When Steven Anderson first examined a specimen of the Iranian spider-tailed viper, he, of course, noticed the arachnid-shaped lump on the dead snake’s tail. It was 1970, and the herpetologist was at the Field Museum in Chicago examining what the museum assumed to be a Persian horned viper, a snake common throughout the Middle East.
But this one had such a bizarre growth on its tail. To Anderson, a biologist who studies reptiles in Southeast Asia, it resembled “an oval knob-like stru ...read more
Increasing numbers of Americans are using marijuana. In some states, obtaining marijuana is as easy as walking into a store and picking out what catches the eye in a glass display case. But even as states move to legalize recreational and medical cannabis, it remains a taboo topic, even in doctors’ offices.
Now, a new study suggests that keeping marijuana use secret from medical professionals probably isn’t a good idea. A team of researchers in Colorado has found ...read more
Like the planet Tatooine from Star Wars, two suns — one bright, one dim and red— rise over the horizon of Kepler 47d. But unlike dry and sandy Tatooine, this planet's surface is gassy and indistinct. The system also holds two smaller planets; one planet closer to the double suns, and one farther out. Both lack a solid surface. If you visited in a spaceship, all the planets would be easy to spot because they're packed, along with their stars, into a space smaller t ...read more
Before NASA's Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn’s depths, it performed a final 2017 flyby of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. This remote world is the only place in the solar system other than Earth that hosts large bodies of standing liquid. Titan's liquid is methane and ethane instead of water. But these lakes and seas make the moon one of the most interesting places in our solar system. And researchers are just starting to learn how these bodies of liquid cha ...read more
Even though our ears get bigger as we age, our hearing tends to fade. This ironic problem is common and gets progressively worse the older we get. An estimated 25 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have disabling hearing loss. And losing hearing can mean having a hard time understanding what people are saying, which can lead to social isolation and depression.
Although the tendency to lose hearing in old age gets passed on from generation to generation, little is known abo ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine