Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria grown in culture. (Credit: Sirirat/Shutterstock)
Three years ago, a woman in upstate New York was charged with drunk driving and then exonerated when she proved her high blood alcohol level was the result of a rare condition in which her body brews its own alcohol. At the time, the bizarre story made national headlines. Now, auto-brewery syndrome, as the condition is called, may have helped researchers unlock some of the secrets of a common but little-understo ...read more
An artist’s concept of a ring of dust orbiting Tabby’s Star. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
About
four years ago, one star gained notoriety when some astronomers suggested its
weird light pattern could be signs of artificial “alien megastructures” blocking the
star’s light. Though scientists generally say that clouds of gas and dust are most
likely the culprit, the source of that gas and dust remains a mystery.
One possibility is that the star, formally called KI ...read more
A sign in the Democratic Republic of the Congo warns people that Ebola is in the area. (Credit: Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock)
The Ebola virus continues to ravage populations across Africa. But earlier this week, researchers reported that they've figured out what makes Ebola just so virulent. One particular protein is giving Ebola its punch, and researchers know how to switch it off. The find could lead to new vaccines and may give a huge boost to Ebola research safety.
Ebola's Sneak At ...read more
Misophonia is an aversive reaction to specific sounds that emerges in childhood, most often with annoyance that quickly turns to anger. (Credit: mamaza/Shutterstock)
It was the salads that got me. On nights when my parents started off dinner with some leafy greens, I left the room. The habit quickly became a ritual, and to my family’s credit – or not – no one ever remarked on it. It was just another quirk, like biting fingernails, or sticking your tongue out when you c ...read more
This artist's concept captures the catastrophic collision that destroyed the parent body, which was bigger than any known asteroid break-up in the past 3 billion years.
(Credit: Don Davis/Southwest Research Institute.)
A giant collision between two asteroids may have triggered a global ice age that hit Earth some 466 million years ago. The cosmic crash — which took place between Mars and Jupiter and destroyed an asteroid some 93 miles (150 km) wide — created a thick plume of dust ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine