Stonehenge practically radiates mystery. Who built it? Why? And how? Now, there are some new questions: Why did the Altar Stone — a 6-ton cap for the neolithic monument — come from a site in Scotland about 450 miles away? And how was it moved from its mine to the Salisbury Plain site?A team of scientists raised these notions in a Nature report that says the stone hails from Scotland, not Wales, as had been previously thought. The Altar StoneThe implications are that the Altar Stone had speci ...read more
We’re interested in the moon because it’s close enough to Earth to allow us to practice setting up a base camp in preparation for Mars. In fact, Artemis III will send the first crewed spacecraft to the moon’s South Pole to set up camp by 2034.And while there’s still a lot that we don’t know about living on the moon, we do know a little something about its weather forecast, says Jason Steffen, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “There’s not ...read more
In the mid-1960s, a Scottish man named Angus Barbieri fasted for more than a year. For a total of 382 days, he survived on liquids, vitamins, and some yeast, ultimately losing 276 pounds. He undertook the fast (under medical supervision) to lose weight in his pursuit of better health.The practice of fasting for health benefits dates back to the fifth century B.C.E. when Hippocrates recommended fasting for certain illnesses. By the 1800s, fasting was being studied for its potential health effects ...read more
Walruses are perhaps best recognized for their iconic tusks. But one thing that makes them unusual among modern marine mammals is the way they use suction to eat. That ability appears to have been missing among many of the animal’s ancient relatives. But fossils now show that a newly named species developed that skill — perhaps as a way to adapt to a changing climate, according to a report in PeerJ Life & Environment.This finding is both exciting and unusual because it showcases a potent ...read more
Night terrors, often known as sleep terrors, have a sure way of making us feel rattled. After all, who wants to have anything other than peaceful sleep? Unfortunately, for those of us experiencing night terrors, undisturbed sleep is hardly ever achieved. Night terrors are a form of sleep disturbance that occurs when your brain is partially asleep and partially awake. They occur during non-REM sleep, often at the beginning of a sleep cycle, and can last up to 40 minutes. Unlike a nightmare where ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine