Giant panda bears evolved away from other bear species about 20 million years ago. Though they have similar characteristics, like body shape and digestive system, they greatly differ in preferred diets. Most bear species will happily feast on meat, fish, and berries, while pandas tend to stick to bamboo. A new study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science points out that pandas have evolved in specific ways to make eating bamboo easier, including a pseudo thumb for holding bamboo and flatt ...read more
One would think that astronauts’ living quarters in space need to be perfectly sterilized, but it turns out that creating a "dirtier" environment with more microbes from Earth may boost their health. New research has shown that the International Space Station (ISS) is overly sterile, and while this may not sound like an issue, it carries some surprising consequences; the sterile nature of the station has led to a low diversity of microbes, which could be what is causing astronauts to develop h ...read more
Eggshells found in Utah fill a 30-million-year fossil record gap and provide a snapshot of a time when dinosaurs were migrating from Asia to North America via a land bridge, according to a paper in PLOS ONE.The fossils include eggshells from three feathered bird-like dinosaurs, two plant-eating dinosaurs, and one crocodile-like species. It is also the first new dinosaur eggshell discovery from the region in 50 years, as well as the first evidence of a crocodilian species outside of Europe.The co ...read more
You may think of Vikings as warriors raiding and ransacking Medieval European villages. But this image of Viking hordes embarking on sea voyages with the sole purpose of pillaging is changing with new discoveries that reveal extensive trade networks spanning Europe and beyond.Experts are revealing entirely different relationships built on the exchange of a wide variety of goods from far away places for Viking society.Archaeological evidence reveals that materially, the Viking world was like that ...read more
Intense heat generated by Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption turned one victim’s brain to glass. While gruesome, the finding published in the journal Scientific Reports, lends insight into the chaotic events that fatal day in A.D. 79.Although the eruption was a singular event, it killed people in multiple manners. Many Pompeii people suffocated from breathing in toxic fumes from a cloud of gas and ashes. Some may have been crushed by falling objects during an earthquake that may have preceded the event. ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine