Andrei Mihai ZME Science

Full extent of plastic in world's oceans quantified: over 5 trillions of pieces of plastic

We all know that our oceans are polluted, and one of the biggest problems is plastic pollution. But few people really realize just how much plastic is in the waters – a new study estimates that there are at least 5.25 trillion pieces which weigh an estimated 269,000 tonnes. The real number however may be even […]

A study by Maggie Simpson and Edna Krabappel has been accepted by two scientific journals

A study wrote by Maggie Simpson, Edna Krabappel (two imaginary characters from The Simpsons) and Kim Jong Fun (which I can only imagine is yet another imaginary character) has been approved and published by two journals – a clever hoax which shows once again that some journals will publish anything – for a fee. Titled “Fuzzy […]

Two Troglodytic Eyeless Pseudoscorpions found in Grand Canyon cave

Two specially adapted pseudoscorpions have been reported in a cave on the northern side of the Grand Canyon. The creatures, which are not really scorpions, have adapted to their lightless environment by losing their eyes. Unlike true scorpions, pseudoscorpions don’t have a tail with a venomous stinger and are harmless to humans; as a matter […]

New alloy has record strength-to-weight ratio

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a material which is light like aluminum, but as strong as titanium alloys. This material has the highgest strength-to-weight ratio known to mankind. The research team combined lithium, magnesium, titanium, aluminum and scandium to make a nanocrystalline high-entropy alloy with a low density. At a first glance, […]

Mount Roraima - the most beautiful triple border in the world

Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pakaraima mountain chain in South America and one of the most spectacular geological formations in the world. The mountain also serves as the triple border point of Venezuela (85%), Brazil (5%) and Guyana (10%). Ever since before Europeans explored the mountain and the plateau, Roraima played a very important spiritual […]

Abandoned wells can be 'super-emitters' of greenhouse gas

Princeton University researchers have uncovered a previously unknown and potentially substantial source of methane emissions: abandoned oil and gas wells. After analyzing wells from Pennsylvania, they found that a worrying amount of them leaked significant quantities of the greenhouse gas. A previous Stanford study estimated about 3 million abandoned wells in the United States alone, so if […]

This lucky tortoise can walk again thanks to a custom-built LEGO wheelchair

When it comes to human prosthetics, there are usually many options available – from simple frames or tools, to advanced, electronic prosthetics. But life isn’t as easy for turtles; such was the case of Blade, a German tortoise with a growth disorder that left his legs so weak that he couldn’t hold himself up. Now, thanks […]

Greenpeace Damages the Nazca Lines During Publicity Stunt

Peru announced that it will seek criminal charges against Greenpeace, after activists from the organization damaged the Nazca lines – some of the most spectacular pieces of historical heritage in the world. Greenpeace set up a banner right next to the Nazca lines, and when they took it out, they left significant damage behind. “It’s a […]

Rare, 'squashed bird nest' fossil sheds light on Earth's ancient seas

A rare 520-million-year-old fossil shaped like a ‘squashed bird’s nest’ has been discovered by a Chinese team of paleontologists. The team believes that the fossil, which is in excellent shape, will help us better understand how the Earth’s seas were like during the Cambrian.The fossil probably belongs to the ‘chancelloriid’, a group of bizarre, balloon-shaped creatures […]

A pill to burn fats? Harvard scientists have found a way

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have taken what they describe as “the first step toward a pill that can replace the treadmill” for the control of obesity – they have developed a pill which can turn white (bad) fat into brown (good) fat. Personally, I’m not a believer in a magic cure for qetting […]

Saturn's Moon Titan has Strong Winds and Hydrocarbon Dunes

New experimental research found that Saturn’s largest Moon, Titan, has much stronger winds than previously believed. These rogue winds actually shape the hydrocarbon dunes observed on its surface. Titan is, along with Earth, one of the few places in the solar system known to have fields of wind-blown dunes on its surface. The only other ones […]

Viking Colonization Was a Family Affair

Vikings are often depicted as brutes – raiding, pillaging, killing the men and raping the women. But according to a new study, coloniozing may have actually been a family affair. Maternal DNA from ancient Norsemen suggests that more often than not, women also traveled alongside the men. Vikings were excellent seafarers – this was the key […]

Not all fracking is the same - some sites emit a hundred times more than others

Not all boreholes are the same – scientists using mobile equipment measured how many gaseous compounds are emitted by the extraction of oil and natural gas in the US. This is the first time an analysis like this has been conducted at a high temporal resolution using a vapor capture system, and the results show that some […]

Major Viking Hall Identified in Sweden

A major Viking hall measuring over 50 metres in length has been identified near Vadstena in Sweden. Archaeologists from Stockholm University and Umeå University used non-invasive geophysical techniques to identify the hall, and they have a very good idea how it looked like, even without actually digging it. The Viking Age is the period from 793 AD to […]

How the alphabet evolved

The Phoenician alphabet is the oldest is the oldest verified consonantal alphabet; consonants are sounds articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Phoenicians were an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The next step in the evolution of the alphabet is the Greek alphabet – […]

Stunning 2200-Year-Old Mosaics Discovered in Ancient Greek City

Three new mosaics have been uncovered in the ancient Greek city of Zeugma, which is actually located in today’s Turkey. The incredibly well preserved mosaics date back to the 2nd century BC, but they’re still as beautiful as the first day. There are actually two ancient cities called Zeugma – one in Dacia (probably today’s Romania), […]

Fantastic pictures of the Helix Nebula

The Helix Nebula used to be a star much like our Sun, but it is now in a different stage – ejecting most of its material. It’s estimated that our Sun will also become a nebula in about 5 billion years. It lies 650 light-years away, in the constellation of Aquarius. Also known by the catalog […]

Experimental Timelapse Shows What London’s Night Sky Would Look Like During A Blackout

This experimental timelapse from Nicolas Bauer shows how London’s sky would look like in the event of a total black-out. Nicholas is an experienced landscape/night sky photographer and timelapse cinematographer. It’s called “experimental timelapse” because it’s not the traditional shooting technique. “I started shooting this project back in August 2013 and have been slowly gathering footage […]

Dawn spacecraft will soon figure out what Ceres actually is

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has set sail to Ceres – one of the most intriguing objects in our solar system. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, containing a third of all the mass in the asteroid belt. The unmanned Dawn spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at Ceres in early 2015, […]

Researchers convert sunlight to electricity with record 40% efficiency using commercial solar cells

Australian solar researchers have converted over 40 percent of solar light’s energy into electricity, the highest efficiency ever reported by any team for this kind of system. The key for the design is a custom filter which captures sunlight that is normally wasted by commercial solar cells on tower. “This is the highest efficiency ever reported […]

Drug candidate destroys Malaria in 48 hours

Malaria is one of the most common and dangerous diseases in the world, with the World Health Organization estimating over 200 million cases every year. There are several ways to try to treat malaria, but the results are debatable and often times not as effective as desired. Now, a team has demonstrated a new compound […]

Everything you need to know about England's 'hidden medieval city', Old Sarum

It’s one of England’s better kept secrets – Old Sarum is a hidden gem among gems, one of the most spectacular ancient sites in Europe and in the world. Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC, but only […]

A Week of Camping can Reset your Body Clock and Help you Sleep

Just one week of camping in the wild (or in any area without man-made light) can reset your body clock and return your natural sleep patterns, a new study has found. If you’re a night owl, if you’re having problems sleeping and just can’t set up a good sleep pattern – science has your problems […]

Driverless Cars set to hit the UK in 2015 in Greenwich, Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes

We already wrote about driverless cars hitting the streets several times (California, University of Michigan) but until now, the talk was all America. Now, cars without drivers will also hit the street in the UK, in 4 selected cities: Greenwich (south-east London), Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes. There will be a total of three projects, […]

Electric Mind Control: How the Electric Eel Dominates its Prey

The Electric Eel, a scaleless fish from the Amazon possesses an electroshock system very similar to a Taser. Not only can it stun its prey with the shock, but it can also make it twitch involuntarily, revealing its position. The electric eel is able to generate powerful electric shocks of up to 650 volts, which it uses […]

Unusual idioms from around the world

Every language has its own, special idioms. There are thousands of idioms and they occur frequently in all languages. There are estimated to be at least twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions in the English language alone… but few are as interesting as these ones. Enjoy! Unfortunately, I don’t know who the original artist is – I […]

New camera for ultrafast photography shoots one hundred billion frames per second

High speed photography is no longer a new thing… but then again, it depends what you mean by high speed photography; you likely don’t mean one hundred billion frames per second (100,000,000,000 fps) – but that’s exactly what Liang Gao, Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University means. He and his team have developed the world’s fastest […]

Oldest ever engraving discovered on 500,000-year-old shell

Archaeologists have identified the oldest engraving known to mankind – a 500,000 shell scratched by a human ancestor. In 2007, Stephen Munro was a graduate student in archaeology; while he was studying some shells from Java, Indonesia, he had the shock of his life: he found that one shell had a pattern of zig-zag lines […]

MULTI - The world's first rope-free Elevator

The elevator was invented over 150 years ago, and now, we’re entering a new era in vertical transportation: the first ropeless elevator has been developed. The Germany company ThyssenKrupp developed this technology, and it looks straight out taken from a Willy Wonka movie! But this technology is not about being cool, it’s about being effective. MULTI elevator […]

First Vegan Butcher Shop in the U.S. Set to Open in Minneapolis

Butcher shops are very traditional – they’ve been around for ages, and they’re probably the best place to get quality, cheap meat. But meat consumption is also cruel and not environmentally friendly, and I’m very happy to see more and more vegetarian establishments across the world. Such is the case with this Vegan Butcher shop […]

We're heading for a chocolate crisis - cocoa shortage incoming by 2020

The world is running out of chocolate, and if we don’t take some significant action soon, we’ll be dealing with a major chocolate shortage in less then a decade. The Swiss Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s largest chocolate producer, has joined a host of industry experts in expressing concerns about “a potential cocoa shortage by 2020”. […]

New Silent Wind Tree Turbines Make Energy Production Beautiful

Among the more common arguments against wind turbines you usually have noise and ugliness. Personally, I really don’t find wind turbines ugly and studies have found that generally wind turbines are very quiet but hey – this is the general perception. For these reasons, French engineers have spent three years developing beautiful and quiet urban versions of […]

Ukrainian PM reports accident at nuclear power plant

It just seems like Ukraine can’t catch a break – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Wednesday an accident had occurred at the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant (NPP) in south-east Ukraine. What exactly is meant by “accident” is not clear; we don’t know the scale of the damage and how the situation is likely […]

Scientists find origins of sex in Scottish lake

Evidence of ancient bony fish suggests that they copulated even though many of their descendants stopped doing so. Paleontologists believe this is the first-known animal to stop reproducing by spawning and instead mate by having sex. The primitive fish (Microbrachius dicki) measured about 8cm long and is now long extinct. As it often is today, the first sexual […]

First ever footage of Black Seadevil - one of the strangest fish species

Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, California have published what is probably the first ever footage of an extremely rare species – the bizarre and scary anglerfish. The footage was taken 1900 feet ( 600 meters) below sea level. Anglerfish are strange even for the deep sea. They have big […]

CERN uncovers two new particles

Christmas came early for physicists as the CERN facility in Switzerland report the discovery of two new baryonic particles from their LHCb experiment. “Today the collaboration for the LHCb experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of two new particles in the baryon family. The particles, known as the Xi_b’- and Xi_b*-, were […]

Mediterranean diet keeps you genetically young

The Mediterranean diet has long been known to provide a myriad of health benefits, reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer among others; but until now, no study has shown that it also protects telomeres, one of the biomarkers of aging. As the name gives it away, the Mediterranean diet follows the nutritional patterns of […]

City ants are garbage eating, rat-fighting machines

Ants often get a lot of bad rep for being “pests” in the city, but a new study has shown that ant populations are actually very helpful in urban environments. Scientists researching the behavior of ants have found that they dispose of garbage with remarkable efficiency, keeping rats and other garbage-dependent pests at bay. “Urban green […]

Play outside, kids! Sunlight reduces chances of myopia in children

You often hear people complaining that kids don’t play outside anymore – instead just hanging in the house all day long, playing on the computer (tablet/xbox/whatever). This is a pretty big problem, because there is a myriad of advantages to playing outside; this study has added yet another advantage to that list: playing outside reduces […]

The world's first underground park, New York City is taking shape [Image Gallery]

In case you didn’t know, developers from New York are working on creating the world’s first underground park using innovative solar technology to illuminate an historic trolley terminal on the Lower East Side of New York City. The project will only be finished in 2018, but it is already starting to take shape, as you can […]

Japanese mission plans to blow asteroid and return chunks of it to Earth [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The Hayabusa 2 probe was successfully launched late Tuesday night from the Tanegashima Space Cente While just two weeks ago we were telling you about the European Rosetta mission which orbited a comet and ultimately sent a lander to the surface of the comet, now, the Japanese space agency, JAXA, is preparing to one-up Rosetta: they […]

New wearable device to alter your mood will release in 2015

Yoga, coffee and even chocolate can do wonders for your mood – it’s already a known fact. But what if technology stepped in – would you take a few electrical shots to substitute your urge for caffeine? If the answer is yes, or if you want to have more control on your mood, then good […]

Wanderers - the most inspiring and spectacular vision of space exploration I've ever seen

As a teen, I was fascinated by Sci-Fi novels – I loved reading about the future and humanity – Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt and George Martin were my idols (yes lads, he was writing science fiction before Game of Thrones). After that, I started to watch a lot of movies and documentaries – […]

Nature journals make all their articles free to view

Nature, one of the biggest academic journal groups has announced that they will make all their articles free to view. While the articles will be available for anyone to read, they cannot be copied, printed or downloaded, the journal’s publisher Macmillan announced on 2 December. “Subscribers to 49 journals on nature.com will be able to share a […]

Listening to music you like makes you more altruistic

Music is almost ubiquitous in our lives – we hear it in commercials, in the car, on the radio, at the movies, when you go out, when you stay in… we’re quite a musical society nowadays. But we still don’t understand many things about how music affects our bodies and our brains; now, a new […]

Scientists find origin of 1872 American earthquake

Geologists are close to cracking the mystery of one of the biggest earthquakes in American modern history – the 1872 North Cascades event. Now, over one century later, they believe they have finally found the origin of the earthquake. An ancient mysterey Current research points to a newly discovered fault near the town of Entiat in Chelan […]

A haunting view of Chernobyl, captured by aerial drones

For a 60 Minutes report that aired earlier this month, filmmaker Danny Cooke spent a week exploring abandoned cities Chernobyl and nearby Pripyat. Pripyat was just preparing to open a new amusement park just days before the nuclear meltdown happened at Chernobyl. Now, Cooke has posted a a compilation entitled “Postcards from Pripyat, Chernobyl” — a […]

New species of dinosaur discovered lying forgotten in a museum

Dr Nick Longrich from Bath University was studying bones from two horned dinosaurs from the ceratopsian family (related to Triceratops), when he discovered that the two were actually previously unknown species. The findings highlight that dinosaurs in area were more diverse than previously thought, and they also show that sometimes, museum archives can yield surprising information. “We […]

Archaeologists Discover The World's Largest Ancient Stone Block

Look at this incredibly big rock. Take a moment, ponder its dimensions, and its weight. Oh, but if you’re looking at the one in the middle, that’s not it – look over to the right. The one to the right, not fully excavated yet, is the biggest ancient stone block, weighing an impressive 1,650 tons (that’s 3,300,000 […]

German Scientists create lab-grown spinal cords

For the first time, researchers in Germany have been able to create spinal cords in a Petri dish. To be more precise, they didn’t grow complete spinal cords, but neuroepithelial cysts, which are ellipsoid like and were about 60 μm in diameter. These cells express factors that are associated with spinal cord tissue and are in many […]

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