Once enough humans have their genomes sequenced, we can end inherited disease — if we all play along. ...read more

Today is Citizen Science Day (#CitSciDay2019), and our featured event is the Stall Catchers #Megathon, an online game you can play from anywhere (with internet access) to help Cornell scientists better understand how stalled blood flow contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. We had our “catching hour” on Stall Catchers from 2 PM to 3 PM ET today. But because of technical difficulties, we’re extending the fun. If you didn’t get a chance to play Stall Catchers ...read more

Fire, as we know, need three things: a source of heat, fuel or something to burn, and oxygen. Apollo lunar missions had all three in spades. There was plenty of electricity running through the spacecraft, lots of material that could be fuel, and a 100 percent oxygen atmosphere under pressure. So why exactly did NASA design a spacecraft that was an explosion waiting to happen? (This is a question I get *a lot* so I hope this gives a full answer!) [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvA7N ...read more

The brain became a celebrity this week when Ariana Grande shared the results of a scan of her brain seemingly showing signs of severe PTSD: Is there any science behind this? Not really. The source of the scan isn't clear but I'm 99% sure that the image was taken at one of Dr Daniel Amen's controversial clinics. Amen uses similar graphics in his brain scans. If it is an Amen scan, then the 'blobs' seen on Grande's brain represent areas of increased or decreased cerebral blood flow (C ...read more

This Monday the 123rd annual Boston Marathon will take place, with an expected 30,000 participants and a half million spectators. The top finishers should complete the grueling 26.2-mile course in just over 2 hours by clocking a pace of under five minutes per mile. I know. It’s painful to imagine. Most of us couldn't maintain that speed for one mile — forget 26 of them. But take heart, recreational runners of the world. Your endurance abilities are actually extraordinary, when ...read more

Tomorrow is Citizen Science Day (#CitSciDay2019) and there are many ways to celebrate. Add or find an event near you or access lots of free resources, including downloadable bookmarks, posters and more, on the Citizen Science Day page. The signature project this year is the Stall Catchers Megathon, an online game you can play from anywhere (with internet access) to help Cornell scientists better understand how stalled bloood flow contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. By reducing s ...read more

After a successful launch that delivered the Arabsat-6A satellite into its planned orbit, SpaceX also succeeded in landing all three of the boosters for their Falcon Heavy rocket — a first for the private space company. On a previous test flight, SpaceX landed and recovered only the side boosters. The launch was also Falcon Heavy's first commercial endeavor. [embed]https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1116553298176118784[/embed] Three for three After multiple delays throughout early Apr ...read more

[This is a sneak preview of our June issue. Subscribe here to get access to many more great stories from Discover] Shiny and sharp, obsidian is enjoying a bit of a pop culture moment. It plays a central role in HBO’s hit fantasy series Game of Thrones, now wrapping its final season. Called dragonglass on the show, obsidian is one of only two substances that can cut down White Walkers, malevolent otherworldly warriors. In the real world, the volcanic glass reveals the human story in a w ...read more

Israel's Beresheet spacecraft, which was set to land on the moon yesterday, suffered an engine and communications failure, causing it to crash into the lunar surface. Details are still emerging about what exactly went wrong. SpaceIL and the Israeli Aerospace Agency (IAI), who built and operated Beresheet, have released a few specifics about the spacecraft's last moments. The trouble began when the lander was just 8.7 miles above the lunar surface, and was caused by a vague "techn ...read more

If you’ve been following climate news, you’ve probably heard about an approaching “tipping point” toward climate change — the point of no return after enough small changes brought us to certain disaster. But what if the opposite were just as likely? One group of researchers thinks that a few small, positive changes could “tip” us back in the right direction. They’re calling them “sensitive intervention points,” ...read more