United Kingdom
The Oldest Message in a Bottle Ever Found Is 98 Years Old
A Scottish skipper has discovered the world's oldest message in a bottle, beating the record previously held by a buddy of his
August 31, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Storeowners Hope Cute Little Baby Faces Will Stop Crime
One street in London is hoping to dissuade potential looters by putting a gigantic baby face between them and their loot
August 30, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Artist Explores the Deep in Underwater Wheelchair
A special self-propelled underwater wheelchair designed with help from dive experts and academics will debut this week in London as artist Sue Austin performs submerged swimming pool acrobatics on the buoyant chair
August 28, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Insult Your Foes Like a Montague
From biting thumbs at enemies to implying that slippery foes were stinking fishmongering pimps, Shakespeare manages to insult with a bit of class, wit and plenty of imagination
August 24, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Want to Avoid a Mid-Life Crisis? Get Friends
The midlife wellbeing of both men and women depends on having a wide circle of friends to regularly socialize and hang out with, a new study finds
August 24, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Celebrating 1,447 Years of the Loch Ness Monster
Yesterday, 1,447 years ago, Saint Columba, a Gaelic Irish missionary monk, was poking around the Scottish highlands when he reportedly stumbled upon a creature no man had before seen: an ancient, long-surviving plesiosaurs, known today as the Loch Ness monster
August 23, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Killer Economy – Science Suspects Recession to Blame for 1,000 Suicides in England
While jobs declined in England between 2008 to 2010, researchers found that suicides increased
August 15, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Sir Bernard Lovell, The Man The Soviets Tried to Poison With Uranium, Dies at 98
Lovell, of the Lovell telescope, made several advances in radio astronomy and physics.
August 07, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
“Night At The Museum” For Adults Lets You Sleep Over With Dinosaurs
London's Natural History Museum is challenging adults to channel their inner child in an upcoming grown ups-only slumber party.
August 01, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Document Deep Dive: A Peek at the Last Time London Hosted the Olympics
Records at the National Archives in London show how organizers cobbled together the 1948 "Austerity" Games
July 31, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
World’s First Test Tube Baby Turns 34 Today
On this day 34 years ago, Louise Brown, the first "test tube baby," was welcomed into the world.
July 25, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Science Behind London Olympics’ “Springy” Track
When the athletes hit the track at this summer's Olympic games, they'll be stepping onto a surface as finely tuned as they are.
July 24, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Hitler Plotted to Kill Churchill With Exploding Chocolate
Nazis are known for their heinous wartime crimes and tactics. Now, exploding chocolate can be added to that list, as revealed by a 60-year-old letter stamped "Secret."
July 18, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
How Common Was Cannibalism?
While eating one another is understandable if stranded on a snowy mountain or desolate wasteland, evidence exists that some societies tucked into the practice even if not faced with life-or-death situations, just for the fun of it.
July 18, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
360-Year-Old Advertisement Extolls Coffee’s Virtues
An advertisement issued by some brilliant London entrepreneurs may well be the first coffee ad ever.
July 18, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
In Scotland, Two Mix-and-Match Mummies Contain Parts of Six Corpses
Two 3,000 year old bodies discovered in a Scottish bog turned out not to be two bodies at all. The ancient skeletons are stitched together from the remains of six individuals.
July 10, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
How Do Animals Perceive the World?
Scientists demonstrate how animals view the world, and why their vision influences the way they look.
July 09, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Synthetic Bacteria Could Turn Ocean Garbage into One Big Island
Entrepreneurial students from University College London are striving to create tropical paradises made from ocean garbage. The aim of the project is to collect tiny pieces of plastic trash floating in the ocean, then stick them all together to create islands of artificial habitat.
July 09, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Science Answers Age-Old Question, Should We Live to Work or Work to Live?
It’s summer time, and the temptation to skip the office and head to the pool is intoxicating. If only each and every day could be spent lazing under an umbrella rather than toiling away in pursuit of the next paycheck. But according to NatCen Social Research, a British independent social resaerch center, it’s precisely the [...]
July 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Wrecked Rivers of T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ Teem With Life Once More
“The river sweats / Oil and tar / The barges drift / With the turning tide,” wrote T. S. Eliot in an ode to the River Thames in The Wasteland. Indeed, oil and tar and other industrial pollutants for years plagued Britain’s rivers, from the “Great Stink” of 1858 when human waste choked London’s Thames [...]
July 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
