Tomorrow’s Satellites Could Run on Air

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Breathe in. Breathe out. Take a second and just let the air flow naturally through you. When you’re having a tough time — you’re feeling an awful lot of resistance, maybe, or just running out of energy — remembering to breathe is important. It’s a mantra for a reason. And now it’s not just good advice for people. The European Space Agency announced this week they’d developed a satellite thruster that breathes too, solving a host of problems and establi ...read more

Coffee: A Most Enigmatic, Ubiquitous Beverage

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Legend has it that coffee was discovered by a goat herder around 850 AD in what is now Ethiopia. It soon spread around the globe and is currently consumed by billions of people every day. But as the drink gained in popularity, it also gained a bad rap. From claims that coffee led to illegal sex in the 1500s, or that it caused impotence in the 1600s, to the more recent belief that it stunted your growth, history has not been kind to coffee. But in recent years, rumors have been replaced by ...read more

Do old people fart more? Here comes the science.

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

In short, no. At least not based on self-reported statistics that others have expressed doubts about. But the abstract of this study was just too funny not to share. You're welcome. Old Farts - Fact or Fiction? Results From a Population-Based Survey of 16,000 Americans Examining the Association Between Age and Flatus. "An old fart, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a “contemptible or tiresome person, especially one who is old-fashioned, stuffy, or close-minded.” Howeve ...read more

You Might Be Stuck With Your Teenage Neurons

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

If your parents ever warned you that your childhood behavior would kill your brain cells, you may want to call them and say thank you. New research in the journal Nature finds that our brain cells may not regenerate as far into our adulthood — or even adolescence — as previously thought. In other words, you get one shot at growing brain cells — so make them count. A Whole New Brain Based on previous research in animals, and indirect tests in humans, researchers thought that our ...read more

Check Out Drone Footage of Kirishima’s Largest Eruption Since 2011

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Yesterday, Shinmoedake in Japan produced its largest eruption in almost 7 years. The volcano, which is part of the large Kirishima complex of volcanoes, sent ash and volcanic debris to over 3.5 kilometers (12,000 feet) over the volcano. The volcano was last restless in October 2017, when it produced some smaller ash plumes that reached up to a couple kilometers over the volcano, but this blast was much more akin to the 2011 eruption. Recent reports from Japan say that the volcano ...read more