The pursuit of de-extinction has broken new ground yet again, as three young wolves are carrying on the legacy of the dire wolf species that disappeared from Earth around 12,500 years ago. Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences, the company leading the de-extinction charge, recently declared that the dire wolf has returned for good.The three wolves brought to life by the company — Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi — emulate many unmistakable dire wolf characteristics, seen in their size, skull shape, ...read more
A buried ancient altar at the center of the Maya city of Tikal points to the tensions between the Maya and their neighbors in the late 300s C.E. According to a new study in Antiquity, the altar wasn’t made by artisans trained in Tikal. Instead, it was made by artisans trained in Teotihuacan, an ancient city around 630 miles away that had a heavy influence — and a heavy hand — over Tikal in the fourth century C.E. “It’s increasingly clear that this was an extraordinary period of turbule ...read more
Dinosaurs were living their best life, so legend goes, until the unwelcome arrival of a killer asteroid — Chicxulub — triggered an extinction-level event 66 million years ago. That was until more recent research suggested dinosaurs were already in a state of decline and the asteroid was just the final nail in the coffin. Now, new findings turn this theory on its head once again, arguing that the dinosaurs’ supposed decline may, in fact, be the result of a poor fossil record.“It’s been ...read more
Anyone who has witnessed a total solar eclipse has likely also noticed the sounds of silence accompanying “totality”. People have long reported anecdotally that birds stop chirping as the day suddenly darkens.Recording the Sounds of an EclipseA study examining how birds responded to the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, systematically confirms that trend and expands upon it. The birds don’t go completely silent until 99 percent of the sun is obscured, according to a study published in ...read more
All galaxies (including our own) are thought to exist inside a giant cosmological structure called a dark matter halo — a cloud-like phenomenon made up of invisible matter that forms a scaffold to the visible universe.These halos are key to the formation of stars, which are created as gas is pulled into the halos. Cool temperatures cause the gas to clump together. Over time, some of these clumps grow in size until gravity causes them to collapse, creating friction, which in turn creates heat a ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine