The act of oscitation, more commonly known as yawning, is probably one of the most shared experiences among human beings. Be that as it may, scientists are still left scratching their heads when attempting to discern why it is we yawn in the first place. The process is most commonly paired with feelings of boredom…
Science
Ancient Continent Of Zealandia Raises New Questions For Geologists
Zealandia, a hidden continent found in the Pacific Ocean, has been the focus of geologists recently seeking to understand the mass of continental crust including New Zealand. The ancient continent, also known by the Maori name Te Riu-a-Māui, covers an area of roughly two million square miles with 94% of those submerged underwater. Zealandia is…
Science
“Mini-hearts” Successfully Grown in a Lab
From clones like Dolly the sheep, to bright green fluorescent bunnies, the progression of science has yielded a lot of strange lab-grown things. As such, it came as no surprise when researchers from the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna managed to create tiny, beating hearts– each no larger than a sesame seed– in petri…
Science
Bizarre Science: The reason you forget why you’re in a room as soon as you enter it
Picture this. You’re sitting down in your bedroom, doing some arbitrary task such as studying or typing up emails. Suddenly, you remember you left something important in the living room, something you cannot complete your task without. So you get up and walk into the next setting, but as soon as you pass the door’s…
Climate Change, Science
Scorching Heatwave Rocks the Pacific Northwest
A heatwave in the Pacific Northwest has led to record-breaking temperatures, wildfires, and loss of human life in the United States and Canada. Temperatures have soared to nearly 50℃ in parts of Western Canada and may be linked to dozens of deaths. The Pacific Northwest encompasses California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and parts of British Columbia…
Science
How do the coronavirus vaccines work?
Since the global outbreak of COVID-19 there has been an urgent search for a potential vaccine. Many classic, well-understood vaccines work by injecting a dead or weakened form of the target virus into the body. This helps the patient build immunity by triggering the immune system response, aiding the body for future recognition and response…
Science
Can we actually read our dreams?
Dreams have long been associated as portals for divine wisdom. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks declared them the messenger service of the Gods, and described dreams as visitations from the heavens. Even in recent times, many notable figures have claimed their most famous ideas have come to them in dreams. Mary Shelley bore Frankenstein from…
Science
Is our current understanding of the Universe wrong?
The Universe is expanding, this we know for sure, but for decades Physicists have been struggling to understand and work out the rate of this expansion – this is often thought of as one of the greatest mysteries in science. The Hubble Constant, named after the famous American Astrophysicist Edwin Hubble, is the value given…
Climate Change, Science
The environment: what’s going up and what’s going down?
It’s looking up for green urban spaces, as Barcelona’s Mayor, Ada Colau, plans to transform the Catalonian city through a series of “superblocks” over the next decade. These blocks are intended to transform the city centre and Eixample district into a greener, pedestrian friendly, nearly car-free area. A 2020 report from the Barcelona Institute for…
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