light caused by impacts. According to Wiseman, the first three impacts occurred within about 10 minutes into their observations, while another two happened later during the flyby. Impacts two and four were likely also corroborated by Hansen and Glover.

Since the moon does not have an atmosphere like Earth’s, the lunar surface is regularly bombarded by space rocks. Most of them are comparatively small, but they will still pose a problem for future crewed trips to the surface,especially those stationed in a planned permanent lunar base. The data gathered by Artemis II on April 6 will help NASA better understand these dynamics, and plan for the safest environments possible for their astronauts.

Artemis II’s astronauts safely returned to Earth during a splashdown off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT on April 11. If all goes as planned, Artemis III’s crew will launch on their mission no earlier than June 2027.

The post NASA shares Artemis II astronauts’ handwritten mission notes appeared first on Popular Science.

Just over 40 years ago, what began as a routine safety test at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (or Chornobyl in Ukranian) in Soviet Ukraine spiraled into one of the most recognizable disasters of the 20th century. The reactor exploded and burned, spewing chunks of nuclear debris into the sky. Among that toxic litter were countless tiny “hot particles,” fragments of nuclear fuel smaller than the width of a human hair (somewhere between 8 and 50 micrometers across). Those particles are called hot because they’re highly radioactive, and still are four decades later. Today, scientists entering the areas of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone where the hot particles are located are required to wear a full protective suit.

But after decades of study, scientists still know surprisingly little about what their particles are made of at the molecular level. A team of researchers from Germany recently set out to change that by analyzing six particles collected from two sites in the Exclusion Zone using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Surprisingly, they discovered the particles remained far more chemically stable than they had expected. Their crystal structures were largely intact, suggesting they changed little since forming during the disaster and its aftermath.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The findings were recently published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. 

What are Chernobyl’s hot particles?

The hot particles thrown out of the Chernobyl plant fall into three general categories. The first is fuel that remains chemically and physically similar to the reactor’s original uranium dioxide. The second type consists of fuel that melted during the explosion and fused to its zirconium-alloy protective casing. The third type is fire-damaged fuel. 

As the reactor’s graphite burned for 10 days after the explosion, the intense heat oxidized some of the fuel into other uranium compounds. 

Particles, crystals…and dogs

For this particular study, the team sourced their six samples from two areas in the exclusion zone, and all three hot particle categories were represented. Two came from asphalt in Pripyat, roughly 2 miles from the reactor, while the other four came from farm soil samples in Kopachi, about 3 miles away. 

With the samples selected, the researchers isolated individual particles pulled from the soil, mounted each type to a tiny tungsten electrode, and then sent them to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France. There, a team analyzed the particles using intense X-rays produced by a synchrotron, a circular particle accelerator. The researchers rotated each particle in an X-ray beam, measuring it from roughly 2,000 different angles. Watching how the x-rays bounced off all that material revealed how its atoms were arranged, showing which compounds each particle was made of and, most importantly for this study, how intact its crystal structure remained.

Hot particle from the 1986 reactor accident: The nuclear fuel particle is partially fused with zirconium oxide. Image: Laura Stalmann.

They expected to see particles that had been broken down by years of exposure to the elements. Instead, the crystal structures were still largely intact. That surprising finding suggests the particles are far more chemically stable than previously assumed, holding their radioactive contents locked inside their crystal structures. 

Though some of the particles showed more oxidation (of a loss of electrons when they interact with other chemicals) than others, two showed virtually none at all. Importantly, two of the particles pulled from the same soil near Kopachi included both a sample heavily oxidized and one that was largely untouched. The authors suggest that if weathering from the environment were the cause of the oxidation, then both particles sitting side by side should look similar. Instead, they say the oxidation likely happened during the disaster itself, when the reactor fire baked some of the fuel for days.

That timeline is potentially good news for the areas around the power plant. If the particles are indeed holding onto that radioactive material and not oxidizing, that could mean less harmful material is making its way into the soil and, in turn, the surrounding ecosystem. Still, the researchers quickly caveat any broad claims. These were just six samples, after all. Making any wider claim about the soil in the region generally would require more research.

Though it’s still too early to say with any certainty, that lack of leaching dangerous material into the environment could partly help explain why the exclusion zone has become home to an ever-growing neighborhood of furry mammals in recent years. In fact, the area’s lack of humans has made it a thriving ecosystem for foxes, bears, and bison. It’s a modern, albeit a little unorthodox, example of rewilding. Of course, even in this new frontier, the consequences of a nuclear disaster aren’t totally absent. A recent study of roaming dogs living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, many believed to be descendants of dogs left by their owners during the 1986 evacuation, show distinct genetic differences from dogs in an area just 10 miles away.

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The post Chernobyl particles look remarkably similar to explosion day in 1986 appeared first on Popular Science.

A 2,000-year-old marble sculpture slated for auction later this month is more than a well-preserved piece of artistic history. From its original vantage point inside an ancient temple in present-day Croatia, the depiction of an emperor’s decorative chestplate reminded the recently conquered residents that the age of the Roman empire had arrived.

The intricately detailed bust dates back to the Julio-Claudian era (27 BCE–68 CE), and was crafted from highly coveted marble mined from the Aegean island of Paros. While only the torso remains intact today, the fragment is appropriate given its larger context. Government officials intended sculptures like these to be a permanent temple fixture, so their limbs and heads were regularly updated to depict the current reigning emperor. The monument was more than a way to depict Rome’s ultimate authority—it embodied the very concept of imperial authority.

Reinforcing Roman rule in a conquered town like Salona was vital during this era. The Julio-Claudian period saw Rome’s first five emperors consolidating power and expanding their territory. Erecting these monumental odes ensured the conquered saw visual reminders of the empire’s strength every day.

“The Romans at this period in time were asking, ‘How does this convey power? How do you legitimize a new imperial structure? What iconography do you land on to convey these things?’” Alexandra Olsman, an antiquities specialist on sculpture and works of art at Sotheby’s, explained in an accompanying video.

Every detail carved onto the cuirass ties back to this concept. Its centerpiece depicts the sun god, Sol, riding his four-horse chariot known as a quadriga over the sea to announce the dawn of a new day. According to Olsman, the intentional choice of subject matter declares the victory of order over chaos. Beneath Sol are two images of the goddess Victoria on either side of a tropaeum—a visualization of defeated armies’ abandoned shields, weaponry, and even a conquered enemy’s head. Finally, the smaller images of ram and feline faces on overlapping leather straps represent strength and wards against evil.

“This is Rome becoming Rome in a sculpture,” Olsman added.

The sculpture is scheduled for auction on October 21.

The post 2,000-year-old marble torso symbolizes the dawn of ancient Rome appeared first on Popular Science.

A rare Eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is recovering after being found struggling in the surf on a Maine beach. Earlier this week, the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick, Maine, shared new footage of the winged mammal chowing down on a hearty plate of mealworms—a good sign for her recovery.

“She was very lethargic upon admission, and is now feisty and active,” Kristen Lamb, the Center for Wildlife’s Executive Director tells Popular Science. “She has been eating well, and responding to treatment including fluid therapy, temperature regulation and a specific bat habitat that allows her to mimic natural behaviors and reduces stress.”

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Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle and a common bat food. To keep these mealworm meals close to what a bat would be eating in the wild, the team even supplements what the worms themselves eat. This way, the nutrients inside of bugs resembles the contents of wild insects versus store-bought mealworms.  

Eastern red bats like this one are one of eight bat species found in and around southern Maine. They are considered tree bats because they act more solitary and roost in trees among the foliage instead of in large communal groups or in caves like most bat species. 

“They are camouflaged as they hang curled up in the furry membranes of their tails, suspended by usually one foot upside down, giving the appearance of a curled leaf or pine cone moving in the breeze,” says Lamb.

Red bats are also a species that eats “on the wing.” This means that they must be handfed or learn how to eat and drink from a dish if under human care. In the wild, they can grab insects from the air while flying, and glide and dip down to drink water while still flying.

Bats also have high metabolisms, and specific nutritional, temperature and humidity requirements. This isn’t because they are picky. These factors all help them roost. 

“[Bats] hang upside down by their back feet, which their circulatory systems are adapted for versus ours which would result in a pounding headache!,” Lamb explains. “Clinic staff must have knowledge of this, along with their anatomy, physiology, sensitivity to medication and handling techniques in order to successfully treat them.”

Though humans generally think of bats more during spooky season, bats like these are a critical part of the ecosystem all year and directly tied to our health. They gobble up mosquitoes that can carry West Nile Virus or EEE, providing a natural and free form of pest control. 

The team is hopeful that this little red bat can make a quick recovery and be released back into the wild, but also want to be sure she’s okay.

“Red bats are migrating right now and we don’t want her to miss her window,” Lamb says. “At the same time, she is recovering from the shock of being submerged in the cold Atlantic and if we release her before she can do everything healthy red bats can do in the wild, she would succumb to predators, the elements, or starvation shortly after release.”

The Center for Wildlife treats up to 2,500 injured and orphaned wild animals from a 100-mile radius per year. The center operates without federal funding and donations can be made through their website. 

The post Rare red bat rescued in Maine gobbles up mealworms appeared first on Popular Science.

Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands are home to an incredible array of wildlife. Amid landscapes of black lava fields, scattered prickly pear cacti, lush highlands, and green mangrove fringes, you’ll spot lumbering land iguanas in striking shades of yellow, orange, and red, comical blue-footed boobies, and some of the pinkest flamingos around. But it turns out that these magnificent creatures aren’t born with their vibrant hues. They actually have to work for them! 

To find out why some wildlife changes color according to their diets, and what these various tones and tints mean for survival, Popular Science turned to Jorge Alex Gutierrez Guerrero, an expedition leader on the Galapagos Islands’ Yacht Isabela II. Guerrero says it all comes down to naturally occurring pigments that play a major role in an animal’s immune system. They can even change the color of your skin!

What are carotenoids? 

The colorful displays of Galapagos wildlife, including the bright cyan feet of blue-footed boobies and the impressive red throat pouch of magnificent frigatebirds that they inflate during courtship, are a direct result of their diet. Specifically, they result from the digestion of nature’s own punchy dyes known as carotenoids. 

“Basically, carotenoids are natural pigments produced by plants, algae, and phytoplankton,” says Gutierrez. These organic chemical compounds play a vital role in nature. They help capture light for photosynthesis, which is how plants use sunlight to make their own food. They act as powerful antioxidants that can protect cells from damage. And they provide the vibrant colors that many animals, birds, and fish need to survive. 

For instance, flamingos gradually lose their red pigmentation when their diet lacks carotenoids. According to Gutierrez, this is a perfect example of the “direct relationship between dietary carotenoids and coloration.” 

Frigatebird with its inflated bright red pouch on the Genovesa island in the Galapagos. Image: @ Didier Marti / Getty Images Didier Marti How Galapagos animals get their colors

Wildlife in the Galapagos gets carotenoids primarily through their diets, since these are pigments that they can’t produce naturally. The archipelago’s land iguanas eat cactus flowers and leaves to obtain carotenoids, while blue-footed boobies consume fresh fish like sardines and anchovies to acquire them. Pink flamingos get their fill of carotenoids through algae and brine shrimp. 

Once the wildlife digests and metabolizes these natural pigments, the colors of carotenoids, which primarily produce shades of red, orange, and yellow, begin to show in everything from skin and shells to feet and feathers. In many cases, the more brilliant the shades, the healthier the creature. While carotenoids don’t naturally create the color blue, the archipelago’s iconic blue-footed boobies get their turquoise feet from a mix of yellow carotenoid pigments and the collagen structure of their skin. 

How other animals get their vibrant hues

Examples of the power of carotenoids even exist in our own backyards. 

The sunny yellow coloring of an American goldfinch is a direct result of its carotenoid-rich diet of summer weeds and sunflowers, while northern cardinals get their brilliant red hue through carotenoid-heavy foods such as honeysuckle, hackberries, and seeds.

Why do animals need carotenoids? 

Carotenoids aren’t a core nutritional necessity. However, they are an important source of vitamin A, a key component in reproductive health, good vision, and a strong immune system. 

While the bulk of birds and animals get carotenoids through their diets, a few rare invertebrates, like spider mites and gall gnats, can create their own carotenoids. They do so through a rare genetic accident, likely caused by a virus or parasite. An ancestor of the spider mite and an ancestor of the gall gnat had close encounters with ancient fungi, causing a horizontal gene transfer. Essentially, horizontal gene transfer is the transmission of DNA between different organisms—and, in this case, species.

Every animal processes these pigments slightly differently. For some animals, carotenoids completely change the color of their features. Others simply absorb carotenoids without changing color at all. 

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But all animals use carotenoids to fight off disease, such as boosting immune cells to destroy any harmful bacteria. Only healthy wildlife can spare excess carotenoids for bright skin, beaks, or feathers. So the more vibrantly hued birds, reptiles, and fish are, the healthier their immune system. They have enough carotenoids to spare for flashy colors.

For instance, blue-footed boobies with electric, turquoise-blue feet tend to be healthiest. In fact, boobies that go without food for a couple of days can end up with dull-colored feet. When animals get sick, they also lose their hue. First, their bodies divert carotenoids away from exterior features, like skin and feathers, and use them for fighting illness. Second, absorbing nutrients such as carotenoids becomes more difficult. Without carotenoids, an animal’s bright pigments will quickly fade. 

Bright colors also come in handy during mating rituals 

Carotenoids also play vital roles in mating rituals. When it comes to blue-footed boobies, “It’s very important for a female to find a male with the brightest blue feet, because she is choosing the best provider” for her offspring, says Gutierrez. 

It’s a feature that these marine birds show off frequently in their oh-so-quirky mating dance, which includes an elaborate high-step strut. The bluer the feet, the more attractive males appear to their female counterparts. 

Male blue-footed boobies do an elaborate mating dance for the ladies to show off their bright blue feet. Maybe there’s a reason Elvis sings about his blue suede shoes? Video: The Blue Footed Boobies Mating Dance | Wild Love, Nat Geo Animals

What’s more, a famous 2006 scientific study on blue-footed boobies showed that females lay smaller eggs for males with duller feet. Basically, a female will put in less reproductive investment if her male isn’t up to par. 

Why are animals in the Galapagos so colorful? 

“Carotenoids are prominent all over the world,” says Gutierrez. “But they’re especially visible among wildlife in the Galapagos, because it’s a limited environment where the ecosystems are well-marked.” What Gutierrez means is that the archipelago is so geographically isolated and far from the coast of Ecuador, many species—like marine iguanas—have nowhere else to go. Even within the Galapagos, a large percentage of wildlife stick closely to their specific islands. 

Another reason the animals here are so colorful? Because an overall lack of predators has allowed the wildlife to evolve without needing dull or camouflage coats to protect them. 

Most of the archipelago’s carotenoids come from the ocean, or in the case of land iguanas and yellow-beaked Darwin’s finches, through cactus nectar and pollen. 

Further afield, the iconic pink-orange flesh of Pacific Northwest salmon is a direct result of their carotenoid-rich diet—in their case, chowing down on krill and small shrimp. Roseate spoonbills, found across the mangrove swamps, mudflats, and wetlands of the U.S. Gulf Coast, get their rosy pink sheen from dining on crustaceans, crabs, and crayfish. 

Can carotenoids make people change colors?

As to whether eating carotenoid-rich foods will change a person’s skin color, it’s definitely possible. 

The best known example comes from consuming carrots. These vegetables are loaded with a red-orange carotenoid called beta-carotene, which our bodies convert into vitamin A. 

But when we consume more beta-carotene than we need, the excess pigment starts circulating in our bloodstream and leads to a yellow or orange glow. “It’s mostly visible in your palms,” says Gutierrez. 

Still, he says, don’t worry if you have a penchant for sardines and anchovies—the main diet of blue-footed boobies. Since humans process and metabolize these compounds differently, “you’re not going to turn blue, too.”

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

The post Why are some animals so colorful? Blame this pigment. appeared first on Popular Science.

Timekeeping has officially entered its nuclear age. Two independent teams, one in Vienna, Austria and another in Beijing, China have built working thorium-229 nuclear clock prototypes. Rather than track changes in an atom’s electrons the way that current atomic clocks do, these nuclear versions use a laser that’s tuned to the frequency where a thorium nucleus flips between two energy states for potentially even more accurate time keeping. Scientists believe this new approach could one day make the clocks far more reliable than any existing atomic timekeeper. 

To put that in perspective, current atomic clocks can  keep time with an uncertainty of 1 second every 300 million years. Scientists predict that more advanced nuclear clocks could move that metric into the billions of years. That could open the door to probing some of the universe’s hardest-to-measure phenomena, like notoriously elusive dark matter. The Chinese clock and Austrian clock were detailed in a pair of studies published this week in the journal Nature.

“The great advantage of the new nuclear clock in Vienna is that, if you use atomic nuclei rather than atoms, much higher precision is possible in principle,” Thorsten Schumm, a study co-author and professor at the Vienna University of Technology, said in a statement.

The thorium crystal and the laser beam. Image: TU Wien.
How nuclear clocks work 

The world’s network of atomic clocks is already mind-bogglingly accurate. They also underpin a slew of modern necessities, from GPS to internet communication. Atomic clocks work by tuning a laser to the exact frequency of light that makes an atom’s electron jump between two levels. 

Nuclear clocks, as the name suggests, go even deeper. They target jumps inside of an atom’s nucleus.  Lasers focus on vibrations from a single nucleus rather than the whole atom. For those who weren’t paying all that much attention in chemistry class, a nucleus is tens of thousands of times smaller than the atom surrounding  it.

Luca Toscani de Col (top right) working on the nuclear clock in the Vienna lab. Image: Matthias Heisler, TU Wien.

Keeping time in a nuclear clock requires keeping the laser tuned to the nucleus as it switches between states. This process is sometimes colloquially referred to as “squishing” the nucleus. Squishing atomic nuclei usually requires an enormous amount of energy. However, the isotope Thorium-229, is a rare exception, which is why both teams at Vienna University of Technology and Tsinghua University in Beijing built their clocks around it.

“The basic idea is simple: you have a laser and you have thorium,”  Schumm added. “The laser changes the energy state of the thorium nuclei, and the thorium nuclei are used to stabilize the frequency of the laser.”

Nuclear is still catching up to atomic 

These two prototype clocks are many years in the making. The thorium crystal used for both was grown separately, but around the same time. So far, testing reportedly shows the version in China is about six times as stable than the clock  in Vienna. The Vienna prototype, meanwhile, is reportedly the first nuclear clock that stabilizes itself the way atomic clocks do. Schumm recently told the South China Morning Post this parallel development has led to a  “fierce but friendly global competition.” 

Nuclear clocks may eventually far surpass their atomic forebears, but they aren’t there yet. Researchers estimate the new prototype may drift by about one second every 30 million years. That’s roughly 10 times worse than the cesium clocks that currently define the official second.

Still, researchers expect that stronger, more efficient lasers and better thorium crystals will make each new generation of nuclear clocks ever more accurate, until they eventually surpass atomic clocks altogether. Who manages to get their first remains to be determined. 

The post The world’s first nuclear clocks start ticking appeared first on Popular Science.

She’s bubblegum pink with a permanent little smile. She sports a pretty flower on her head sports a black tattoo on one of her eight arms. But don’t let this dumbo octopus’ adorable exterior fool you. Miss Abyss is here on serious business. 

“Miss Abyss is a dumbo octopus from the deep-sea, and she is on a journey all across the country looking for allies to support her to help defend the deep-sea,” Angelo Villagomez, a research fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), tells Popular Science. 

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While Miss Abyss herself is an octopus illustrated by CAP research associate Jasia Smith, dumbo octopuses (genus Grimpoteuthis) are very real cephalopods. They live on the ocean floor, and many species can be found at extreme depths of 9,800 to 13,000 feet and are only about 8 inches tall. 

CAP’s’ Miss Abyss campaign is using the dumbo octopus to raise awareness about protecting public waters from deep-sea mining using the Flat Stanley method. Based on the children’s book Flat Stanley, children are are asked to take pictures of a paper doll in places near where they live for a popular school project. For Miss Abyss, supporters are asked to print out a picture of her and then take a photo or video of her in a place that represents their state or home and share it on social media. Supporters are also encouraged to sign CAP’s petition.

“One of the most popular things in the United States is our public lands and our public waters,” Villagomez says. “We’re creating a fun and engaging way for people of all ages to be creative and basically showcase their support.”

While Miss Abyss attempts to travel to all 50 states, real dumbo octopuses can be found in some of the deepest parts of the ocean. Image: Center for American Progress/Miss Abyss via Instagram. What is deep-sea mining?

Deep-sea mining is the extraction of mineral resources including manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements from the ocean floor. Proponents of future deep-sea mining say that these and other minerals could help speed up the development of clean energy technologies. The global demand for nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements needed for digitization and decarbonization may double by 2040 to meet carbon emissions goals. Some also see the deep-sea as a safer alternative to mining on land. 

But the process could cause destruction to a critical ecosystem that we still do not know much about. As of April, only 28.7 percent of the global seafloor has been mapped. A 2025 report commissioned by the National Ocean Protection Coalition found that in the next 15 years, the economic, environmental, and technical challenges associated with deep-sea mining would make its profitability or commercial success highly unlikely. Waste discharge from deep-sea mining could also reduce food availability for the species that live there.

On November 12, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a Request for Information and Interest (RFI) for leasing land off the Northern Mariana islands for mining. While the comment period ended on January 12, organizations from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and their national partners collected over 60,000 petitions, letters, and comments opposing the plans to allow deep sea mining near the Mariana Trench.

On August 17, BOEM announced a Proposed Leasing Notice (PLN) and a 60-day comment period that outlines the terms and conditions of the potential sale. The date for the lease sale is currently set for December 16, 2026.

“Some of the least disturbed coral reef ecosystems on the planet are on these isolated Pacific islands in the U.S. Pacific territories,” says Villagomez. “I think part of the human spirit is knowing that there are places that are unexplored, that there are things on our Earth that are still yet to be discovered.”

As a result, roughly 31 million acres near American Samoa and 69 million acres near the Mariana Islands’ outer continental shelves could go up for auction. The U.S. federal government has also proposed lease sales to advance deep-sea mining near Alaska and Virginia. 

“We’re not talking about a small [mine on land] where it’s one open pit,” says Villagomez. “It’s as far as the eye can see in every direction.”

Environmental and indigenous rights

In addition to the environmental risks, deep-sea mining also presents an Indigenous sovereignty issue. The ocean is a sacred part of the identity, spirituality and traditions of the Chamorro and Refaluwasch people of the Marianas, and other communities of American Samoa.

“I am Indigenous Chamorro, born in Guam, but my family is from Saipan. I grew up knowing that I lived next to the Mariana Trench,” Villagomez says. “I remember being out fishing with my dad, and he would then tell dad jokes, like ‘Oh you see the mountain there? It’s the tallest mountain in the world because it stretches all the way down to the Mariana Trench.’” 

That was not just a dad joke. At 6.8 miles below sea level, the Mariana Trench is deeper than Mount Everest is tall (5.5 miles).

Mining in the deepest parts of the ocean may not yield minerals companies want. CAP says that the proposed areas in the Marianas do not even have nodule fields of significant commercial value, and alleges that the mining is a pretext for testing prototype equipment for future operations elsewhere.

“This is a really new environmental issue. Up until about a year ago, deep sea mining was science fiction, so the types of people who would be organized on this if it was a public lands issue are not necessarily as organized,” says Villagomez. “So we’re going out there gathering allies, not just pictures of people with Miss Abyss, but also as that collective power to bring to conservation.”

Oh the places she’ll go

Since launching in August, Miss Abyss has already visited about 20 states, gone backstage at a Spin Doctor’s concert, sat beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, and visited the Grand Tetons.

Miss Abyss the dumbo octopus in a neighborhood called DUMBO near the Brooklyn Bridge. Image: Center for American Progress/Miss Abyss via Instagram.

Miss Abyss has also met oceanographer Dawn Wright. Nicknamed “Deepsea Dawn,” Wright is the first Black American and 27th human to dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. In July 2022, she dove the 6.8 miles below sea level to Challenger Deep at the southern end of the trench.

“She’s [Wright] just a great ambassador to the deep-sea herself,” says Villagomez. “So to see Miss Abyss and DeepseaDawn together was great.”

View this post on Instagram

While Miss Abyss travels the globe for support, the team at CAP continues working at the policy level. The courts could intervene and stop the lease sales, but the situation remains fluid and uncertain. In the meantime, Miss Abyss will continue her journey on social media. 

And as for where Villagomez would like to see Miss Abyss continue to pop up? “I would love for her to visit our national parks.”

The post Pink, pretty, and protective. A dumbo octopus is here with a message from the deep-sea. appeared first on Popular Science.

He lived at the same time as Charles Darwin, Queen Victoria, and President Andrew Jackson. He’s a gay icon, who was alive before Thomas Edison patented the lightbulb. At 194 years old, Jonathan the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) is the world’s oldest known living giant tortoise and oldest land animal. But what is helping Jonathan stay alive this long? 

Good genes alone are not responsible for Jonathan’s longevity but a lack of genetic wear and tear appears to be a major contributor to his epic lifespan. In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, scientists pinpoint 287 unique gene variants in Jonathan responsible for reducing the usual effects of aging. These variants control some of the body’s key processing, including repairing damaged DNA, reducing inflammation, regulating insulin, and even suppressing cancer. 

Who is Jonathan?

For most of his remarkable life, Jonathan the tortoise has lived on the island of St. Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. He arrived from the Seychelles 144 years ago as a fully-grown adult and was given to the governor of St. Helena, and has lived at the governor’s residence ever since.

Jonathan arrived in St. Helena as a gift to Sir William Grey-Wilson in 1882, who later became governor of the island. This image was taken around that time, with Jonathan on the left. Image: A.L. Innes

The giant tortoises of the Galápagos and Seychelles islands like Jonathan are the last survivors of animals that used to dominate the ecology of many islands around the world.

“There are few creatures that could tell us more about ageing than the giant tortoises of the Galapagos and Seychelles islands,” Justin Gerlach, a study co-author and biologist at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement. “Working with a really old giant tortoise is such a privilege: you get a sense of the tortoise being your collaborator, not your study subject.”

Jonathan has been featured on the back of St. Helena’s five-pence coin, is also on a postage stamp, and has gained internet fame. In June, an online hoax claiming that Jonathan had died spread.

Jonathan in front of Plantation House on the island St. Helena. Image: Joe Hollins 2013. Into the epigenome

In this new study, the team also compared Jonathan’s epigenome with those of younger Aldabra giant tortoises. The epigenome is what switches genes on and off. It is a group of chemical compounds that modify the genome and tell it what to do, where to do it, and when to do it. These can then be passed on as cells divide, and to the next generation.

The switches in controlling Jonathan’s DNA repair and metabolism genes were very similar to those found in younger tortoises. This surprised the team since the epigenome usually changes over time. These changes contribute to the aging process and are a major factor when things start to go wrong in older bodies.

“We found that the gene regulators involved in energy production and DNA repair have remained incredibly stable in Jonathan over almost two centuries,” explained Gerlach.

According to the team, this study marks the first time the epigenome of a giant tortoise has been investigated. Studying the genetic mechanisms during mid-life offers insights into extreme lifespans like Jonathan’s.

Jonathan (left) and David (right). The pair live together at Plantation House. Image: Joe Hollins 2019

“Nature has already solved the puzzle of aging in remarkable ways, and Jonathan’s genome provides a blueprint for cellular resilience,” added study co-author Dr. Stephen Clark.

Clark is also the founder of the Kallel Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to understanding aging by studying genetics.  

“Our goal is to take these evolutionary insights and immediately translate them into practical, affordable treatments for everyday people,” Clark added. “Aging is the greatest risk factor for nearly every chronic disease we face, and through the generosity of philanthropic partners, we can democratise access to longevity medicine.”

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For the first time since 2019, Union Pacific’s Living Legend No. 844 will be hitting the rails with Big Boy No. 4014. These historic locomotives will be together for a special holiday tour this November. 

On November 21, the pair of steam locomotives will run during a fundraising tour from Greeley to Denver, Colorado. The trip will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with a donation from Union Pacific’s Community Ties Giving Program. The steam duo will also be on display to the public at Denver’s Union Station. Santa Claus and his elves will even be in the terminal handing out limited-edition gifts. Admission to this event is free and open to the public.

Tickets for the holiday fundraising tour to take a ride in vintage passenger cars pulled by Big Boy and No. 844 go on sale to patrons of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum on October 16. The general public can purchase any remaining tickets on October 19. Families can still visit Denver’s Union Station to view the locomotives free of charge.

Nicknamed the “Living Legend,” No. 844 is a famed high-speed passenger locomotive. It was built in 1944 and the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific. It hauled some of the company’s most recognizable passenger trains, including the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose, and Challenger. No. 844 is also the last Class I North American steam locomotive and never permanently retired from service. Instead, it was reassigned to freight service in Nebraska from 1957 to 1959, when diesel locomotives took over passenger service duties. Unlike nearly every other steam locomotive of its era, No. 844 escaped the scrap yard in 1960 and Union Pacific retained it for special service.

No. 844 was not scrapped in 1960 like other steam locomotives of its class. Image: Union Pacific.

No. 844 will chug alongside a more famous locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014. Big Boy is currently the world’s largest operating steam locomotive and one of only eight remaining Big Boys in existence and the only one still in operation. These powerful locomotives were constructed during World War II to transport heavy equipment to support the war effort. 

Earlier this year, Big Boy drew millions of spectators during a coast-to-coast journey celebrating the United States’ 250th birthday. The first leg began on March 29. Big Boy then traveled to several states including California, Utah, and New York. 

The steam locomotive celebrated the Fourth of July in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. Thousands of train enthusiasts braved temperatures of 102 degrees Fahrenheit (with a real-feel of 112 degrees) to catch a glimpse of the 133-foot-long and 1.2-million-pound train.

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The long-lost, original USS Enterprise from Star Trek has resurfaced just in time to celebrate the beloved science-fiction series’ 60th anniversary. While the 33-inch-long model will soon be on public display, its whereabouts remained a mystery for 45 years—until sharp-eyed Star Trek aficionados flagged an intriguing eBay auction listing in 2023.

“Fans found the model, which is actually kind of perfect,” Rod Roddenberry, son of the show creator Gene Roddenberry, recently told Inverse. “…[They] immediately started looking at the details and saying, ‘Wait a minute, this could be the one.’”

Restoration efforts stopped short of making the model appear new in order to highlight its history. Credit: Heritage Auctions Heritage Auctions

The first USS Enterprise was originally constructed in 1964 by renowned modelmaker Richard C. Datlin using wood and plexiglass. The spaceship’s design was crafted by artist Matt Jefferies in collaboration with Gene Roddenberry based on a combination of Golden Age sci-fi art and theoretical aerospace engineering concepts. The model wasn’t simply a proof of concept, however. Although an 11-foot studio version often displayed at the Smithsonian Museum is more recognizable, the smaller iteration is what soars through space during the original series’ opening credits.

After learning of the original model’s eBay listing, Roddenberry himself reached out to the seller who then collaborated with various Star Trek experts to confirm its authenticity. Nearly six decades of wear-and-tear left the fragile prop in pretty shoddy condition, so Roddenberry’s team enlisted the help of contemporary Hollywood model designer Lou Zutavern. Hours of careful restoration work stabilized the USS Enterprise’s overall integrity, but Zutavern stopped short of trying to make it look brand new.

The model will be on public display at the MIT Museum until March 2027. Credit: Heritage Auctions Heritage Auctions

“We were very careful not to erase her age or the signs of wear that are part of her story,” said Roddenberry. “It was important that we preserve her authenticity, so that she can continue her journey and inspire people once again.”

The classic USS Enterprise model will debut at the MIT Museum on September 30, and remains on public display until March 2027.

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Halloween season doesn’t technically start until October, but marine biologists are celebrating a little early this year. In a recently published study for the journal Organisms Diversity & Evolution, ecologists at the University of British Columbia have described a pair of newly identified oceanic horrors. Two species of sea spider—one that views the world through red eyes, and another crawling with parasites.

Sea spiders aren’t spiders, per se, but they are related to arachnids and fellow arthropods such as horseshoe crabs and scorpions. The ocean animals first evolved around 500 million years ago and range anywhere between less than half-an-inch to over two feet in size. Some species have as many as 12 legs, while most of them suck up their nutrients using a proboscis. 

“They’ve retained some weird traits,” conceded UBC zoologist and study co-author Cormac Toler-Scott in a university profile.

T. kiixin is unable to properly clean itself with its short legs, which attracts parasites. Credit: Cormac Toler-Scott

The weirdness doesn’t stop there. Sea spiders breathe through the skin, and females produce eggs along their limbs that eventually extrude through specialized pores. Males then use dedicated limbs called ovigers to grab the eggs, glue them to their own legs using secretions, then rear them on their own. But as unique as they are, biologists still know little about the often hard-to-reach sea spiders.

Toler-Scott spotted both new species while conducting dives near Vancouver at depths of around 60 feet in northwestern Canada’s Salish Sea. The first sea spider, Callipallene pilosuspedes, is named in honor of its “hairy feet” and features red eyes. It also has a three-lipped, triangular proboscis covered with sensory barbs, as well as ovigers also used for grooming.

The second species known as Tanystylum kiixin is named after an ancient Indigenous village near the site of its discovery. The second word, pronounced “kee-hin,” derives from a word for the sound of crashing ocean waves. Unlike C. pilosuspedes, T. kiixin’s shorter limbs make it unable to consistently groom itself. The subsequent buildup of grime makes it a prime home for even smaller parasites.

“[It’s] an ecosystem within an ecosystem within an ecosystem,” said Toler-Scott.

The discoveries are the first newly described sea spiders from the Salish Sea in nearly 100 years. Unfortunately, their identification is a testament to an issue much scarier than any sea spider.

“I was interested in how sea spiders are impacted by climate change and human disturbance, because marine invertebrates in the Salish Sea are particularly at risk,” explained Toler-Scott. “That’s largely because people don’t know much about what species exist here and what their lifestyle is.”

The post Sea spider with hairy feet, three lips, and red eyes found in Canada appeared first on Popular Science.

The sheer scale of the universe strongly suggests Earth isn’t its only life-hosting planet. But do distant worlds harbor the types of advanced spacefaring civilizations depicted in science fiction, or just far simpler microbes? 

Astrobiologists consider a planet’s age when searching for extraterrestrials. The standard logic implies that older planets had a longer time to develop advanced lifeforms. But while Earth is billions of years younger than many nearby exoplanets, one research team isn’t particularly worried about any impending visits from hyperadvanced aliens. As they recently explained in the International Journal of Astrobiology, their reasoning is more about plants than the planets themselves.

“Physicist Enrico Fermi famously asked, given the high likelihood of intelligent life in the galaxy, ‘Where are they?’”  said study co-author and Northern Arizona University ecoinformaticist Chris Doughty. “This paper suggests that our exoplanet stellar neighborhood may be quiet because most Earth-like planets near us are likely to be evolutionarily behind us and still at the microbial stage.”

Doughty and his colleagues base their argument on how much cumulative photosynthesis can hypothetically occur on exoplanets with more hostile conditions. It’s not that life couldn’t develop on these worlds, but it would take a much longer timeframe to evolve into anything particularly complex.

They point to Earth for comparison—warm, wet regions see more plant growth and species diversity than colder, arid ecosystems. In comparison, the likeliest exoplanets to host life orbit red dwarfs, the galaxy’s most common stars. These planets are not only much older than Earth. They also receive far less light and are frequently tidally locked, which means only one side ever faces its host star.

“The total annual photosynthesis is likely lower because there is less light and half the planetary surface area available for photosynthesis,” summarized study co-author and NAU informatics researcher Michael Gowanlock.

To test their theory, the study’s authors examined 29 exoplanet neighbors previously flagged for potentially fostering liquid water. These candidates include TRAPPIST-1e, a planet located about 40 light-years from Earth widely regarded as one of the most promising locations for alien life. They then incorporated recent exoplanet climate simulation maps developed by University of Bristol astrophysicist Denis Sergeev that detail variables like light, precipitation, and temperature.

The team’s calculations didn’t bode well for anyone hoping to spot spaceships docked on TRAPPIST-1e. While their overall assessment hinges on some complex measurements, the simple takeaway is that even when billions of years older than Earth, TRAPPIST-1e hypothetically possesses only 21 percent of Earth’s total fixed carbon.

“We estimated that TRAPPIST-1e may only be at the microbial stage of evolution,” explained study co-author Cameron Hrabak. “That’s well behind Earth.”

Other surveyed planets may be further along in their evolutionary journeys, however. Three of the worlds might possess enough carbon from plants to imply Mesozoic conditions that saw dinosaurs here on Earth. Only GJ 1061c and K2-3d, two planets that are larger, brighter, and hotter than Earth, may sustain life that has evolved beyond Earth’s timeline.

The study’s authors stressed their approach is only one way to examine exoplanets for potential life. Meanwhile, planets like GJ 1061c or K2-3d may have older evolutionary histories, but that doesn’t correlate to highly advanced inhabitants. Rgardless of who lives where in the galaxy, approaching the topic from unconventional starting points may be the best way to one day locate nearby cosmic residents—before they locate us.

“Who is ahead? That is the mystery we are quantitatively trying to solve,” said Gowanlock.

The post Earth’s closest alien life probably isn’t very advanced, says new study appeared first on Popular Science.

What’s the weirdest thing you learned this week? Well, whatever it is, we promise you’ll have an even weirder answer if you listen to Popular Science’s hit podcast. The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week hits Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts every-other Wednesday morning. It’s your new favorite source for the strangest science-adjacent facts, figures, and Wikipedia spirals our editors can muster. If you like the stories in this post, we guarantee you’ll love the show.

FACT: Death by trebuchet looks a lot like a car accident 

By Rachel Feltman

In 1997, archaeologists found nine medieval skeletons beneath the ground of a chapel within Stirling Castle. That odd resting place (namely, indoors) piqued their interest. And radiocarbon dating placed them around the year 1300, which provided a potential explanation for their indoor burial: a siege that kept people from going outside. Edward I’s 1304 siege of Stirling just so happened to be one of the most brutal instances of such warfare in the land’s history.

Most of the skeletons found in Stirling’s chapel had the sorts of wounds archaeologists expected to find on siege victims, like sword cuts, blunt trauma, and the wear and tear of hand-to-hand combat. One of them was…different. “Skeleton 150” was a veritable jigsaw puzzle of a man, with more than 160 fractures to be found on his 5’5” frame. His skull was shattered into 61 pieces, his upper leg was basically shredded, and he had dozens of odd zigzagging fractures along his ribs—along with a similarly jagged break on his shoulder.

Image: Getty Images

Scientists recently set about to rule out some possible explanations for Skeleton 150’s condition. They used advanced imaging techniques and forensic analysis to show that the breaks happened on fresh bone, as opposed to representing some chaotic posthumous scenario. They compared the fracture patterns to falls from great heights, horse tramplings, and other plausible culprits, all to no avail. What the skeleton’s injuries actually resembled, somewhat unsettlingly, was a collision with a fast-moving train or car. 

There were, of course, no bullet trains or automobiles present at the siege of Stirling. But don’t blame aliens just yet. Consider the trebuchet.

These siege engines weren’t designed to kill people, per say, or at least not designed to hit people. Their strength was in walloping a structure and making parts of it collapse, thereby weakening the defenses of the castle under siege. But if someone was inadvertently hit by the massive, fast-moving projectile payload of a trebuchet, researchers now suggest, it could certainly look a lot like they’d been hit by a car. 

The War Wolf—a contender for the largest trebuchet ever built—was designed for and presented at the siege of Stirling. In fact, it’s said that Stirling’s governor tried to surrender when he saw the weapon. Edward I refused, opting to demonstrate the power of the massive siege engine first. When its projectile punched through the castle’s curtain wall, observers compared the sight to an arrow ripping through cloth. 

Skeleton 150 almost certainly wasn’t killed by the War Wolf itself, given that Edward I took the time to set up a viewing area for ladies of the court to watch its one and only attack. We know that several less superlatively large trebuchets and catapults bombarded the castle for months before the War Wolf hit the scene, so statistically it’s much more likely that one of these smaller engines took the poor guy out. Plus, the skeleton’s burial inside the castle suggests the siege continued for some time after his death—and once the War Wolf did its thing, the siege was over. 

The study behind this story hasn’t actually been peer-reviewed yet—it was presented at a conference earlier this year. But if the research stands up to scrutiny from other experts, skeleton 150 could represent the first direct victim of a trebuchet ever discovered. 

FACT: Think you love coffee? You’ve got nothing on Balzac. 

Featuring Shane Madej

This week’s episode features the hosts of The Quizard’s Pit, a show we think Weirdest Thing fans are going to love. 

For his fact, co-host Shane told us about the absolutely blistering coffee habits of author Honore de Balzac. His prolific output was powered by fourteen-to-eighteen hour stretches of writing, all of which were powered by cups of strong black coffee. Some folks like to say he chugged up to 50 cups a day, though attempts to confirm this figure with a primary source have failed. (And as this delightfully illustrated investigative essay points out, he would have spent a large portion of his day simply peeing if he drank more than two gallons of coffee.) But the low estimates hover around 20 cups, which, even assuming a relatively low caffeine content per cup and allowing for the possibility of tiny little serving vessels, would have put Balzac well over the recommended daily caffeine intake for an adult. And however many cups he drank, it was probably more like espresso or Turkish coffee (AKA: strong). 

But the question of how many cups of coffee Balzac consumed is kind of beside the point. Because according to Balzac himself, he eventually graduated from drinking coffee to eating it: he pretty much literally dry-scooped raw grounds and ate them on an empty stomach. (There may have been some minimal water involved as lubricant, but the point is that he was mainlining those grounds instead of drinking an infused brew.) 

His essay “The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee” is a florid, dare we say unhinged piece of writing that waxes poetic on the sensation of housing raw beans. While we can’t be certain that this gnarly habit actually contributed to his death at the age of 51, we’re pretty confident that it didn’t help. 

FACT: Big Bird almost went to space 

Featuring Matt Real

Our other Quizard’s Pit guest shared the story of Big Bird’s failed trip to space (and thank goodness for that). In the mid 80s, NASA launched the Space Flight Participant Program in the hopes that sending extra-ordinary civilians on shuttle missions could reinvigorate the public’s excitement for spaceflight. They wanted to find teachers, journalists, artists and other figures who could provide a unique perspective on shuttle life and share their experiences with the whole country. Journalist frontrunners for the program included Walter Cronkite and Miles O’Brien, and writer James Michener was considered as well. They also seriously considered sending Big Bird. 

Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who’d been operating Big Bird since 1969, reportedly got a letter from NASA asking if he’d go into orbit in costume. If you know anything about the logistical hurdles of space travel, you can probably guess why this never came to pass: Big Bird is a big bird.The costume weighs around 20 pounds and stretches more than eight feet tall. Apparently folks at the Sesame Workshop pitched having Big Bird send his teddy bear into space to comfort a homesick astronaut instead, but NASA wasn’t interested. 

That’s where this story takes a tragic turn. NASA focused instead on its Teacher in Space program, with social studies teacher and mother-of-two Christa McAuliffe chosen as the program’s first payload specialist. She and the rest of the crew of the Challenger mission died when the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986. 

The post This man died more than 700 years ago—so why does he look like he got hit by a car? appeared first on Popular Science.

The long-necked plesiosaurs that swam in oceans during the Jurassic Period frequently made detours into shallower river deltas to regurgitate indigestible portions of their meals. The evidence detailed in a study published today in the journal Geological Magazine isn’t for the squeamish. Paleontologists base their new theory on fossilized vomit similar to owl pellets.

While owls famously regurgitate the indigestible bones and fur of their prey, other animals also routinely spit out unwanted leftovers. Many fur seals and marine crocodiles behave similarly; although their regular post-meal efforts require a bit more work. While an owl simply deposits pellets wherever they feel like it, these aquatic species first travel onto land before regurgitating.

It now appears some of the planet’s most successful ocean predators engaged in the same digestive workarounds. Plesiosaurs belong to a family of marine reptiles that existed for over 140 million years between the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods. Generally ranging between 6.5 and 43 feet in length, the species featured lengthy necks and sleek, flippered bodies. This anatomy allowed them to excel at gobbling up ancient fish and cephalopods, but paleontologists believe the reptiles also often craned their heads down to devour shellfish resting on the ocean floor.

Drill core image of 160-million-year-old delta sand containing a clump of shells and plant remains, interpreted as plesiosaur vomit. Credit: Dirk Knaust Dirk Knaust

Plesiosaurs went extinct about 100 million years ago, but skeletal fossils aren’t all that remains from the era. Under specific conditions, animal feces and even vomit were also preserved in the forms of coprolites and regurgitalites. For decades, paleontologist Dirk Knaust has primarily examined invertebrate fossils recovered near deep sea drill sites. However, recent samples collected in the North Sea told a different story.

“There has been a lot of research into fossilised vomit over the last decade but most of it has focused on vertebrates eating other vertebrates,” Knaust said in a statement.

Knaust amassed more than 20 regurgitalites—some as large as a mango—that didn’t contain bones. Instead, they mainly included shellfish fragments that he then compared against similar examples from Europe and North America. The North Sea regurgitalites had bivalves, cephalopods, and tubular worms, but there was a problem: none of the species lived in the region they were found. Knaust gathered the fossils in an area that once held a Jurassic river delta, but the animals found lived in far saltier, open oceans. Luckily, a fossilized bone and some coprolites discovered near one of the regurgitalites pointed Knaust in another direction—dolphin-like marine reptiles known as ichthyosaurs.

“But it wasn’t that simple,” he recalled. “There were many other marine animals to consider, and the composition of their vomit differs.”

Based on details like composition, density, and size, Knaust now believes the coprolites and nearby ichthyosaur bone came from an ancient crocodile. Because those predators didn’t hunt shellfish, the process of elimination led the paleontologist to the most likely explanation.

“The plesiosaur most closely matches the size and feeding profile of the vomit producer,” he concluded.

Knaust now believes that after a hunt, plesiosaurs may have swam closer to shorelines to rest or sleep. Once there, they also vomited shells and other invertebrate parts they couldn’t digest. Today’s fur seals and marine crocodiles engage in similar activities, although they go onto land. Based on their overall weight and anatomy, plesiosaurs likely remained underwater.

“This is still just the beginning,” said Knaust. “There’s so much more we can learn from picking through what extinct animals threw up after dinner.”

The post Plesiosaurs vomited indigestible pellets like owls appeared first on Popular Science.

Coffee drinkers often fall into two groups—those who refuse another cup past a certain time of day, and those who are happy to grab a refill well into the night. The people who practice restraint frequently cite mounting evidence of caffeine’s effects on your sleep cycle, while freewheeling coffee chuggers say they have no problem going to bed after their post-dinner espresso. Unfortunately, a recent study is likely to annoy people on both sides of the argument. According to medical researchers at Poland’s Wroclaw University, coffee’s caffeine content may disrupt a person’s nightly sleep quality no matter when they brew a pot.

The findings are detailed in a recent study published in the journal Nutrients. For their analysis, researchers relied on electroencephalography (EEG) scans collected during a clinical sleep experiment. Standard sleep assessments typically focus on sleep cycle duration, but EEG is designed to record much more detailed information about quality of rest.

“EEG allows us to see not only whether a person is sleeping, but also how the brain is sleeping,” study co-author and Wroclaw University family medicine specialist Donata Kurpas recently told Science News. “Quantitative EEG analysis reveals more subtle changes, such as reduced slow-wave activity, which is an important marker of sleep depth and its restorative character.”

Kurpas and her colleagues learned during their examinations that even if someone falls asleep at a normal time and remains asleep for the full recommended eight hours, caffeine can still dramatically cut down on their brain’s slow-wave activity. This means that even if a person assumes they got a full night’s sleep, the actual quality may be compromised.

“Caffeine may shorten sleep or make it more difficult to fall asleep; however, even when sleep duration appears normal, it may reduce slow-wave activity and shift the EEG pattern toward a more ‘wakeful’ brain,” explained Kurpas.

What’s more, a coffee drinker may not even consciously register these disruptions. Even if they feel rested and don’t recall waking up during the night, their brain still may not have gotten the deep sleep it needed. Kurpas said this compounding issue often creates a “vicious cycle” by initiating a feedback loop—a person wakes up feeling fine, grows fatigued over the course of the day, turns to coffee, and gets another night of fitful sleeping. But even if someone stops drinking coffee by late morning, variables like body type, stress, age, and total caffeine intake can influence whether or not they get the right type of sleep later that evening.

“It is not only about coffee consumed just before bedtime. For some people, the total amount of caffeine consumed during the day and whether the body has enough time to metabolize it before nightfall may also be important,” Kurpas added.

In recent years, many researchers like Kurpas have started emphasizing the importance of restorative sleep versus its overall duration. Eight hours in bed may not amount to much if the brain isn’t allowed to properly recharge, and any amount of caffeine could affect these circumstances. This means that at the end of the (literal) day, coffee’s influence on sleep is complex and frequently varies by person. What works for one drinker may not necessarily work for another—but it’s just as important to reflect on daily habits and energy levels, no matter how someone perceives they slept.

“The subjective feeling of having slept well does not always correspond to what we observe in neurophysiological recordings,” said Kurpas.

The post Even morning coffee can mess with your sleep appeared first on Popular Science.

A homeowner determined to attack a patch of “stubborn grass” in his yard has inadvertently discovered the largest Viking Age silver trove ever seen in Denmark. Located in the nation’s northern province of Rebild, the 10th century treasure cache of about 700 objects includes jewelry, coins, silver bars, and even a miniature Thor’s hammer. The archaeological relics collectively weigh over 40 pounds—making the Viking silver collection nearly three times the weight of Denmark’s previous record holder.

Speaking with The Independent, the anonymous gardener explained the “biggest surprise of his life” happened while clearing an area in his backyard for a new terrace. After about 30 minutes of digging, the man struck a metal object with his gardening tool. He assumed the blockage was simply an old piece of wire or similar debris, but further excavation began to reveal much more valuable objects amid the dirt. A subsequent archaeological inventory by Danish authorities noted that about 320 objects weighing roughly 14 pounds were still housed inside their original clay pot. The stash includes 47 complete coins and associated fragments, but most of the cache is jewelry, solid bars, and cut pieces.

The Rebild hoard isn’t a random assortment of items, however. The silver pieces and bars can be classified into specific weight ranges, suggesting intentional groupings as a measured storage of wealth. The coins aren’t all local mints, either. Currencies range from Anglo-Saxon pennies to Arabic dirhams. Two of the former coins were struck during the reign of Edward the Elder—king of England from 899 to 924 CE—meaning the cache dates at least to the 10th century.

“This is a find of great importance for our understanding of the Viking Age in Denmark,” archaeologist Torben Sarauw at the Museums of North Jutland said in a recent profile. “Not just because of its size but also because the treasure clearly shows how silver functioned as wealth and a means of payment in the Viking Age. It’s like finding a safe from the Viking Age.”

The silver discoveries are currently being assessed at the National Museum of Denmark. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely the homeowner will see a financial windfall to help fund his terrace. Under Danish law, danefæ (valuable historical objects) automatically belong to the state.

The post Gardener finds 40 pounds of Viking silver in his backyard appeared first on Popular Science.

High-heeled shoes are a potent symbol of femininity.

Their design not only creates the illusion of longer legs and smaller feet. High heels change the way the wearer stands and walks, causing the back to arch, the chest and butt to stick out, and the calves to tighten into a classic pin-up girl silhouette.

But the trend has taken its toll on women. In a 2022 survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association, 71 percent of women who wear heels (approximately half of all the women surveyed) reported that high heels have caused them pain and discomfort. A 2012 Thai study found that wearing heels higher than two inches was associated with 60 percent higher odds of repetitive strain injuries.

But maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise: High heels were never meant to be worn for walking, especially not by women. For most of history, high heels were the fashion choice of men.

A symbol of masculinity

According to Elizabeth Semmelhack, director and senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada, high heels were first invented for horse riders in Western Asia. The protruding heel served as a barrier to prevent the foot from slipping too far into the stirrup.

“I have found evidence of its use as far back as 10th-century Persia, but I believe that it probably dates back farther than this,” Semmelhack explains. That’s where high heels stayed, under the purview of men on horseback, until the 1600s, when they began to enter the canon of Western fashion.

“At the turn of the 17th century, new trading and political interests in Persia spurred Northern European men to have heels added to their riding boots,” she continues. When a trend for “incorporating elements of male attire into the female wardrobe” emerged over the following decades, high heels crossed the footwear gender divide.

But the high heels worn by men and women were different. “Men’s heels were high but blocky while women’s grew increasingly tall and narrow,” says Semmelhack. 

These women’s French evening boots date from 1860 to 1869. Image: Heritage Images / Contributor / Getty Images Unknown

“The reasons for this had to do with how heels were being used. In women’s fashion, heels served to make women’s feet look small in keeping with a new beauty ideal. The heel lifted the foot up under the skirt leaving only the small tips of women’s shoes visible giving the illusion of small feet.” 

By the late 18th century, with the exception of the low version still found on horse-riding boots, men’s fashion had all but abandoned heels. High-heeled shoes became an exclusive feature of a woman’s wardrobe.

Challenging the tyranny of the high heel

High heels were so thoroughly a symbol of femininity and female desirability by the 20th century that the phrase “sensible shoes” (i.e., flats) was a shorthand way of identifying a dowdy, undesirable woman, says Semmelhack. 

But by the late 1940s and 1950s, a new aesthetic began to reshape women’s footwear. “Youthfulness grew in importance. Ballet flats were worn as part of the young ingénue look modeled by actors such as Audrey Hepburn.” The very short skirts and low-heeled footwear of the “youthquake” of the 1960s further entrenched their appeal. High heels appeared “too grown-up” for a look inspired by little girls.

That “see-saw between eroticized heels and youthful flats continued well into the 21st century,” says Semmelhack. But around the 1970s, something else began happening too: High heels were finding their way back into men’s fashion, most memorably the platform shoes popular on the disco scene.

Clubbers sitting on a sofa backstage at the Whisky a Go Go, a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, circa 1975. Image: Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer / Getty Images Michael Ochs Archives

Though heels have remained a feature of some men’s shoes (think cowboy boots or motorcycle boots), they are “almost invariably” of a blocky style similar to those worn by 17th-century European men. These are “indeed high heels for men,” says Semmelhack. “We just don’t interpret them through that lens.” 

High, thin stilettos, meanwhile, remain a symbol of feminine sexuality and power, a gendered association some modern designers have challenged by incorporating them into men’s designs, such as in the 2021 collaboration between Jimmy Choo and actor/activist Billy Porter.

Recent women’s fashion trends have also challenged gender norms. Since the 2010s, sneakers—perhaps the most sensible of all footwear—have transformed the “cool of male-coded streetwear” into a universal ideal.

In The History of Every Thing, Popular Science uncovers the hidden stories and surprising origins behind everyday things.

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