Giraffes are pretty much known for one thing: their long, luxurious necks. As my three-year-old’s animal books make clear, rhinos have the nose-horns, lions have those manes and giraffes are the tall ones. That’s their thing.
But observant animal lovers will also note that giraffes have spots. In fact, they helped lend the species their official name, Giraffa camelopardalis. Apparently the Greeks thought giraffes looked kind of like a camel with a leopard’s spots. And it turns ...read more
An intricate web of cracks adorns the wrinkly, gray skin of Africa’s bush elephants. The tiny crevices hold water, which helps keep the animals cool and prevents dehydration in their dry habitat. Now, scientists have figured out how the channels on African elephants’ skin form — the outermost layer of skin gets thicker and bends until the brittle material fractures from the strain. The discovery may provide insight to a common genetic disorder in humans.
Cracked Crocs
Michel M ...read more
It’s hard to imagine a nation without an organized police force, but in truth, it’s a fairly modern invention. Crime was once handled locally, often by volunteers and by the will of the ruling power, and it was only in 1829 that the first large-scale, professional force came to be — London’s Metropolitan Police Service, created by Parliamentarian Sir Robert Peel.
These police, nicknamed “peelers” or “bobbies” after their creator, wore uniforms sel ...read more
(Inside Science) — The 2018 Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to three scientists who took lasers to new levels.
The first half of the prize goes to Arthur Ashkin from Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, "for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems." The second half was awarded jointly to Gérard Mourou of the École Polytechnique, Palaiseau in France, and Donna Strickland of the University of Waterloo in Canada, "for their method of g ...read more
Humpback whales are known for their songs. The long, repetitive vocal displays males make during the breeding season change over time until eventually the boys are belting out entirely new tunes. Now researchers find humpback whales — including females and young — communicate with calls that stay the same over multiple generations. The discovery is re-shaping what scientists know about how and why whales talk to each other.
“We are just now beginning to understand ‘the o ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine