Today, the moon is about as inhospitable to life as it gets. The little water that’s there is trapped in ice or rock. It’s otherwise dry and airless, fluctuating in temperature by hundreds of degrees anywhere the sun shines. But long ago? That’s an entirely different story.
New research published in Astrobiology suggests that the moon may have been shockingly habitable in the past during at least two periods — shortly a ...read more
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the largest member of the Milky Way’s gang of galactic neighbors, known as the Local Group. With around a trillion suns worth of mass, Andromeda’s gravitational influence is a force to be reckoned with. And according to new research, no galaxy in the Local Group knows this better than M32, an oddball satellite galaxy now orbiting Andromeda.
In a study published today in Nature Astronomy, researchers showed that about 2 billion ...read more
Sea turtles may be eating themselves to death. In this case, though, the phrase likely doesn’t mean what you think it does.
Green sea turtles in the Caribbean may be in danger of starving to death in the near future thanks to a recent invasion of seagrass. The marine plant is spreading quickly and edging out native species helped, ironically, by the sea turtles themselves.
Underwater Gardens
Green sea turtles forage in beds of seagrass, an abundant resource in their underwate ...read more
By the end of the century, rising CO2 levels will cut fishes’ sense of smell by nearly half, new research finds. And the impaired olfaction will threaten marine ecosystems and our food supply. That’s according to a report Monday in Nature Climate Change.
Fish need a sharp smelling sense because many species spawn offshore, forcing newly hatched fish to find their way home by following their noses. Smell also helps fish locate food, communicate with their pa ...read more
As the climate warms, seas will rise, storms will proliferate and cities will bake. But, in addition to the marquee issues global warming causes, there will likely be a host of tangential issues, many of which we may not anticipate.
A new study in Nature Climate Change looks at the psychological effects a warming climate will have on humans, focusing specifically on mental health. Though the work is somewhat preliminary, the authors pick out a broad trend of ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine