Catching A Whiff Of T. Rex’s Sense Of Smell

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Did Sue the T. rex and other members of the species have a great sense of smell? (Credit: The Field Museum) As fascinating and awe-inspiring as fossils are, the ancient bones tell us only so much about how an animal actually lived. Take T. rex, for example: How did the animal find food, through sharp sight, great hearing or a keen sense of smell? The nose knows, say authors of a new paper on the iconic dinosaur's olfactory ability. In most modern animals, including birds, the size ...read more

Humans’ Ability to Hear Harmonic Sounds Might Set Us Apart

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

(Credit: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock) The pursuit of science is usually an unending stream of embarrassments for the human ego. No, the sun doesn’t revolve around us. No, we’re not all that different from common animals. No, we’re not even the only humans. But, in some ways at least, our brains really are special. A new study out this week in Nature Neuroscience shows one more way we really are different from some of our closest simian relatives: our mental capac ...read more

Not Eating Enough Fruits and Veggies Could Kill Millions Every Year

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

(Credit: Alexander Raths/Shutterstock) An apple a day may not keep the doctor away, but several could do the trick. Millions of cardiovascular deaths around the world may be linked to a lack of fruit and vegetable consumption, according to preliminary results from a Tufts University study. Vitamins and minerals like potassium, fiber and magnesium and antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. And a large body of knowledge already suggests t ...read more

Global Astronomy Groups Say They’re Concerned About SpaceX’s Starlink Satellites

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Telescopes at Lowell Observatory in Arizona captured this image of galaxies on May 25, their images marred by the reflected light from more than 25 Starlink satellites as they passed overhead. (Credit: Victoria Girgis/Lowell Observatory) Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched 60 small satellites on May 23 as the beginning of the company's Starlink program. They're the vanguard of a planned 12,000-satellite-strong constellation that Musk intends to serve as the infrastructure for a cheap gl ...read more

There’s An Enormous, Mysterious Mass Under the Moon’s Largest Crater

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

The South Pole-Aitken basin shows up clearly as low-lying blue in a topographical map of the moon, with the newly discovered mass located underneath the dotted line. (Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Arizona) Buried under the largest, oldest crater on the moon, scientists have discovered an enormous mass of dense material, possibly the remains of the asteroid that formed the crater some 4 billion years ago. Astronomers led by Peter B. James from Baylor University di ...read more