By: Robin Andrews/IFL Science We’ll probably never get tired of throwing things in lava. It’s something that’s almost certainly taken place since time immemorial, and although there’s no practical way to turn lava lakes or flows into insane trash incinerators, it’s certainly a lot of fun to watch people try. The latest victim of a fresh Hawaiian…
The Hole In The Ozone Layer Is The Smallest It’s Been In Almost 30 Years
By: Tom Hale/IFLScience The hole in the ozone layer – once a powerful symbol of humans’ meddling with the environment – is the smallest it’s been in almost 30 years. Is this good news about the environment for once!? Well, you’re not exactly wrong, but it’s also not quite as simple as it seems. NASA and NOAA announced…
Harrison Ford: “Today’s Greatest Threat Is That People In Charge Don’t Believe In Science”
By: Robin Andrews/IFLScience You know when you’re on the opposing side of Han Solo, Rick Deckard, or Indiana Jones, you’ve made a terrible mistake. In this case, it appears this longtime scoundrel is standing quite firmly on the other side of the federal government, particularly when it comes to science. A few days back, Harrison Ford was…
The Measles Vaccine Has Saved 20 Million Lives Since 2000
By: Robin Andrews/IFLScience A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a timely reminder to us all as to why vaccinations are so vital. Since the turn of the millennium, 20.4 million lives have been saved thanks to the measles vaccine alone. Back in the year 2000, just over half a million people died…
We Think We Know Where That Interstellar Object Came From
By: Jonathan O’Callaghan/IFLScience We may have spied our first ever interstellar object in the Solar System last month. Now, scientists think they might know where it came from. The object A/2017 U1 – now nicknamed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for “ the first messenger” – caused a huge amount of excitement when it was spotted in October. Its path around…
New Aerial Images Show Mysterious Lost City In The Middle Of The Pacific Ocean
By: Rosie McCall/IFL Science Nan Madol is an ancient and remote city that has long been out of reach for archaeologists. Now, new tech has given scholars unprecedented access to the site, which was once the seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty (1100 CE to 1600 CE). The “floating” city sits on a coral reef in the Pacific…
Scientists May Have Found The Root Cause Of Autism
By: Rosie McCall/IFL Science Scientists think they’ve found out what could be at the root of autism and, no, it’s not vaccines. According to a new study, it could be caused by having too many brain connections called synapses. “An increased number of synapses creates miscommunication among neurons in the developing brain that correlates with impairments in…
Scientists Are Sharing The One Thing They Want The World To Know About Their Fields
By: James Felton/IFL Science If you had to narrow down everything you know, and could only tell people one thing about your field of study, could you do it? That’s what one person has challenged the internet to do this week, and a lot of scientists have leaped at the chance to tell the world what they…
200 Million People Could Be Fed With China’s New Strain Of Saltwater Rice
By: Tom Hale/IFL Science Chinese scientists have developed a strain of super-tough “sea rice” that farmers can grow in salty water, set to spark a rice revolution that could help feed over 200 million people. The rice was developed by the godfather of rice, Yuan Longping, at the Qingdao Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Research And Development Center…