On Earth, you can look up at night and see the Moon shining bright from hundreds of thousands of miles away. But if you went to Venus, that wouldn’t be the case. Not every planet has a moon – so why do some planets have several moons, while others have none?I’m a physics instructor who has followed the current theories that describe why some planets have moons and some don’t.First, a moon is called a natural satellite. Astronomers refer to satellites as objects in space that orbit larger ...read more

Earlier this year, the Earth was hit by the most intense geomagnetic storms in twenty years. The most obvious consequences of the storm were the beautiful displays of aurora in the northern and southern hemispheres at unusual latitudes. In the following days, the internet was ablaze with these images.But the storm also had more insidious consequences for the world’s rapidly growing population of satellites. Physicists have long known that these storms can fry circuits, interrupt communication ...read more

In the relentless pursuit of a slimmer figure, quick-fix weight loss solutions like "Oat-Zempic" are gaining popularity, especially on social media platforms like TikTok. Promising speedy results, concoctions like Oat-Zempic, made with oats, water, and lime juice, appeal to those eager for swift changes.However, the allure of rapid weight loss is often overshadowed by significant health risks and oftentimes misleading claims. Here’s why recipes like Oat-Zempic should also be taken with a grain ...read more

As the weather warms, people spend more time outdoors, going to barbecues, beaches and ballgames. But summer isn’t just the season of baseball and outdoor festivals – it’s also lightning season.Each year in the United States, lightning strikes around 37 million times. It kills 21 people a year in the U.S. on average.For as often as lightning occurs – there are only a few days each year nationwide without lightning– there are still a lot of misunderstandings about nature’s largest spa ...read more

In the coming decade, more people will go to space than ever before as human spaceflight enters a new era. NASA, the European Space Agency and other governmental agencies are partnering to develop crewed missions beyond the Moon. At the same time, these agencies are collaborating with private companies using new technologies to drive down the price of space exploration.Companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Sierra Space have developed vehicles with reusable boosters, automated flight systems ...read more

Does your sleep position mimic a prehistoric predator? You might have heard the term "T-Rex arm sleeping" thrown around in discussions about quirky sleep habits. And, no, it does not involve suddenly morphing into a dinosaurian hybrid during slumber. Rather, T-Rex or dinosaur sleeping is simply the colloquial term for the way some people position their arms while they sleep, curling them inward close to the chest. This is superficially similar to how, you guessed it, a T-Rex would have positione ...read more

There are a dizzying number of tips, hacks and recommendations on how to stay healthy, from dietary supplements to what color of clothes promotes optimal wellness. Some of these tips are helpful and based on good evidence, while others are not.However, one of the easiest, most effective and safest ways to stay healthy is rarely mentioned: vaccination.We are a preventive medicine physician and an immunologist who want people to live the healthiest lives possible. Among the many research-backed wa ...read more

The ancestors of Alaska Native people began using local copper sources to craft intricate tools roughly 1,000 years ago. Over one-third of all copper objects archaeologists have found in this region were excavated at a single spot, named the Gulkana Site.This is the site I’ve studied for the past four years as a Ph.D. student at Purdue University. In spite of its importance, the Gulkana Site is not well known.To my knowledge, it isn’t mentioned in any museums. Locals, including Alaska Native ...read more

Despite an ongoing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows, the popularity of raw milk has only risen. Advocates claim raw milk has superior health benefits over pasteurized milk. There is little evidence to support these claims, however, and the risk of serious illness is much greater.Mississippi State University food scientists Juan Silva and Joel Komakech and nutritionist Mandy Conrad explain the difference between pasteurized and raw milk, addressing common misconceptions about the health risks a ...read more

Crocodiles have been around for a long time and lived all over the world. A fossil representing a new species of crocodile-like ancestor is the first small predatory reptile of its kind to be found in Brazil and is described in a Scientific Reports paper.The fossil, which dates back about 237 million years, predates the rise of the dinosaurs, reinforces the wide geographical distribution of crocodile-like reptiles called pseudosuchians, and represents an evolutionary link to the modern crocodile ...read more