The brain is one of the most complex structures ever to exist. But, what if brains could be made better? What if they could be faster, able to solve more complex problems, and linked directly to the vast network of information we have available via the Internet? That's the lofty aim of the team at Neuralink. Elon Musk, who founded the firm in 2016, said the company's ultimate goal is to achieve a state of “symbiosis” with artificial intelligence. Neuralink still has a long way to go to meet ...read more
In the U.S., wildland firefighters are able to stop about 98% of all wildfires before the fires have burned even 100 acres. That may seem comforting, but decades of quickly suppressing fires has had unintended consequences.Fires are a natural part of many landscapes globally. When forests aren’t allowed to burn, they become more dense, and dead branches, leaves and other biomass accumulate, leaving more fuel for the next fire. This buildup leads to more extreme fires that are even harder to pu ...read more
Faulty memory sometimes gets the best of us, like when we're scrambling to find a lost pair of keys or a phone. There's good reason to invest in recent research on the humble chickadee, which apparently has the mind of a steel trap. In fact, these birds can remember things so well that they could help us understand how a memory takes form. Researchers from Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute took a closer look at the brains of black-capped chickadees, an endeavor that has hatched an exc ...read more
Striped polecats (Ictonyx striatus), or the African zorilla, are small carnivores that look like North American skunks but aren't. They're more closely related to weasels and have smaller, slender bodies. There are plenty of fun facts about this creature, like what they actually use a stink gland for, and more. Let's take a closer look at the striped polecat.1. Striped Polecats Are the Skunk’s Doppelgänger (Credit: Karel Bock/Getty Images)If a striped polecat looked at a North American skunk ...read more
When you think about dirt, you’re probably picturing soil. There’s so much more going on under our feet than the rock dust, or “dirt,” that gets on your pants.When I began studying soil, I was amazed at how much of it is actually alive. Soil is teeming with life, and not just the earthworms that you see on rainy days.Keeping this vibrant world healthy is crucial for food, forests and flowers to grow and for the animals that live in the ground to thrive. Here’s a closer look at what’s ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine