IFLScience - Break It Down

Environmental trigger for autism

IFLScience YouTube – The future (additional) home of Break It Down

3I/ATLAS, CKM Syndrome, And Mosquitos’ Final Frontier

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 11:06:21 -0300

This week on Break It Down: a potential environmental trigger for autism has been identified, interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is doing weird things with its tail, 90 percent of people are at risk of a newly recognized syndrome, why we know the Denisovans didn’t hook up with the Jomon, as Iceland falls, mosquitos have just one place left on Earth they’ve yet to conquer, and why are people talking to “wind phones”? It’s all to do with “after-death communications”.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Trump and Tylenol

3I/ATLAS tail changed direction

CKM syndrome

Extinct humans no Denisovan DNA

Mosquitos’ final frontier

The Big Questions - Why do people believe in the paranormal?

*Terms and Conditions: 50% OFF PROMO CODE: NESSIE50 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual paid subscription only on iflscience.com. Offer starts September 30, 2025, and ends November 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, the United States (excluding Puerto Rico and US territories), the United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.

A Two-Headed Fossil, 50/50 Spider, And World-First Butt Drag

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:50:21 -0300

This week on Break It Down: 3I/ATLAS is a 10 billion-year-old time capsule, a world-first fossil captures the moment a rock hyrax dragged its butt 126,000 years ago, a living person received a pig liver transplant for the first time, the “oldest human habit” might not be what it seems, a rare gynandromorph spider is a 50/50 wonder, and what is this prehistoric creature with two heads? We asked a dinosaur expert.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

3I/ATLAS
Butt drag fossil
Trackways of fish leaving the ocean
Pig liver transplant
Oldest human habit
50/50 spider
Two-headed fossil
Sword Dragon of Dorset
CURIOUS magazine
What lives in Loch Ness?
The Big Questions
What’s all the fossa-bout?

Mummified Cheetahs, Skin Cells Turn Into Eggs, And Almost Life On Enceladus

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 11:17:33 -0300

This week on Break It Down: the second oldest use of the color blue ever has been discovered in Europe dating back 13,000 years, “chemical fossils” suggest the oldest life on Earth may have been sponges 541 million years ago, skin cells have been turned into fertilizable egg cells thanks to some pretty nifty genetics research, the world’s first naturally mummified big cats have been found in a cave in Saudi Arabia, complex chemistry coming from Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus could be a big clue to eventually finding life in the Solar System, and we remember the pioneering scientist Jane Goodall and her incredible life.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Blue pigment
Oldest animals
Skin cells
Babies born with genes from three people
Mitochondrial disease
Mummified cheetahs
Enceladus
Goodbye Jane Goodall
CURIOUS
Spooky Season at the Vault

Neanderthal Noises, Dome-Headed Dinosaurs, And Mystery Larvae

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:02:39 -0300

This week on Break It Down: Homo habilis might not have been the apex predator we thought it was, the oldest and most complete pachycephalosaur reveals why they were so weirdly dome-headed, we’ve been able to track an asteroid’s full life story for the first time, nobody knows what these mysterious larvae grow up to be, humans are in the middle of an evolutionary transition, and what did Neanderthals sound like? Probably not what you think.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Tropical Mammoths, Dazzling Brain Map, And Perfectly Preserved Pterosaurs

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:39:18 -0300

This week on Break It Down: Queen ants are throwing the rules of reproduction out of the window by producing offspring of two different species, for the first time ever we have a complete map of brain activity and boy is it pretty, a new lineage of tropical mammoths have been discovered in Mexico, 150 million-year-old baby pterosaurs have been perfectly preserved thanks to some stormy weather, the controversy surrounding whether Homo naledi might have buried their dead is back, and we explore just how big the biggest egg on Earth really was.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down...

Links:

Ants
Brain map
Upload your brain
Tropical mammoths
Bacteria on mammoth teeth
Perfect baby pterosaurs
Cougar submerged
Homo naledi
Biggest Egg
The Big Questions Podcast

Glowing Plants, Punk Ankylosaur, And Has The Wow! Signal Been Solved?

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 11:38:27 -0300

This week on Break It Down: Think you know Earth? Think again; a new campaign is trying to overturn the highly erroneous map we were all taught in school. A new injection can make succulents glow pretty much any color you like, and better yet, they’re rechargeable. An intriguing new theory to explain the legendary Wow! Signal makes a convincing case. Turns out the oldest known ankylosaur was also ridiculously spiky with a trait we’ve never seen in any vertebrate – living or extinct – before. See the first 3D digital analysis of the only person known to have a proton beam go through their head, and why does frozen seafood glow? Why indeed.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Silly map
Pacific Ocean antipodes
Glowing plants
Wow! Signal
Punky ankylosaur
Proton beam to the head
Glowing seafood
The Big Questions – What Will The Fossils Of The Future Look Like?
CURIOUS Magazine

Shaman Training Cave, Uranus's New Moon, And A Bright Orange Shark

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 11:25:33 -0300

This week on Break It Down: Tracks left in ancient rock suggest fish crawled out of the seas 10 million years earlier than we thought, a 140,000-year-old child’s skull is the earliest evidence Neanderthals and Homo sapiens got it on yet, a bright orange nurse shark makes history as the first example of xanthism in this species and in the Caribbean Sea, JWST spots a new moon around Uranus, bringing its total up to 29, cave paintings from the French Pyrenees suggest a dangerous “shaman training cave”, and what did ancient people think when they discovered fossils? Griffins, cyclops, or something else entirely?

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Fossil trackways

Neanderthals and Homo sapiens

Only surviving human species

We Have Questions Podcast

Northern white rhinos

Giraffes are now four species

Orange Crocodiles, New Human Species, And Death By Meteorite

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:57:41 -0300

This week on Break It Down: The discovery of some fossilized human teeth reveals the oldest known members of our genus weren’t alone; their neighbors were a species we’ve never found before. A world-first study reveals that sex reversal is surprisingly common in wild Australian birds. A law of abbreviation that mysteriously fits all human languages also applies to bird song from several species. Orange crocodiles lurking deep within caves in Central Africa have the potential to become a new dwarf species. The lack of a standardized definition is holding back long COVID research. And has anybody ever died by getting hit by a meteorite? The records show: just one.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

New human species

HUMAN with Ella Al-Shamahi

Tunnel of bones

Sex reversal in wild birds

Zipf’s law applies to birds

Orange crocodiles

Defining long COVID

Death by meteorite

Why do we feel pain? Interview with Chris Hemsworth and Dr BJ Miller

The Big Questions – Will We Ever Get A Universal Flu Vaccine?

Why Are We The Only Surviving Human Species

Dancing Cockatoos, Spider Schlongs, And Will I Be Hit By An Asteroid?

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 11:08:26 -0300

This week on Break It Down: cockatoos have added 17 new dance moves to their official tally, we may finally know where the ancient “hobbit” humans came from, four new species of tarantulas have been discovered with one key difference to other species, science has the answer as to whether you're more likely to be killed by an asteroid or an elephant, RFK Jr uses misinformation to pull millions of dollars from mRNA vaccine research, and we discuss how science fiction is helping scientists explore possible futures.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Dancing cockatoos

Hobbit humans

Four new tarantulas

Asteroid risk

RFK Jr pulls funding

COVID vaccines saved 2.5 millions lives

mRNA vaccine research wins Nobel Prize

Science fiction helps science

Why Are Yawns Contagious?

How Has The Internet Changed The Way We Use Language?

How Do Black Holes Shape The Universe?

Curious Magazine

Moa De-Extinction, Fashionable Chimps, And Robot Surgery – No Human Required

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 12:07:32 -0300

This week on Break It Down: just a week after the discovery of our third-ever interstellar visitor we may know where it came from, ancient enamel provides a snapshot into the lives of prehistoric rhinos, the moa becomes the fifth species targeted for de-extinction, a robot performs gallbladder surgery – no human required, chimps start a new fashion trend with grass in their ears (and rears), and 100 years since The Scopes (Monkey) Trial, how much has changed?

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Interstellar visitor

Prof Chris Lintott interview

The Scopes (Monkey) Trial

Interstellar Object, Cheesy Nightmares, And Smooching Orcas

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 11:09:52 -0300

This week on Break It Down: We’ve just seen our third-ever interstellar object whizzing though the Solar System, eating cheese really might give you nightmares (but so might dessert), cavers are rewarded with a treasure trove of blind, mummified invertebrates including the only known cave-adapted wasp, the Neanderthal fat factory is just a delicious as it sounds, orcas caught kissing out in the wild, and if the Moon gets slapped by an asteroid as NASA predicts there’s a 4.1 percent chance it might, it would be a 1-in-5,000-years spectacle for Earth to enjoy (from a safe distance).

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Interstellar object

Cheesy nightmares

Cave of mummified insects

Neanderthal fat factory

Collagen

Smooching orcas

Orcas Giving Humans Food

Asteroid about to slap the Moon

Wellness Whales, A New Blood Type, And A DJ Set From Space

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:27:58 -0300

This week on Break It Down: feast your eyes on the stunning first images from the world’s largest digital camera, capturing millions of galaxies and thousands of new asteroids. Why killer whales are rubbing each other luxuriously with seaweed, the world’s oldest rocks aren’t that much younger than the planet, mice born from two dads prove they’re fertile, a French woman becomes the only known person in the world with a new kind of blood type, and we celebrate 50 years of the European Space Agency with a special interview with astronaut Luca Parmitano.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

World’s largest digital camera

Vera C Rubin images of space

Be the first to spot a galaxy

Bonus episode of We Have Questions

Dolphins help a lost whale

Artificial Eclipse, Dancing Dinosaurs, And 50 Years Of “JAWS”

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:37:40 -0300

This week on Break It Down: Two spacecraft just created the first ever artificial solar eclipse, thanks to some impressive drone photos we know now dancing dinosaurs might have been leaping around to impress females in Colorado, a child from the world's oldest burial site appears to be a Neanderthal-Homo sapiens hybrid, for the first time we know what a Denisovan face looks like, a medical breakthrough means we could have a vaccine against HIV (if only anyone could buy it), and 50 years after JAWS was released, we take a look at the lasting impact on shark conservation the blockbuster movie made.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Artificial solar eclipse

Papahānaumokuākea marine conservation

Ghost Elephant

The Big Questions is back!

Ice Age Puppies, Sauropod’s Last Supper, And A First Look At The Sun’s Butt

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 12:02:59 -0300

This week on Break It Down: Seeing the Sun’s south pole for the first time ever, Ice Age puppies frozen in permafrost turn out to be wolves, a world-first fossil discovery reveals a sauropod’s final meal, “razor blade throat” and a traveling nimbus reveal what to expect from the new COVID variant, the deepest map of the universe now reaches 13.5 billion years into the past, and is giving nature a personhood a good way to get it better legal protections? Maybe.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Sun’s butt

Permafrost puppies

Sauropod stomach contents

Her name is ANNE

Tyrannosaur stomach contents

COVID variant

Deepest map of the Universe

Should nature have personhood?

UNDERDOGS

Ed the Zebra

The Big Questions returns

Space Explosions, Dead Sea Scrolls, And Why It's So Hard To Sex A Dino

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 12:50:26 -0300

This week on Break It Down: A great big explosion in space is the most energetic since the Big Bang, AI reveals the Dead Sea Scrolls could share the same authors as the Bible, it looks like the Milky Way and Andromeda will not collide in 5 billion years after all, pregnant female mice with low iron levels can lead to the development of male embryos with ovaries, two smiling porpoises are released back into the wild for the first time in a win for conservation, and we take a deep dive into why it's so hard to sex a dinosaur.

Second biggest explosion
Dead sea scrolls
Milky Way and Andromeda
Yangtze finless porpoises
Mice embryos
Hard to sex a dino
Spinosaurus Daddy
Undersea Explosions
Nine-Limbed Octopus

Oldest Fingerprint, AI Decoding Wolf Language, And Injecting Life On Other Worlds?

Fri, 30 May 2025 12:22:45 -0300

This week on Break It Down: The oldest fingerprint in the world might be left by a Neanderthal hoping to complete a face, scientists propose seeding life on Enceladus to see what would happen, we’re starting to understand more about the Incas’ mysterious string writing system, bioacoustics research could pave the way for us to chat to wolves in Yellowstone, prions prove they are just as scary as we always thought when they take over a woman's brain after 50 years, and we explore just how much memory humans really have in these big old noggins of ours.

Links:

Neanderthal fingerprints
Injecting life
Inca string writing system
Language of wolves
Prions
Memory capacity of the brain
Papahānaumokuākea
Trawling impact
Kilauea
CURIOUS Magazine

Capuchin Kidnappers, Spinosaurus Daddy, And A New Member Of The Solar System

Fri, 23 May 2025 11:25:13 -0300

This week on Break It Down: the Solar System just got a new member, capuchins have started stealing howler monkey babies on a remote island, the US ran a solar storm emergency drill and it didn’t go so well, stunning new fossil evidence reveals never-before-seen feathers that indicate Archaeopteryx could fly, a deep dive into Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA turns up six alleged relatives, and what Walking With Dinosaurs has to say about Spinosaurus’s parenting skills and T. rex’s nocturnal hunting.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

CURIOUS Live: Subscription 30% off with code VE30*

New member of the solar system

Capuchin kidnappers

US solar emergency drill

Leo’s long lost “relatives”

Archaeopteryx could fly

Walking With Dinosaurs

Spinosaurus: great dad?

Where is life most likely to be in the Solar System?

Antarctic ozone hole

Glow-in-the-dark gas cloud

CURIOUS Live – The uncanny valley – First human-to-human transplant

*Terms and Conditions: 30% OFF PROMO CODE: VE30 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from May 1, 2025, until May 24, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.

T. Rex Leather, Glow-In-The-Dark Gas Clouds, And Musical Sea Lions

Fri, 02 May 2025 12:01:50 -0300

This week on Break It Down: a new kind of leather is borrowing its foundations from fossil T. rex collagen, we’ve just discovered an enormous glow-in-the-dark gas cloud surprisingly close to Earth, a musical sea lion has shown it can keep beat better than some humans, a new-to-science embalming technique has been discovered in Austria, man who let himself be envenomated by all the snakes inspires an antivenom not thought possible, and do scientists have a responsibility to fight misinformation about their subjects? We asked them.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

T. rex leather

Get 30% off with code VE30*

Ronan the rhythmic sea lion

New embalming tekkers

What happens to eyes during the mummification process?

Novel route to snake antivenom

Scientists VS misinformation

5 kinds of headaches

Ballymacombs More Woman

Tattooed Tardigrades, Doomed Lava Planet, And Meet The “Bone Collector”

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 11:32:53 -0300

This week, on Break It Down: a planet with a very rare tail is being boiled apart, the first physical evidence of a gladiator fighting a lion discovered in Britain, scientists are tattooing tardigrades (for science), what’s happening in your brain during a mind blank, the grim fashion of “bone collector” caterpillars, and five health risks associated with tobacco use that don’t include lung cancer.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Boiled-apart planet
Gladiator VS lion
Tattooed tardigrades
Mind blanks
Bone collector caterpillars
Tobacco effects
CURIOUS magazine
Subscribe for CURIOUS Live
Whale earwax
Should you crack your knuckles?

Dire Wolves, Intersex Whales, And That Dangerous Asteroid’s Unusual Origin

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 11:34:49 -0300

This week on Break It Down: old skin samples have revealed the first-ever evidence for an intersex Southern right whale, a dangerous asteroid that might hit the Moon has an unusual origin, what dire wolf “de-extinction” really means and how it’s helping red wolves, a mushroom that contains one of the most bitter compounds known to humans, a promising new candidate to topple debilitating long COVID, and is time an illusion?

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Intersex whale

Dangerous asteroid

Dire wolves and red wolves

Should we de-extinct species?

Animal cloning as a conservation tool

Get 35% off with code POD35 *

A very bitter mushroom

Long COVID treatment candidate

Is time an illusion?

Octopus in a bottle

Grapefruit and medication

Drilling the great blue hole

*Terms and Conditions: 35% OFF PROMO CODE: POD35 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Valid from April 4, 2025, until April 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.

Near-Death Experiences, Loch Ness Camera Trap, And Why No Frozen Dinosaurs?

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 12:20:47 -0300

This week on Break It Down: study uncovers the biological basis of near-death experiences, what a camera trap captured after 55 years in Loch Ness, why it’s taken humans so long to orbit over Earth’s poles, what a sediment core from the “Great Blue Hole” can tell us about the Caribbean’s climatic past and future, why you shouldn’t offer cola to isolated communities, and why are there no frozen dinosaurs? With damn good reason.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Near-death experiences

Loch Ness camera trap

Loch Ness holograms

Loch Ness DNA

Subscription offer

Orbiting Earth's poles

Chundering in space

Don’t offer cola to isolated tribes

Why no frozen dinosaurs?

How fast to fossil

Fossil octopus

Keep an eye out for NHM videos

Deep sea beasties

*Terms and Conditions: 35% OFF PROMO CODE: POD35 offer for 1 billing period of an All Access Subscription: Annual, 2-Year, or Monthly paid subscriptions only on iflscience.com. Offer ends April 30, 2025, 12:00 am EST. To apply the promo code, you must enter it prior to completing checkout. Your credit card will be automatically charged upon checkout completion, and your subscription will continue until you cancel auto-renew. You can cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, and you will not be charged upon renewal. If you choose to renew, no action is required, and the full amount will be billed at the start of the renewed term. Taxes may apply. Promo codes are not transferable/redeemable for cash or credit. Membership paid subscriptions are only available in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. Our standard terms & conditions apply.

Magic Mushroom Medicine, Neptune’s Aurora Confirmed, And First-Ever Shark Sounds

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 12:32:21 -0300

This week on Break It Down: a new study has become the first to document what sound a shark makes, Neptune has been confirmed to have an aurora thanks to the best telescope ever, a pipeline construction site turned up the terrifying claw of a new species of therizinosaur, why people are trying to prevent measles with Vitamin A (and why it won’t work), 400-million-year-old fossils may belong to a new branch on the tree of life, and the growing role of psilocybin in new medications inspired by magic mushrooms.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Shark sounds

Hear a coral reef

Sharks existed before Saturn’s rings

Neptune’s aurora

New therizinosaur

Measles and Vitamin A

Supplements and liver injury

New branch of life?

Magic mushroom medicine

We Have Questions – How do you rediscover a “lost species”?

Videos galore

Melanistic penguin

Spacewalks and deep ocean

Unknown Lifeforms, How To Live To 117, And Handstanding Sauropods?

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:41:47 -0300

This week on Break It Down: An unknown lifeform has been making micro-burrows in the Namibian desert, the secret to living until 117 has been revealed, sauropods were not doing handstands in Texas 100 million years ago (boooo), should we be attempting to de-extinct animals, an Australian man achieves a double world-first with a titanium heart transplant, and would you rather go to space or the deepest part of the ocean? We speak to one of the only people on Earth to do both!

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Cougar photo

Elephant pluripotent stem cells

Blood Rain

Woolly Mice, 3D-Printed Penises, And The World’s Worst Sting

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 11:38:37 -0400

This week on Break It Down: Colossal Biosciences creates the “woolly mouse” in their mission to de-extinct the mammoth, scientists 3D-print functional penises (and have the babies to prove their efficacy), that gaping hole in the ozone layer really is repairing, IFLScience asks why so few international organizations have responded to Trump and Musk’s attack on US science, humans have been making bone tools 1 million years longer than we realized, and what’s the most painful bug sting? One brave scientist penned poetic descriptions of their experiences.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Woolly mouse

Vaccine for baby elephants

3D-printed penis

Ozone hole recovering

Attack on science response

Bone tool use

4 worst insect stings

Blob-headed fish

Oldest runestone
Asteroid
New human relative
Why are we the only surviving human species?
Science under attack
Dino-era ducks
Do we own our bodies?
Wound Man
CURIOUS Magazine
Worst diving accident
Rescued frogs

Rat Sommeliers, Glass Brain, And Internet On Mars

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:14:41 -0400

This week on Break It Down: the curious tale of a lump of glass that turned out to be a human brain, the US sees its first measles death in 10 years, rats make great sommeliers, the evolutionary origins of feathers in dinosaurs, AI bots start speaking a secret language to each other, and could we get internet on Mars? Quite possible.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Hamsters quaffing wine

Most Dangerous Animal, Tomb Discovery, And How To Break Habits

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:13:32 -0400

This week on Break It Down: the first ancient Egyptian royal tomb has been discovered since Tutankhamun over 100 years ago, a brand new ‘dangerous animal’ scale reveals the realistic threat of different creatures, architects are operating on land and at the deepest parts of the ocean (they just don’t look how you imagine), a Paralympian becomes the first astronaut with a disability to be cleared for a space mission, the Moon is getting 4G for the first time ever, and how do you break a habit? We find out.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Ancient Egyptian tomb

Crespo scale

Animal architects

Termite mounds

Paralympian astronaut

Dolphin Pee Party, Inside Asteroid Response, And That Ancient Mummy Smell

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:21:40 -0400

This week on Break It Down: Amazon river dolphins are saying it with urine proudly sprayed directly into the air, an inside look at the planetary defense response to asteroid 2024 YR4 (and no, it isn’t too late), find out what mummies smell like thanks to a team of “sniffers”, whale song follows Zipf’s Law, red light therapy – does it actually work? And say hello to kama muta, the emotion we've all felt but probably don’t know the name for.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Science Under Attack, Dino-Era Ducks, And Do We Own Our Bodies?

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:42:16 -0400

This week on Break It Down: the world's oldest runestone might have been carved by a woman in a language that predates the Vikings, asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2.3 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032 (but we’re not panicking yet), an ancient jawbone might reveal a new branch of the hominid family tree, science in the US is under attack after a slew of executive orders from the Trump administration, a fossil from Antarctica suggests ducks have been swimming around for a lot longer than we thought and we explore whether we actually own our bodies.

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Covid Lab Leak, Mouse With Two Dads, And Are We Living In A Simulation?

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 12:48:26 -0400

This week on Break It Down: A CIA report says the origins of COVID being a lab leak is “likely” but what does that really mean? The Doomsday Clock ticks closer to humanity's destruction, asteroid Bennu’s sample contains the building blocks of life (but not aliens), the oldest poison arrow dates back 7,000 years, a mouse with two male parents survives to adulthood in a world first, “boomerasking” might be the social snub of 2025, and we enter The Vault to explore why people believe in the Simulation Hypothesis.

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

COVID lab leak
Doomsday Clock
Bennu samples
Bennu lid is stuck
Oldest poisoned arrow
Mouse with two dads
Boomerasking
Phubbing
Simulation Hypothesis
CURIOUS Magazine
Science Hoaxes
Salamander Toes

Pompeii’s Worst Day, Peeing Together, And The GOAT Dinosaur Movie?

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 12:29:14 -0400

This week on Break It Down: a new timeline shows exactly when and how the eruption of Vesuvius spread, chimps have been observed going to the bathroom together all at the same time, trust in science remains high worldwide despite recent global events, sex differences between male and female brains are present as early as newborn babies, and did COVID lockdowns actually affect the temperature on the Moon? Finally, what’s the best dino movie of all time? We asked the experts to find out.

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links

Pompeii
Trust in science
Covid and the Moon
Sex differences in brains
Chimps pee together
Just in case pee
Yawning is contagious
Best dino movie
Fire melanism
Rare black king penguin
Corals on the move
Curious magazine
Subscribe to IFLS

Thylacine De-Extinction, Tattooed Mummies, And A Meteorite World-First

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 11:49:51 -0400

This week on Break It Down: lasers revealed 1,200-year-old mummies’ sweet tats, the mission to de-extinct the thylacine takes a leap forward, video footage of a meteorite hitting someone’s garden might be a world first, China announces plans to build the solar power station equivalent of “Three Gorges Dam” in space, researchers discover an Iron Age society ruled by women, and how did dinosaurs have sex? We find out from palaeontologist Riley Black what we do (and don’t) know so far.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Tattooed mummies

Thylacine de-extinction

Meteorite strike

Can you keep meteorites you find?

Solar power in space

Iron Age women

Dinosaur sex

How did dinosaurs have sex? Podcast

Alligators’ penile jack-in-a-box

How did the chicken lose its penis?

Unexplained structures
Oldest equatorial dinosaur
Painted penis bone
Oldest 3D map
Nobel Disease
Orichalcum metal
Nobody’s looking for Atlantis
How do sunken cities end up underwater
CURIOUS magazine
More podcasts
Wildfires in LA
Fish that mates a lot
Face-planting frog

Skrunkly crab

Sunfish popcorn larva

Precious Penis Bone, North America’s Oldest Dino, And The Mystical Metal Of "Atlantis"

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 11:39:18 -0400

This week on Break It Down: unexpected and unexplained structures have been discovered hiding under the Pacific Ocean, the oldest equatorial dinosaur fossil in the world dates back a whopping 230 million years, a painted dog penis bone has been found in a ritual shaft in England (some puns write themselves), cave art from France could be the oldest 3D map in the world, Nobel Prize winners can go loopy (and start talking to raccoons) after winning, and what was Plato talking about when he described a metal "more precious than anything except gold?”

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Saiga Mega Victory, 2025 Predictions, And A Coming Star Explosion

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 11:47:25 -0400

This week on Break It Down: one of the most significant mammal recoveries ever recorded (and four other wildlife wins), a once-in-a-lifetime event is about to kick off in space, spookily accurate predictions made by a “professor” 100 years ago, an undersea volcano is about to erupt, scientists achieve a world-first embryo milestone on the path to giraffe IVF, and 100 years since Hubble proved the universe is unimaginably vast, we explore how he did it.

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Saiga antelope recovery

Coronae borealis nova event

Spooky 2025 predictions

Undersea volcano eruption

World-first giraffe embryo breakthrough

100 years since Hubble proved the Universe is massive

DNA phenotyping

How many ants are there in the world?

A New North Pole, Bubble-Butt Turtles, And Testing Ancient Hangover Cures

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 11:44:54 -0400

This week on Break It Down: Earth’s magnetic pole is in a new position, the second most cited paper to ever be withdrawn is finally retracted, Charlotte the bubble-butted turtle gets a special swimming harness, The Blob’s legacy marks the worst single-species mortality event in modern history, a Roman solution to Mars suggests blood makes for great cement, and we send one of our writers on a mission to test out ancient hangover cures. Anyone for cabbage?

Links:

Magnetic pole movements

Paper retracted

Turtle “bubble butt”

The Blob mortality event

Blood houses on Mars

Ancient hangover cures

Sequencing the oldest human genome

Pacific sleeper shark

Deep-Sea Creep, Jupiter's New Ring, And Inter-Hominid Hook-Ups

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:50:48 -0400

This week on Break It Down: fishers discover a mysterious tablet bearing an unknown language, sequencing the oldest human genome reveals when we first bred with Neanderthals, Jupiter’s got a shiny new ring, a new predator captured in the darkest depths of the Atacama Trench, working out the rules to an ancient boardgame, and can donor organs transfer memories? Transplant patients report strange personality changes.

So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Mysterious tablet

Complaint tablet

Jupiter’s new ring

Sharks older than Saturn’s rings

Deep-sea predator

Ancient boardgame

Piggyback heart transplant

Donor organs and memory

Guitarfish

True crime

Cannibal Paddington, Glowing Wood, And A New Human Species?

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 06:26:48 -0400

This week on Break It Down: scientists may have discovered a new ancient relative of humans, collar cameras from Andean bears reveal Paddington may have a taste for cubs, we’ve been paying the salmon tax to dogs for 2,000 years more than thought, new biohybrid wood glows green in the dark, diamond batteries could last for thousands of years, and it turns out spaceports make for remarkably good wildlife sanctuaries.
So sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

New human species

Cannibalistic Paddington

Ancient dog friends

Glowing wood

Diamond battery

Spaceports and nature

True Crime: Harold Shipman

Genghis Khan

Frosty the orca

Wisdom the albatross has laid an egg

Killer Whale Fashion, Dinosaur Poop, And Pluto’s Birthday

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:20:53 -0400

This week on Break It Down: killer whales have been wearing salmon hats (again) and sucking out the livers of the world’s largest shark, 1.5-million-year-old footprints reveal Homo erectus co-existed with a now-extinct protohuman, fossil dinosaur poop and vomit indicate their rise to power began with plants, we have a date for when Pluto will complete its first orbit since we discovered the non-planet (don’t hold your breath), COVID-19 may hold the key to shrinking tumors, and we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Lucy's discovery, a moment that changed our understanding of human evolution.

So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down…

Links:

Killer whale fashion

Killer whales eating whale sharks

1.5-million-year-old footprints

Dinosaur poop and vomit

Pluto’s birthday

COVID-19 shrinking tumors

Lucy’s legacy

True crime: Colin Pitchfork