Most tropical lightning storms are akin to massive pots of boiling water — but emitting bursts of gamma radiation instead of steam, according to reports in Nature. Those bursts also occur more frequently and in more forms than previously thought.Scientists first detected high-energy gamma-ray bursts in Earth’s atmosphere in the 1990s. NASA launched satellites to see high-energy particles from objects in space, like supernovas. The satellites caught signs of the radioactive supercharged parti ...read more
Rabies is a deadly disease. Without vaccination, a rabies infection is nearly 100% fatal once someone develops symptoms. Texas has experienced two rabies epidemics in animals since 1988: one involving coyotes and dogs in south Texas and the other involving gray foxes in west-central Texas. Affecting 74 counties, these outbreaks led to thousands of people who could have been exposed, two human deaths, and countless animal lives lost.In 1994, Gov. Ann Richards declared rabies a state health emerge ...read more
When Walt Whitman wrote that he contains “multitudes,” he was probably referring to personal potential. But the 19th-century American poet may just as well have been referring to cells. Cells are both the smallest biological unit that can survive on their own, as well as the building blocks that construct all living organisms. They contain instructions that can produce over 200 different types — each with their own function. Those instructions contain rules about what kind of cells they ca ...read more
Ever since the Industrial Revolution, civilization has been powered mostly by fossil fuels. But what sources of energy did ancient civilizations use, and how sustainable were those?How Ancient Civilizations Harnessed Solar EnergyThe most ubiquitous and renewable source of energy is, of course, the sun. People have long used solar energy — and not just for growing crops. According to Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy by John Perlin, excavations of Neolithic Chinese villages sho ...read more
If breaking a mirror actually brought bad luck, surely the government would have public service announcements regarding reflecting-glass safety. And if tossing salt over the left shoulder after spilling a shaker was truly effective, schools would host regular drills.Superstitions don’t make sense. Yet, many logical people wince if they break a mirror. They avoid the number 13 or hold their breath when passing cemeteries.Social scientists are learning more about the psychology behind superstiti ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine