Birds-of-paradise are among the most resplendent creatures on Earth, with long, elaborate feathers in eye-popping shades of yellow, blue, and red. Naturalists have admired them for centuries. Yet it turns out they didn’t know the half of it.As if those vibrant colors weren’t enough, a recent study found that the birds — native to Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea — are also biofluorescent. Their skin and plumage absorb light at high-energy wavelengths, then re-emit it at low-energy wa ...read more
The evolutionary path leading to the rise of modern humans is full of twists and turns, and the latest surprise reveals that our species likely sprung forth from two ancient intermingling populations. A new study has confirmed that these groups first diverged from each other around 1.5 million years ago and later merged back together 300,000 years ago, initiating a genetic mixing event that culminated with the birth of modern humans. The study, published in Nature Genetics, completely rewrites ...read more
We give blood to save someone else’s life. It turns out that this altruistic act could also improve the donor’s health. But they might have to give a lot of blood over time for that effect.A study screened 217 male volunteer blood downers. The researchers divided the group into two. One cohort had given blood over a hundred times during their lifetimes. The other group had done so less than five times.Although the study was initiated in part to investigate whether long-term donation had any ...read more
New findings from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration may have just unveiled the sharpest images of the universe as an infant. After measuring light that traveled 13 billion light years to Earth, the images reveal the universe at about 380,000 years old — the equivalent of an image of a human baby only mere hours old. The new findings come from several international pre-peer-reviewed studies, set to be presented later in March 2025. According to the study researchers, this vie ...read more
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming around 600,000 lives in 2022 alone. A diagnosis can be devastating, as the disease can often resist treatment and spreads uncontrollably.Now, a research team from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and UConn Health has identified a potential therapeutic strategy to halt or reverse tumor growth. Their study, published in Nature Communications, reveals how cancer cells disable a built-in "off switch" — and how reactivating it could stop ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine