How ancient Romans managed their wealth (and didn’t just hide their savings)
“All I desire is an income of 20,000 sesterces from a safe investment,” declares a character in a poem by the Roman poet Juvenal (1st-2nd century AD). Today, 20,000 sesterces are approximately [Australian] Interest from investment is $300,000. Anyone would be happy with this much passive annual income. Just like today, ancient people understood that […]
NASA launches Pandora telescope to take JWST’s search for habitable worlds to a new level
On January 11, 2026, I watched anxiously at California’s tightly controlled Vandenberg Space Force Base as an awe-inspiring SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted NASA’s new exoplanet telescope, Pandora, into orbit. Exoplanets are worlds orbiting other stars. From Earth, they are very difficult to observe because they appear as very dark spots right next to their […]
Strange discovery reveals ‘missing link’ in planet formation: ‘This fundamentally changes the way we think about planetary systems’
Astronomers have gotten a rare glimpse of four baby planets in the process of growing. And something surprising was revealed. It’s that these toddlers’ worlds are getting brighter with age. The quadruplets orbit in a tightly packed orbit around the young star V1298 Tau, which is only 20 million years old (compared to the Sun’s […]
James Webb Telescope discovers ‘failed star’ in breathtaking star cluster near Earth — Space Photo of the Week
simple facts What is it: Westerlund Cluster 2 Location: 20,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Carina. Share date: December 19, 2025 Surrounded by clouds of orange and brown gas and dust and filled with twinkling stars, this new image from the James Webb Space Telescope appears to mark the entrance to a cosmic […]
Is there a possibility of a global internet outage?
We’ve all experienced the inconveniences of a spotty internet connection, from access interruptions at work to your favorite shows buffering at the most tense moments. Years of major outages have served as a reminder that the internet can also face broader problems, bringing daily operations to a halt. But could the entire internet around the […]
This is SPARDA. A self-destructive self-defense system in bacteria that could become a new biotechnological tool.
Although CRISPR ushered in a golden age of genetic research, there are hundreds of similar systems in nature that hold untapped potential for gene editing. Scientists have now made significant progress in explaining how a mysterious system called SPARDA works. The CRISPR system allows scientists to edit genetic information more easily than ever before. Although […]
‘Not very attractive’: Pompeii’s bath facilities may have been contaminated with lead-contaminated water
Ancient Rome is well known for its advanced water systems and sanitary facilities, including public baths and toilets. But new research suggests that the first baths built in Pompeii may not have been particularly comfortable, as the dirty, contaminated water was changed only once a day. “It is very likely that the bathing experience in […]
This week’s science news: ISS medical evacuation, Mars sample return canceled, woolly rhino meat found in permafrost wolves
This week’s science news went way over our heads, as astronauts and space agencies made their way to the front pages. Topping the list is the early return of 11 International Space Station (ISS) crew members on Thursday (January 15) due to a medical emergency. News of the crew’s early return is the first in […]
How much of your body can you lose and still survive?
In the classic 1975 British comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur battles a mysterious Black Knight who refuses to let him pass. Arthur deftly defeats his enemy by cutting off their limbs one by one, but the knight is unwilling to admit defeat and insists that the damage is “just a […]
Forced closure of major US weather modeling laboratory could put millions of Americans at risk
On December 16, 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the world’s premier weather and climate research center. Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement to USA Today that NCAR is “one of the largest sources of climate […]