Increasing numbers of Americans are using marijuana. In some states, obtaining marijuana is as easy as walking into a store and picking out what catches the eye in a glass display case. But even as states move to legalize recreational and medical cannabis, it remains a taboo topic, even in doctors’ offices.
Now, a new study suggests that keeping marijuana use secret from medical professionals probably isn’t a good idea. A team of researchers in Colorado has found ...read more
Like the planet Tatooine from Star Wars, two suns — one bright, one dim and red— rise over the horizon of Kepler 47d. But unlike dry and sandy Tatooine, this planet's surface is gassy and indistinct. The system also holds two smaller planets; one planet closer to the double suns, and one farther out. Both lack a solid surface. If you visited in a spaceship, all the planets would be easy to spot because they're packed, along with their stars, into a space smaller t ...read more
Before NASA's Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn’s depths, it performed a final 2017 flyby of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. This remote world is the only place in the solar system other than Earth that hosts large bodies of standing liquid. Titan's liquid is methane and ethane instead of water. But these lakes and seas make the moon one of the most interesting places in our solar system. And researchers are just starting to learn how these bodies of liquid cha ...read more
Even though our ears get bigger as we age, our hearing tends to fade. This ironic problem is common and gets progressively worse the older we get. An estimated 25 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have disabling hearing loss. And losing hearing can mean having a hard time understanding what people are saying, which can lead to social isolation and depression.
Although the tendency to lose hearing in old age gets passed on from generation to generation, little is known abo ...read more
Turns out workplace wellness programs don't work so well. According to a large-scale study over 18 months — the first of its kind to study the issue — initiatives intended to help employees get healthier and more productive, and cost the boss less money, have decidedly lackluster results. Some employees did adopt better behaviors — or at least said they did. However, health outcomes and productivity did not change, and there was no benefit to the company's bottom line ...read more
The idea to launch billboards into space may have seemed like just another marketing gimmick. Back in January, Discover first reported on a Russian start-up company named StartRocket that said it wanted to use swarms of mini satellites called CubeSats to project ads on the night sky from low-Earth orbit. Readers reacted harshly to the announcement. Some called it “repulsive.” Others urged boycotts of any company that took them up on the offer.
But the beverage giant PepsiC ...read more
Ketamine is making headlines left and right, and for good reason. The drug, once popular as both an anesthetic and among party-goers, has recently gained traction as a treatment for depression. In fact, the FDA approved the first ketamine antidepressant just a few weeks ago. Despite its rise, ketamine still has some unresolved issues: its effects don’t last very long and the reasons behind why it works as an antidepressant are unclear. Now, a new paper in Science has revealed some of the m ...read more
The next generation of exoplanet hunting has arrived in the form of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet and Survey Satellite. TESS looks at closer and brighter stars than Kepler, the spacecraft that first turned the trickle of exoplanet discoveries into a deluge. While TESS, which launched last year, is just beginning its sky search, it’s already started discovering new planets. Astronomers say they've discovered an Earth-sized planet dubbed HD 21749 c that sits just 52 light- ...read more
