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
Turns out workplace wellness programs don't work so well. According to a large-scale study over 18 months — the first of its kind to study the issue — initiatives intended to help employees get healthier and more productive, and cost the boss less money, have decidedly lackluster results. Some employees did adopt better behaviors — or at least said they did. However, health outcomes and productivity did not change, and there was no benefit to the company's bottom line ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine