IFLScience - Break It Down

This month, on Break It Down: The world’s largest coral colony has been discovered at the Great Barrier Reef, we’re all a little bit disappointed that asteroid 2024 YR 4 will whizz past the Moon instead of smacking it in the face, two extinct marsupials join the Lazarus taxa after being presumed extinct for 6,000 years, and we explore the possibilities cryopreserved brains could offer in the future. Intrigued? There's so much more… Watch a clip from Monarch Legacy of Monsters and work out if you’d survive. Learn about Mistral the whale shark’s mighty migration. Discover why scientists reckon our origin story might have started in Bulgaria. Listen to Dr Steve Boyes explain how his search for “ghost elephants” in Angola nearly took a blood-boiling turn. Marvel at Hugo, the first baby to be born in the UK with the help of a womb transplant from a deceased donor. And find out how Project Hail Mary author Andy Weir created an entire alien species. Plus, everything you can find in this month’s issue of CURIOUS, and what some struggling AI-designed robots have to say about the threat of an uprising. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: World’s largest coral: https://www.iflscience.com/a-football-pitch-sized-coral-colony-is-the-great-barrier-reef-and-probab… Asteroid misses the moon: https://www.iflscience.com/dangerous-asteroid-2024-yr4-wont-smash-into-the-moon-in-2032-after-all-8… Whale shark migration: https://www.iflscience.com/mistral-the-whale-sharks-epic-1200-kilometer-international-swim-is-the-f… Human ancestors: https://www.iflscience.com/the-oldest-human-ancestor-may-have-just-been-found-somewhere-very-unexpe… Rediscovered marsupials: https://www.iflscience.com/two-tiny-marsupials-thought-extinct-for-6000-years-discovered-alive-and-… Ghost elephants: https://www.iflscience.com/scientist-films-enormous-ghost-elephant-in-angolan-highlands-after-10-ye… Womb transplant baby: https://www.iflscience.com/miracle-baby-hugo-is-first-uk-baby-born-after-womb-transplant-from-decea… Andy Weir interview: https://www.iflscience.com/project-hail-mary-author-andy-weir-on-creating-erid-eridians-and-the-cur… We Have Questions Podcast: https://www.iflscience.com/iflscience-we-have-questions-could-a-human-brain-be-uploaded-after-death… Curious Magazine: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine AI Robots: https://www.iflscience.com/these-robots-evolved-in-an-ai-simulation-then-scientists-built-them-in-t…

This month on Break It Down: Why are there over 8 million pickled fish in some WWII-era bunkers in Louisiana? We ask Tulane University Biodiversity Research Institute director Brian Sidlauskas to spill the tea. The discovery of the world’s oldest clothes predates the previous record holder by 9,000 years. We speak to Professor Hannah Fry about all things AI, including why one chatbot encouraged the assassination of the Queen of England. Some cave coral shows off its flashy burglar alarm. Scientists explain why building an enormous underwater wall could be the best plan to save the “Doomsday Glacier”. The mystery of why some people experienced blood clots following a specific kind of COVID vaccine has finally been solved. Curiosity finds the second most compelling evidence of life on Mars yet. Why scientists created a 228-meter popsicle that delves 23 million years into the past by digging deep beneath Antarctica. Conservation success as it’s announced we’ve successfully saved the Bermuda snail from extinction. Meet the people taking bold new approaches to the biodiversity crisis in creating a “de-extinction toolkit” that can benefit some of Earth’s most threatened species. Plus, everything you can find in this month’s issue of CURIOUS, a teaser of a fascinating chat about games VS metrics with Professor C Thi Nguyen, and what do other worlds smell like? We sent our space editor to find out. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Pickled fish: https://www.iflscience.com/where-can-you-find-a-one-of-a-kind-pocket-shark-among-8-million-pickled-… Oldest clothes: https://www.iflscience.com/these-tiny-unremarkable-looking-scraps-of-elk-hide-may-be-oldest-sewn-cl… Prof Hannah Fry on AI: https://www.iflscience.com/in-2021-a-teenager-started-a-relationship-with-artificial-intelligence-t… Flashy cave coral: https://www.iflscience.com/funky-green-glowing-coral-is-the-first-report-of-bioluminescence-within-… Doomsday glacier’s underwater wall: https://www.iflscience.com/the-radical-plan-to-build-an-80-kilometer-wall-around-the-doomsday-glaci… COVID blood clots: https://www.iflscience.com/mystery-of-rare-blood-clots-after-covid-vaccines-finally-solved-after-ye… Life on Mars: https://www.iflscience.com/mudstone-molecules-might-be-second-best-proof-weve-found-that-mars-once-… Drilling beneath Antarctica: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-drilled-into-antarctic-ice-until-they-met-bedrock-then-got-a-… Snail saved from extinction: https://www.iflscience.com/we-can-prevent-extinction-snail-officially-saved-from-extinction-proving… The world’s first de-extinction lab: https://youtu.be/1kEeZRacCds?si=p1tsE4p66cbrKvLi CURIOUS magazine: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine What do other worlds smell like? https://www.iflscience.com/podcasts/we-have-questions

This week on Break It Down: How a transplant patient lived for two days without lungs, the Artemis II Orion Capsule is probably smaller than you’re thinking (but it does have a toilet), the world’s only venomous primate is also super adorable, why a pair of giant legs has scientists questioning everything we thought we knew about stegosaurus, a cosmic miracle has been confirmed, and why do humans love fire? We asked the experts. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Lung transplant Artemis II The Apollo 10 toilet debacle Venomous primates Mega-stegosaurus How did dinosaurs have sex? Cosmic miracle Why do humans love fire? CURIOUS magazine We Have Questions IFLScience YouTube – The future (additional) home of Break It Down

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: Environmental trigger for autism Trump and Tylenol 3I/ATLAS tail changed direction CKM syndrome Extinct humans no Denisovan DNA Mosquitos’ final frontier Wind phones CURIOUS The Vault YouTube The Big Questions - Why do people believe in the paranormal? Sign up with code NESSIE50 for 50% off* *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.

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?

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

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: Homo habilis Pachycephalosaur Asteroid Mystery larvae Human evolution Neanderthal noises We Have Questions The Big Questions Ned the snail

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

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

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 Bright orange shark Orange crocs Uranus’ new moon Shaman Training Cave Finding fossils We Have Questions Podcast Northern white rhinos Giraffes are now four species

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? We Have Questions

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 Why Are We The Only Surviving Human Species 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

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 Ancient enamel Moa de-extinction Moa foot Robot surgery Fashionable chimps The Scopes (Monkey) Trial The Big Questions We Have Questions Human origins Malayan tigers

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 Project Hail Memory We Have Questions CURIOUS magazine The Big Questions

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 Orcas allokelping World’s oldest rocks Mice with two dads Brand new blood type Can we make blood? 50 years of ESA Brain uploads Bonus episode of We Have Questions Dolphins help a lost whale

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 Dancing dinos Hybrid child Denisovan skull HIV vaccine JAWS 50 Years On Papahānaumokuākea marine conservation Ghost Elephant The Big Questions is back!

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

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

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

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 The Big Questions Archaeopteryx could fly Leo’s long lost “relatives” Walking With Dinosaurs Spinosaurus: great dad? Where is life most likely to be in the Solar System? Antarctic ozone hole We Have Questions 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.

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 Glow-in-the-dark gas cloud 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 *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.

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?

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 The Big Questions We Have Questions *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.

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 Drilling the great blue hole Don’t offer cola to isolated tribes Why no frozen dinosaurs? How fast to fossil Fossil octopus CURIOUS magazine 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.

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 CURIOUS magazine

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: Unknown lifeform Living to 117 Sauropod footprints Sauropod handstands De-extinction Titanium heart Spacewalks and deep ocean Cougar photo We Have Questions Blood Rain

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 Elephant pluripotent stem cells Vaccine for baby elephants 3D-printed penis Ozone hole recovering Attack on science response Bone tool use 4 worst insect stings Blob-headed fish CURIOUS magazine

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: Brain glass Brain in a bucket Measles death Rat sommeliers Hamsters quaffing wine Dinosaur feathers AI language Twin telepathy Mars internet CURIOUS Polar bear dens More podcasts! Bobbly giraffe

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 Moon internet Breaking habits Intelligent snake We Have Questions Murderous turtles Chia egg

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: Dolphin pee Asteroid 2024 YR4 Ancient mummy smell Whale song Blue whale whispers Red light therapy Kama muta We Have Questions Vengeful Valentine’s

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: 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

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

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

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? We Have Questions Subscribe Skrunkly crab Sunfish popcorn larva

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: 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

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?

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 We Have Questions Sign up to receive CURIOUS The Big Questions Pacific sleeper shark

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 Sequencing the oldest human genome Jupiter’s new ring Sharks older than Saturn’s rings Deep-sea predator Ancient boardgame The Big Questions Donor organs and memory Piggyback heart transplant Guitarfish True crime We Have Questions Subscribe

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 Sign up to CURIOUS Glowing wood Diamond battery Spaceports and nature The Big Questions Genghis Khan Frosty the orca True Crime: Harold Shipman Wisdom the albatross has laid an egg

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 Subscribe CURIOUS magazine

This week on Break It Down, astronomers have taken the first-ever close-up photo of a star outside of the Milky Way, putting weight back on after losing it could be down to your fat cells' “memories”, the mystery surrounding the Earth’s inner core “freezing”, footage shows a “giant” virus infecting a cell for the first time, the world’s thinnest spaghetto is 200 times narrower than a hair, and meet Dadu, a shark-hunting dog who survived alone on a remote island for nearly a year, and then became beloved. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Star outside the Milky Way Fat cell “memories” Earth’s inner core Giant virus Thinnest spaghetti Shark-hunting dog Dog shoving children in the Seine Shipwreck whiskey Largest coral True Crime In Science Subscribe to the newsletter

This week on Break It Down: turns out the one time we saw Uranus it was having an uncharacteristically windy moment, new meanings behind the Amazon’s most incredible rock art, the world’s largest coral found lurking off the Solomon Islands, a ~35,000-year-old saber-toothed baby comes complete with fur, whiskers, and toe beans, and amber found in Antarctica for the first time ever. Plus, can we phase out animal testing? Science is trying. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Uranus was having a bad day Amazon rock art World’s largest coral Saber-toothed cub Antarctic amber Animal testing Disco worm Fire and ice UAP hearing We Have Questions How Many Geese

This week in Break It Down: clues inside Pompeii victims' casts reveal they're not who we thought they were, the frogs of Chernobyl are doing just fine, cat physics and a crime of authorship, the North Atlantic is getting saltier and saltier, good news for double jabs, and a DNA scientist who picked up the research that would solve her own murder. So sit back, relax, and let's Break It Down... Links: Pompeii Victims Chernobyl Frogs ⁠Cat Physics Salty Atlantic Double Jab 1985 Murder We Have Questions How Many Geese Bats On Treadmills Oldest Text Tsunami: Race Against Time

This week on Break It Down: a quantum cat experiment breaks a record for surviving over 23 minutes, Voyager 1 encountered a glitch but fixed itself with some old school tech, fossils from the Ordovician are a glittering new species, animals are getting drunk more than we thought, though we’re not quite sure why, kyawthuite is the rarest gemstone of them all, and we wish happy birthday to a giant, city-destroying lizard who has much more cultural impact than meets the eye. Links: Quantum Cat Experiment Voyager Phoned Home Fool’s Gold Fossils Drunk Animals Rarest Gemstone Ruby Seed Jade Toughest Natural Mineral Godzilla At 70 Annie Jacobson Curious Live Interview Spooky Season Content Polar Bear Week How Is Climate Change Affecting Polar Bears? Rats Wearing Vests

This week on Break It Down: the discovery of the smallest-ever dinosaur eggs reveals teeny tiny bones, first black hole triple is changing our understanding of giant star death, the longest venomous snake is now four separate species, a rare bit of positive carbon capture news, how a new overdose implant can save lives, and why do people believe in ghosts? We asked an expert. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Smallest known dinosaur eggs Black hole triple How many times could the Earth fit in the Sun? King cobra x 4 Positive carbon capture news Overdose implant Why do people believe in ghosts? Can Fear Be Fun? CURIOUS October issue Prof. Chris French interview Spooky Season trailer We Have Questions: What’s It Like Working In A Human Tissue Bank The Big Questions: Are Octopuses Sentient? Ricky The Bear

This week on Break It Down: the Sun has entered its solar maximum bringing new auroras and geomagnetic storms, a chance find of a thylacine head in a jar could be the next step in the de-extinction of the species, microplastics have been discovered in the breath of wild dolphins for the first time, why Neanderthals never improved their spear-throwing, how high-potency THC could leave markers on your DNA, and does the page you’re reading this on look blurry? We explore what astigmatism is. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Solar Maximum Thylacine Genome Microplastics In Dolphin Breath High-THC Cannabis And DNA Neanderthals Can't Throw Astigmatism Are Octopuses Sentient?

This week on Break It Down: two comb jellies become one, how Hurricane Milton grew so intense, superpowered scans reveal COVID’s impact on the brain, a humanlike robot’s jokes fail to impress his friend, Lucy the Australopithecine might have used tools 3.2 million years ago, and Mozambique’s elephants offer modern-day proof of evolution. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: Comb jellies Hurricane Milton NASA animation NOAA Hurricane Hunters Florida coastline after Milton COVID-19 and the brainstem Robot conversation Lucy’s hands Elephant evolution The Big Questions: What Would A Human On Mars Look Like? Dino Footprints

This week on Break It Down: resurrecting Cold War spy planes to explore radioactive storms, the most detailed brain wiring diagram we've ever seen, mystery “skyquake” sounds have the world perplexed, plus grinning dolphins, glow-in-the-dark gemstones, and can you really feel when you’re being watched? So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Radioactive storms "Google Maps" for the brain Mysterious "skyquakes" Smiley dolphins Glow-in-the-dark crystal Lab-grown ruby Are you being watched? The Big Questions: What Would A Human On Mars Look Like? The Science Of Whisky Solar Systems interview Fat Bear Week 2024

This week on Break It Down: the major African civilization the world forgot, the world’s oldest cheese gets found on mummies, blasting asteroids with X-rays, a fish that’s basically got tongues for legs, the resurrection of a biblical seed, and why no one can decide how fast the universe is expanding. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… Links: African civilization: https://www.iflscience.com/five-thousand-years-ago-africa-had-a-major-civilization-we-forgot-76094 World’s oldest cheese: https://www.iflscience.com/the-worlds-oldest-cheese-has-been-found-rubbed-on-a-bunch-of-mummies-76096 Blasting asteroids: https://www.iflscience.com/the-latest-idea-for-deflecting-threatening-asteroids-x-ray-pulses-76077 Tongue-legged fish: https://www.iflscience.com/this-winged-fish-uses-strange-tongue-like-legs-to-taste-the-seafloor-yes-really-76120 Biblical seeds: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-revive-1000-year-old-biblical-tree-from-seed-found-in-a-judean-cave-76095 Hubble tension: https://www.iflscience.com/hubble-tension-solved-astronomers-race-to-save-standard-model-of-cosmology-74306 IFLScience YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IFLScienceOfficial IFLScience Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iflscience