Italy

Environment

The "moving borders" phenomenon changing the shape of countries

When the Swiss and Italian governments got together to redraw the alpine border that divides the two countries last year, due to rapidly retreating glaciers, it put into stark focus a challenge that is expected to face many nations that have natural structures that mark territories.

Two recently discovered skeletons in Pompeii tell a new tragic story

Archaeology

Unlucky new Pompeii skeletons met a different fate

Pompeii is famous for its uniquely pristine preservation of the daily lives of its residents 2,000 years ago. While most residents were quickly buried under volcanic ash, two newly discovered skeletons reveal unlucky people who suffered a different fate.

Researchers have developed potential new alternative mosquito repellents

Science

New mosquito repellents keep bugs at bay for over 8 hours

Mosquito repellent is a key weapon to keep those biting bugs at bay, but it can be frustratingly fickle. Now researchers in Italy have developed new formulations that they say can last as long as eight hours, are odorless and boast other advantages.

Big John is the largest Triceratops specimen ever discovered

Science

World's biggest Triceratops skeleton goes up for auction

Your chance to own one of the most iconic dinosaurs is about to come up – provided you have a spare few million and an empty ballroom on hand. The largest known specimen of Triceratops, nicknamed “Big John,” will go up for auction in October.

The giant nylon balloon of the Borexino neutrino detector in Italy measures around 30 ft (9 m) in diameter

Physics

Neutrino detector finds new type of "ghost particle" from the Sun

Borexino, a huge underground particle detector in Italy, has picked up a never-before-seen type of neutrino coming from the Sun. These neutrinos confirm a 90-year-old hypothesis and complete our picture of the fusion cycle of the Sun and other stars.

Scientists hope to use wastewater sampling as a way of monitoring the spread of coronavirus

Infectious Diseases

Coronavirus evident in Italy's sewage months before its first case

Scientists in Italy have uncovered evidence of the coronavirus appearing in sewage months before the country confirmed its first cases, a finding that may help them understand the origins of the virus and how it spread throughout the country.

Monitoring by an ESA satellite has revealed a drop in nitrogen dioxide emissions over Italy following the coronavirus lockdown

Infectious Diseases

Coronavirus lockdown leads to decline in air pollution over Italy

As it did in China, a lockdown in response to the coronavirus in Italy has led to a drop in air pollution over the country, in particular nitrogen dioxide, which scientists say is due to less traffic and industrial activity.

The researchers say that the stone was deliberately placed in the child's mouth between death and burial, a practice long thought to prevent zombies or vampires from rising and spreading disease

Science

Roman "vampire burial" tells tale of ancient undead fears

To us vampires are the stuff of movies, but for many ancient cultures the undead were seen as a very real threat. Now archaeologists excavating a children’s cemetery in Italy have uncovered the skeleton of a child with a large stone jammed into its mouth, to prevent the body returning from the dead.