The dark streaks seen on Martian slopes might be an indication of where water sometimes flows, especially since orbiters have also observed salts in the same locations. (Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
Mars’ surface is dry and dusty. But researchers know there’s water there. It's locked up in the polar ice caps, and occasionally it probably seeps to the surface as liquid. And at night, the Red Planet’s plummeting temperatures raise the humidity drastically, possibly ...read more
If large impacts ceased early in Mars’ history, that would leave plenty of time for life to have formed in its ancient oceans. (Credit: NASA/GSFC)
When the solar system was young, some scientists suspect it was too wild and raucous a place for life to develop. Earth, Mars, and the other planets were all being pelted by massive asteroids and rocky debris. Some of those rocks might have delivered the very water that later made life possible. But the unrelenting impacts may have made the s ...read more
(Credit: Yulliii/Shutterstock)
When the Neanderthal genome was first sequenced in 2010 and compared with ours, scientists noticed that genes from Homo neanderthalensis also showed up in our own DNA. The conclusion was inescapable: Our ancestors mated and reproduced with another lineage of now-extinct humans who live on today in our genes.
When the Denisovan genome was sequenced soon after, in 2012, it revealed similar instances of interbreeding. We now know that small populations from al ...read more
A capuchin using a stone to break open its next meal. (Credit: Lisa Crawford/Shutterstock)
Among the rocky monoliths of Brazil’s Serra da Capivara National Park, wild monkeys crack cashews and seeds with an array of stone tools. Now, caches of ancient monkey tools reveal the primates started the culinary tradition 3,000 years ago.
This archaeological record also shows they adapted their food processing tactics over time. It's the first time tool use stretching back thousands of year ...read more
(Credit: Travelerpix/Shutterstock)
What are were your first words? Odds are, if you grew up in the United States speaking English, these words were nouns. Nouns like mama, dada, a favorite animal or food (or "lawnmower," if my father is to be believed). But in languages like Korean and Mandarin Chinese, babies’ first words are more often verbs like "go" and "want."
New research suggests these differences in early word learning might lead toddlers down different paths toward understan ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine