One of the great mysteries of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is the temporary smoothness of its hydrocarbon lakes in places, a state that sometimes last for days or weeks. Planetary geologists have come up with two potential explanations for this smoothness. The first is a lack of waves. Perhaps there just isn’t enough wind on Titan to drive waves across the entire surface of its lakes. And where there are no waves, the lakes are almost flat, varying in height by no more than a few millimet ...read more

Lots of prominent men in history excelled enough in their accomplishments that posterity has acknowledged them as “Great.” This obviously includes rulers such as Alexander the Great, Peter the Great, or lesser-known kings like Alfred and Darius. But even in modern times, non-royals who have risen to prominence in their fields have been known as Great Ones — just ask hockey legend Wayne Gretzky or classic TV funnyman Jackie Gleason.Meanwhile, it seems a shame that almost no famous or powerf ...read more

People around the world eat too much sugar. When the body is unable to process sugar effectively, leading to excess glucose in the blood, this can result in diabetes. According to the World Health Organization, diabetes became the ninth leading cause of death in 2019.Humans are not the only mammals that love sugar. Fruit bats do, too, eating up to twice their body weight in sugary fruit a day. However, unlike humans, fruit bats thrive on a sugar-rich diet. They can lower their blood sugar f ...read more

When your dog wakes you up several times a night to play “toss the stuffed toy,” you may wonder why he can’t sleep at night like everyone else in the family. Maybe he has a sleep disorder. But can non-human animals even have sleep disorders?A sleep disorder is probably not the reason your dog wants to play in the middle of the night, but yes, animals can have some of the common sleep disorders humans suffer from. Understanding sleep disorders in animals might help us treat sleep disorders ...read more

Underwater surfaces can get grimy as they accumulate dirt, algae and bacteria, a process scientists call “fouling.” But furry mammals like beavers and otters that spend most of their lives wet manage to avoid getting their fur slimy. These anti-fouling abilities come, in part, from one of fur’s unique properties — that each hair can bend and flex as an animal moves.[embedded content]Fouling on boats and machinery can be a big problem, and scientists are searching for ways to prevent it. ...read more

If gorillas strike you as intimidating, try to imagine a nearly 10-foot lookalike: that dizzying stat belongs to none other than Gigantopithecus blacki. Don’t worry about running into this colossus of an ape when you’re out and about; G. blacki went extinct long ago, but for years, researchers couldn’t decipher exactly when and why it disappeared. The only concrete traces it has left come in the form of 2000 fossilized teeth and four jawbones.But new evidence has finally answered these bur ...read more

Amid all the working parts of the human body, the respiratory system administers some of the most important functions that keep us alive. This ensemble of organs, which contains the mouth, nose, throat, and lungs, lets us breathe and talk, manages our body temperature, brings oxygen to other organs, and removes waste carbon dioxide. A plethora of diseases can target the respiratory system, disrupting our health in ways that limit those essential functions. Be on the watch for these respiratory ...read more

When a 6-mile-wide asteroid struck Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period some 66 million years ago, it wiped out the majority of living organisms. Many victims were instantly fried by fires or drowned in tsunamis. The rest, meanwhile, succumbed to hostile conditions and the gradual collapse of entire ecosystems. In the end, about three-quarters of all species were swept into oblivion.Yet many also survived and, eventually, repopulated the planet. Every living thing today is descended from th ...read more

In 2024, we commemorate a milestone in the field of paleontology: the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Megalosaurus. This landmark event marked the beginning of an era of wonder and exploration into the age of dinosaurs. It was a turning point in our understanding of the natural world, revealing the existence of creatures beyond our wildest imagination. The discovery of the Megalosaurus not only introduced us to these prehistoric giants but also paved the way for numerous subsequent di ...read more

You may notice more aches and pains in your joints as you age. Maybe it’s harder than it used to be to recover from a hard workout. Maybe you’ve noticed some cracking or clicking in your joints or tenderness in your hands and wrists. As we grow older, the wear and tear on our joints can start to take its toll on the body. While it’s common, it can be a painful sign of aging.What Is Arthritis?(Credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock)While there are many forms of arthritis, generally speaking, it� ...read more