After 40 Years, These Voyager Instruments Are Still Talking to NASA

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

This artist's concept shows Voyager 1 entering the interstellar medium. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) 1. High-Gain AntennaSHUTDOWN DATE: Still activePURPOSE: CommunicationsKEY FINDING: This is the craft’s main contact point with Earth. It once sent back the robust data from the craft; today, it sends out basic information from the low-power instruments still online.2. Magnetometers and Low-Field MagnetometerSHUTDOWN DATE: Still activePURPOSE: Measure the magnetic fields of the Sun and the ...read more

Why Do Bird Eggs Come in Different Colors?

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

(Credit: Kraulis/Shutterstock) From baby blue to black-speckled beige, bird eggs are as varied as the species that lay them. Why bird eggs come in so many colors is still something of a mystery, but new research identifies a reason for a common trend among birds, especially those up north: their dark-colored eggs. Previous research on tropical birds has shown that darker hues help guard against predation — they are harder for hungry neighbors to see. Deep pigments in eggshells also c ...read more

Discover Has a New Website Coming Soon

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Satisfying everyday curiosity. That’s what we’re about. And it’s why Discover is bringing you an entirely new website. In the coming weeks, we will be refreshing the look and experience on Discovermagazine.com. We’ll still have all the great science stories you love, with smart writing and relevant, engaging information. But it will be framed with a sleek, more modern design that we hope you’ll like as much as we do. We will have a faster and easier-to-navigate site ...read more

What would a truly modern human look like?

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

A recurring theme in evolutionary psychology is that humans did not evolve to live in the modern world. Homo sapiens emerged in the harsh conditions of small hunter-gatherer societies of the Pleistocene era. Then, in just a few thousand years, we found ourselves in a very different world of big cities, fast food and all the rest. This change happened so suddenly that evolution had no time to adapt us to the new world. As one early evolutionary psychology text put it, “Few fear motor car ...read more

This Swarm of Search and Rescue Drones Can Explore Without Human Help

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Each bot in the swarm weighs in at just over an ounce. Credit: TU Delft / MAVLab In 2008, a fire ripped through the architectural building at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. Firefighters got the burn under control, but afterward, the school wanted to know if any furniture was salvageable. So Guido de Croon, an associate professor of aerospace engineering, flew a drone around the building to survey the damage. But he didn’t want to get too close; de Croon ...read more