Viral X post sparks debate over simple arithmetic; correct answer hinges on order of operations
A single-line equation posted to X divided users; mathematics conventions on multiplication, division and left-to-right evaluation determine the result
Science & Space News
Scientists explain why monkeys and apes still exist if humans evolved from primates
Researchers say humans and modern monkeys occupy separate branches of the same evolutionary tree; differing ecological pressures, not a ladder of progress, explain divergent outcomes.
Finnish scientists use cooking oil and peroxide to recover silver from electronic waste
Researchers report a low‑toxicity, selective method that dissolves silver from circuit boards using vegetable oils and hydrogen peroxide and yields elemental silver with simple solvents
Silver-washed Fritillary recorded in North East for first time since 1850
Single male butterfly sighting at Havannah and Three Hills Nature Reserve highlights range return amid conservation and warming trends
Marfa’s ‘Ghost Lights’ remain unexplained decades after first recorded sighting
Mysterious glowing orbs over Mitchell Flat in far West Texas have drawn tourists, scientists and decades of competing theories but no definitive explanation
Geologist Renewed Claims That Great Sphinx May Precede Dynastic Egypt by Millennia
Yale-trained Robert Schoch argues erosion patterns on the Giza monument point to heavy precipitation and a possible age far older than the conventional c. 2500 BCE dating; mainstream Egyptologists dispute the interpretation.
British pilot named alternate for yearlong Mars habitat simulation at NASA
Laura Marie will train as one of two alternates for NASA's second CHAPEA mission, spending 378 days inside the Mars Dune Alpha habitat if needed
Milwaukee County Zoo uses front-end loader to upright fallen geriatric elephant
Ruth, a 43-year-old African savanna elephant, recovered after slipping during a tussle and is being closely monitored by veterinary staff
A pinch of baking soda can halve the time it takes to brown onions, scientists say
Food chemists explain that raising pH accelerates the Maillard reaction but can also weaken onion structure; a separate study finds a sharp, slow cut reduces tearing.