Everything in biology ultimately boils down to food and sex. To survive as an individual you need food. To survive as a species you need sex.Not surprisingly then, the age-old question of why giraffes have long necks has centered around food and sex. After debating this question for the past 150 years, biologists still cannot agree on which of these two factors was the most important in the evolution of the giraffe’s neck. In the past three years, my colleagues and I have been trying to get to ...read more
Neanderthals stopped roaming Earth around 40,000 years ago. Yet as time passes, new technologies are helping scientists learn more about Homo neanderthalensis, how they might have lived, and what similarities they may have shared with Homo sapiens. There’s even a debate about what Neanderthals sounded like. Scientists have long debated whether Neanderthals were capable of speech. Some argue that Neanderthals lacked the anatomical ability to even produce sounds.In the 1980s, scientists disco ...read more
The much anticipated 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is here, and with ocean heat setting records, plus a looming La Niña, it may well take an appalling toll. Tropical cyclones are fueled by oceanic heat, and right now, the gas tank is overflowing.As University of Miami tropical cyclone expert Brian McNoldy posted to social media the other day, "It's June 1, the first day of Atlantic #HurricaneSeason, and the ocean heat content averaged in the Main Development Region is as high as it normally wo ...read more
These were plenty of legends of societies that once thrived in a distant time and place. Some have been found and excavated so that we can begin to understand how these civilizations of yesteryear might have lived. But some exist only in legend. Real or fantasy, here are some of the ancient societies that inspired many, and some that were never found. 1. Machu Picchu(Credit: Sharan Prasad Anumolu/Shutterstock) High in the mountains of Peru stands Machu Picchu, a 15th-century citadel that was a ...read more
Mars is between 33 and 249 million miles away from Earth, depending on the time of year you make the journey. That comes out to about two years of travel.Once you get there, conditions on the Red Planet are brutal, with temperatures ranging from around -248 degrees Fahrenheit to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Just getting there is a feat that seems difficult to imagine, yet once astronauts make the trek, they’re in for an intense workload.According to NASA, plans are in the works for travel to Mars as ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine