A bitcoin mining operation near Moscow, Russia. (Nikiforaw77/shutterstock)
Mining cryptocurrency uses more energy than conventional mining of copper or platinum and at least as much as mining gold finds new research published today in the journal Nature Sustainability. The digital currencies aren’t helping climate change either, as they produce millions of tons of CO2 emissions. Market trends for the virtual currency are on the rise suggesting energy requirements for cryptocurrencies wil ...read more
(Credit: tommaso lizzul/Shutterstock)
Have you had your tonsils out? If you’re a millennial, the answer is probably no. Tonsillectomies, once all the rage in the mid-to-late 20th century, have fallen off sharply in recent decades.
They may not have fallen off far enough, though. A new study suggests that seven of every eight tonsillectomies in Britain weren’t actually necessary.
Leave Those Tonsils
Writing in the British Journal of General Practice, researchers from ...read more
A comparison of skulls from a human (left) and a Neanderthal (right). (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Did Neanderthals have language? Before trying to answer that, I should admit my bias: I’m team Neanderthal. As an anthropologist who studies our evolutionary cousins, I’ve seen plenty of evidence suggesting Neanderthals were competent, complex, social creatures. In light of their apparent cognitive abilities, I’m inclined to believe they had language.
But I can’t ...read more
A color image of the Hellas Planitia region of Mars. (Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS)
Today, water on mars is locked into ice deposits or held in deep underground lakes. But, water once flowed across the planet’s surface, and researchers have found further evidence of its presence on the Red Planet.
A new study, reveals that the Hellas impact basin on Mars once contained a number of ephemeral lakes, or lakes that are usually dry but fill up with water for brief periods of time.
Wat ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
