Troy Oakes

Birds of Prey Suppressed by Lead Poisoning From Gun Ammunition

A new study uses data on lead levels in the livers of thousands of dead birds of prey to calculate the impact of lead poisoning on population size. Poisoning caused by preying on or scavenging animals shot by hunters using lead ammunition has left the populations of many birds of prey far smaller than they ...

Troy Oakes

Red kite on the attack.

Mathematical Paradox Demonstrates the Limits of AI

Humans are usually pretty good at recognizing when they get things wrong, but artificial intelligence systems are not. According to a new study, AI generally suffers from inherent limitations due to a century-old mathematical paradox. Like some people, these systems often have a degree of confidence that far exceeds their actual abilities. And like an ...

Troy Oakes

Hand holding mobile a phone.

The Mysterious ‘Chase Vault,’ the Crypt Where Coffins Refused to Stay Put

On the island of Barbados sits the quaint Christ Church Parish. It’s much like any other church, complete with a quiet graveyard, the final resting place for many of the island’s inhabitants. However, not all of its residents are at rest; one tomb called the “Chase Vault” is anything but at rest. The Chase Vault has ...

Troy Oakes

Stone crosses marking graves.

A Story of Tragedy: What Some Soldiers Face When Returning Home

This is a story of one of the soldiers who came home to find things are just not the same as they use to be. We often find it easy to love people who look good. However, we also often don’t like people who can be an inconvenience to us. The real war for soldiers begins when ...

Troy Oakes

Soldier sitting with hands clasped. together sitting on sofa.

Kepler-1647b: The Largest ‘Tatooine’ Planet With 2 Suns Discovered

Using the Kepler Space Telescope, a team of astronomers from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and San Diego State University (SDSU) were able to identify the new planet Kepler-1647b. Planets that orbit two stars are called circumbinary planets; however, some call them “Tatooine” planets, after Luke Skywalker’s homeland in Star Wars. To discover planets, astronomers look ...

Troy Oakes

Kepler-1647b.

Revealing the Truth Behind Depression and Chemical Imbalance

Through no fault of their own, there are many uninformed individuals when it comes to what’s happening within the modern-day medical industry. It’s an unfortunate fact that medical science has been overwhelmed with scientific fraud and has fallen under pharmaceutical company influence. When we hear the words “big pharma,” we instantly think of conspiracy theorists. ...

Troy Oakes

Young Asian woman looking thoughtful or sad as she stares out a window.

Mystery Behind the Suicide Forest

There are places on Earth that just seem so cursed that its evil just creeps into your mind — this is one of those places. Resting in the shadow of Mount Fuji lies a forest cloaked by death, known as the suicide forest, making it the world’s second most popular suicide location. At the base of ...

Troy Oakes

A rocky slope with moss covered rocks and tree limbs in a forest with trees growing close together.

The Antikythera Mechanism Gives Up More of Its Secrets

The Antikythera Mechanism has fascinated and puzzled researchers for over a century. Now, an international team of scientists has announced that they’ve finally deciphered more secrets from the world-famous machine. Discovered in a shipwreck on the floor of the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece in 1901, the Antikythera Mechanism is an intricate high-tech relic from ...

Troy Oakes

Corroded Antikythera Mechanism.

Aerosols Found to Strengthen Storms

Having a large quantity of aerosol particles in the atmosphere may increase the duration of large storm clouds by delaying rainfall, giving the clouds time to grow larger and live longer. Aerosols will produce more extreme storms when the rain finally falls. The research from the University of Texas at Austin, which was published in ...

Troy Oakes

Dramatic-looking storm clouds with rain and lightning.

Hubble Observes a Not-so-Close Encounter

The twin galaxies NGC 4496A and NGC 4496B dominate the frame in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Both galaxies lie in the constellation Virgo, but despite appearing side-by-side in this image they are at vastly different distances from both Earth and one another. NGC 4496A is 47 million light-years from Earth while ...

Troy Oakes

Hubble Space Telescope.