Science

A routine cleaning in 1900 at China’s Mogao Grottoes led to a major historical find. Monk Wang Yuanlu uncovered a hidden chamber, the Library Cave, packed with nearly 50,000 ancient documents and artefacts. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons Some of the greatest secrets of history come about simply while cleaning up after oneself. It was in…

Trees Cut Extra City Heat By Half, But Not Quite Where Most Needed (Image credit: ANI) Study Finds That Urban Cooling Remains Weakest In Poorer, Hottest Regions Of The WorldTrees are countering nearly half the urban heating from pavements and buildings in the world’s cities, but they’re not doing enough cooling in hotter, poorer cities…

For decades, a strange patch of the Pacific Ocean has quietly puzzled earthquake scientists around the world. Deep beneath the seafloor, near the coast of Ecuador, a massive underwater fault has been producing almost identical earthquakes every five to six years. The quakes strike with nearly the same magnitude, rupture almost the same sections of…

Image(s): Left/American Aristocracy/Right/Canva According to new findings by researchers from Harvard University, there could be more than one million three hundred thousand individuals living today who share their genetic material with some of the original colonists of Maryland in the United States, as shown in an innovative genetic study titled ‘The genetic legacy of the…

Scientists found shock scars inside South Africa’s oldest giant crater, and the hidden rock clues reveal a violent ancient collision. Image credit – UNESCO The popular mental image of an enormous impact crater is an obvious circular depression seen from space. However, the Vredefort crater in South Africa dispels this conception entirely. This location is…

Mexico’s Taam Ja’ Blue Hole has been identified as the world’s deepest, plunging to an astonishing 420 meters. This remarkable natural filter, located in Chetumal Bay, presents unique research opportunities. Should you chance to take a glance at the Chetumal Bay area from above in Mexico, then you will only be able to notice one…

Scientists have identified the Yarrabubba impact crater in Western Australia as the Earth’s oldest, dating back 2.229 billion years. Were you to visit the Yarrabubba station in the remote regions of Western Australia, you would not notice a huge open wound in the ground. The area does not feature dramatic rock formations like those that…

A tiny silhouette against a blazing Sun with a commercial jet is cutting across the solar disc at the exact centre, looks like a random lucky shot, but the reality is far more complex. Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has captured what many are calling one of the rarest solar transit images ever recorded. The image shows…

Scientists have discovered a massive magma ocean beneath Africa’s Afar Depression. This vast network of underground structures is actively pushing the Earth’s crust apart. The Afar Depression of Eastern Africa is an area where you could literally see the world break into pieces. It is a mesmerising location where the Earth’s crust is slowly separating…

Understanding this subterranean landscape is vital for predicting future global sea levels. The discovery highlights unexplored regions on our planet. It is safe to say that when we think about the deepest spots on Earth, we normally conjure up images of the scorching valleys of the Middle East, or the striking, dust-filled depressions in the…