For dog owners, few sights are more heartwarming than their pooch wagging its tail. Suggesting excitement, eagerness, or simply pure joy, the tail wag has long been emblazoned as the default symbol of canine carefreeness. But it always begs the question: Just why do dogs seem to wiggle their behinds when happy? The answer, as it turns out, is complicated, involving a complex interplay between natural selection and humans’ artificial influence on behavior. And, dogs don’t just do it as an in ...read more
There’s no better place to put bodies and bronze treasures than in the bed of a small, shallow lake. At least, that’s what the Bronze Age people of Poland believed, according to a new article in Antiquity.Published in the journal in January, the article reports that researchers recently found a stash of Bronze Age remains and relics that trace as far back as 1000 B.C.E. Recovered from an ancient, long-lost lake in an archaeological area near Papowo Biskupie in Poland, the stash challenges co ...read more
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured 19 nearby spiral galaxies in a different light. The images revealed intricate details of each galaxy’s spiral arms, pockets of star clusters, and lacy, carved-out filaments of gas in the interstellar material. Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments captured the glowing gas and points of light.“Webb’s new images are extraordinary,” said Janice Lee, a project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, in a statement. “They’re mi ...read more
It takes a lot of guts to scale the highest mountains on Earth, but an intrepid bunch of animals makes living so far up seem like a cakewalk. These daredevils thrive in the world’s most isolated, inhospitable places, such as the rocky ranges of the Andes and the Himalayas. Parts of these regions also double as centers of biodiversity. Freezing temperatures, low oxygen levels and meager resources don’t stop animals from leading healthy lives in the highest altitudes. Here are 6 species that ...read more
It may be a global practice that accounts for a large percentage of protein consumption in many countries, but fishing is perhaps the least intuitive way to get food — most of the time, you can’t even see what you’re looking for.Hunting and gathering make sense, dealing as they do with the terrestrial realm in which we landlubbers evolved. We’re all familiar with this part of our heritage: Early humans got by spearing mammoths and foraging wild plants. Yet fishing also has ancient roots, ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine