Meet Uber's Partners Creating Flying Taxis for 2020

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

A conceptual illustration of the view from a flying car taxi service. Credit: Bell Helicopter Uber sees no need for startups to bet on a risky “if you build it, they will come” strategy for flying taxis. Instead, the tech giant believes the demand for a faster aerial commuting option already exists among its 60 million monthly users–especially if the flying taxi service can cost about the same as hailing an UberX car. As a result, Uber has partnered with s ...read more

Uncovering the Secrets of Blood Falls

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Blood Falls in Antarctica. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons) In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, pristine glaciers are marred in one spot by a striking feature: a crimson stain on the white cliffs, looking not unlike a gaping wound in the ice. The five-story gash goes by the unnerving name of Blood Falls, although the color is not at all organic in nature. The salty water that seeps from the glacier is actually stained red by its rich iron content, and harbors a community of extremophile ...read more

The Savory Science of Instant Noodles

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Photo credit: Huffington Post Guest post by Panisa Sundravorakul Instant noodles are delicious, cheap, and easy prepare. This combination of traits make instant noodles a seemingly perfect solution for college students’ hectic schedules and depleted bank accounts. Let us take a moment to appreciate what made instant noodles possible – let us savor the science behind this culinary delicacy. Instant noodles are truly a technological marvel – they can last for up to 12 months on ...read more

Novel Antibiotic Recipes Could Be Hidden in Medieval Medical Texts

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

(Credit: Filip Fuxa/Shutterstock) For a long time, medieval medicine has been dismissed as irrelevant. This time period is popularly referred to as the “Dark Ages,” which erroneously suggests that it was unenlightened by science or reason. However, some medievalists and scientists are now looking back to history for clues to inform the search for new antibiotics. The evolution of antibiotic-resistant microbes means that it is always necessary to find new drugs to battle microbes th ...read more

Artificial Placenta Keeps Premature Lambs Alive for 28 Days

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

(Credit: Soonthorn Wongsaita/Shutterstock) Lamb fetuses have been sustained for four weeks outside of their mothers’ bodies with a new system that mimics a placenta. The system is a step forward for researchers hoping to develop an “artificial placenta” that could allow premature fetuses to continue developing until they are ready for the outside world. It is essentially a fluid-filled bag with ports that allow for oxygen and nutrient delivery, combined with a pump-less oxyge ...read more