(Credit: National Institute for Basic Biology)
Researchers have peered into the genome of pitcher plants to see how they developed their carnivorous appetite.
Genes that once helped to regulate stress responses may have been co-opted to assist with capturing and digesting insects and other creatures. Looking at several different species an international team of researchers led by Mitsuyasu Hasebe says the same genomic regions were all altered in the same way at different times, ...read more
A Hubble composite image shows a ring of ‘dark matter’ in the galaxy cluster Cl 0024+17. Courtesy NASA, ESA, M.J. Jee and H. Ford. (Credit: Johns Hopkins University)
According to mainstream researchers, the vast majority of the matter in the Universe is invisible: it consists of dark-matter particles that do not interact with radiation and cannot be seen through any telescope. The case for dark matter is regarded as so overwhelming that its existence is often reported as fact. Late ...read more
The Search for Nefertiti
Nefertiti may be the most famous missing woman in the world. Her story has all the elements of a good mystery: a beautiful woman, a missing body, political intrigue and a decades-long debate over her fate.
We know that she existed, thanks to hieroglyphic writings that indicate she was a queen and mother of six during Egypt’s 18th dynasty, around 1300 B.C. And we have an idea of what she might have looked like from the Berlin Bust, an iconic piece by the sculptor Th ...read more
The science and politics of saving America’s bees gets messy. And the bees continue to die.
Despite all the years, and all the troubles, Darren Cox still likes to put on his bee suit. A big, block-shaped man in his 50s, Cox sports a bowlish blond haircut and serious demeanor. But when he slips into his protective gear, his netted hat in hand, he offers a rare smile. “Time to get out there,” he says. It’s a summer day in Cache Valley, an agricultural center set among ...read more
Marie Curie. Rosalind Franklin. Ada Lovelace. Before these wonder women of modern science could make their marks, another group of females would leave their own scientific legacies in great, ancient civilizations.
2700 B.C.: Merit Ptah The Egyptian physician was the first woman in medicine, and perhaps all of science, mentioned by name in texts. Her son, a high priest, called her “the chief physician,” and her portrait appears in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. 2300 B.C.: Enh ...read more
Experts continue to quarrel over the stances' supposed benefits.
In 2010, researchers Amy Cuddy, Dana Carney and Andy Yap reported that people who adopted expansive postures — so-called “power poses,” like putting your hands on your hips — had higher levels of the “macho” hormone testosterone and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and were more likely to take risks than those who struck more timid poses, such as crossing your arms. People soon st ...read more
A middle-aged man puts his life on the line to diagnose a mysterious bleeding condition.
By the time he landed in our emergency department, Albert was having, by his own account, his 11th episode of gastrointestinal bleeding. He’d developed crampy abdominal pain and passed a large volume of bright-red blood. He felt weak and lightheaded, and on more than one occasion he fainted. Albert, who was in his late 50s, had been to several hospitals and clinics in the area. A slew of internist ...read more
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The full text of this article is available to Discover Magazine subscribers only.
Subscribe and get 10 issues packed with:
The latest news, theories and developments in the world of science
Compelling stories and breakthroughs in health, medicine and the mind
Environmental issues and their relevance to daily life
Cutting-edge technology and its impact on our future
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