Beluga whales are the only whales, other than narwhals, a closely related species, that live exclusively in arctic and subarctic waters. Like many other arctic animals, belugas are white. In fact, the word ‘beluga’ comes from ‘bielo,’ the Russian word for white. But belugas aren’t born white, notes Ragen Davey, Alaska marine representative for the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife. Calves are dark gray and gradually get lighter as they age, becoming totally white upon reaching ...read more
We do all sorts of things to look and feel younger. We exercise, meditate, obsess over our sleep, get Botox, color our hair, and the list goes on and on. But perhaps the most important aspect of our anti-aging ritual is diet. Diet is the best tool for taking care of ourselves, three meals a day, everyday. And for those times when you don’t get what they need, supplements can help.Important Foods to Eat as We AgeFiber is increasingly important as we age, and a staggering 95 percent of Americans ...read more
If superflares are akin to celestial temper tantrums, then our Sun might get angry more often than previously thought, according to a report in the journal Science. A superflare, defined as a solar storm that releases over one octillion joules of energy within a short time, manifests itself in data as a short, pronounced peak in brightness. Understanding superflares’ regularity can be useful, because they can be potentially damaging. For example, a violent solar storm in 1859 knocked out the t ...read more
Scientists have spent years assembling evidence to fill out the intricate Neanderthal timeline from emergence to extinction, and the latest update has cemented a date for Neanderthal interbreeding with humans. A new pair of studies published in the journal Science sheds light on the duration of gene flow between Neanderthals and humans, confirming that it lasted from approximately 50,500 years to 43,500 years ago. The two collaborative studies — involving a team of researchers from University ...read more
When studying the outer planets of our solar system, there’s no solid ground. Literally. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all lack solid surfaces, and are actually composed of clouds of swirling gases, all with their own seasons and storms. Since 2014, the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program has observed these planets to track their strange systems of weather. The observations have shown that there are all sorts of curiosities within the planets’ churning clouds, from t ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine