Five ways your dog can do science. Woof!

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

We’re in the dog days of summer, and National Dog Day is August 26. You and your dog can celebrate by doing a little science together (that’s right!)…and help researchers in the process. Cheers!The SciStarter Team Darwin's Ark Help researchers understand pet personalities by contributing a saliva sample and/or filling out a survey about your furry friend. Location: Global Get Started! C-BARQ and Fe-BARQ Give scientists a glimpse ...read more

This Week in Science News: Maya Warfare, Lucid Dreams, Ancient Galaxies

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

https://youtu.be/R-VbJmngUSU We’ve got: Maya warfare, giant extinct parrots, ancient galaxies, space travel radiation, a pill for lucid dreams, and more. Maya Warfare The Maya Classic Period, from 300 to 900 A.D., is seen as a kind of golden age for the ancient Central American civilization. Populations boomed. Art and science flourished. It was a pretty peaceful time, or so we thought. Archaeologists have now discovered evidence of all-out warfare and near-complete destruct ...read more

Wicked Hot Boston: Urban Heat Island (UHI) Mapping

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Want to map extreme heat in your community? Anyone, anywhere can take action with ISeeChange. It’s not just in your head; Boston really is hotter in the summer. When urban areas are warmer than surrounding non-urban environments, we experience a phenomenon called the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Cities are filled with large amounts of artificial materials, such as concrete and asphalt, that absorb heat throughout the day and release heat at night. Living materials like trees, flo ...read more

New SETI Project Will Practice Looking for Alien Life Near Deep-Sea Vents on Earth

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

InVADER will explore deep-sea vents on Earth to prepare future missions to do the same on watery worlds in the solar system like Europa or Enceladus. (Credit: D. Kelley, University of Washington/NSF-OOI/WHOI) Some of the most intriguing possibilities for finding life outside Earth are on water worlds like Europa or Enceladus — ocean moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn. However, those worlds are encased in layers of ice, meaning any ocean exploration will take place far beneath the surface ...read more

How These Sharks Glow Neon Green to their Friends

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

The biofluorescent shark Scyliorhinus retifer. (Credit: David Gruber) (Inside Science) -- When we look at the seafloor, we might not see the bottom-dwelling sharks that blend in with the rocks and the sand. But to other sharks of the same species, they stand out like green glow sticks. Now scientists know how. In 2014, marine biologist David Gruber, from the City University of New York, and his team discovered that two species of bottom-dwelling sharks are biofluorescent. The swell shark ...read more