The great white shark is a formidable oceanic hunter. Its powerful jaws are capable of exerting over 4,000 pounds per square inch (PSI) of bite force — enough to shatter a human femur. But compared to the megalodon, a giant prehistoric shark that roamed the oceans from 15 million to 3.6 million years ago, the great white seems like a mere minnow. The megalodon had a sleek body estimated to exceed 60 feet in length, according to a 2024 paper published in Palaeontologia Electronica, dwarfing it ...read more
It is the most abundant metal in the universe. By mass, it is the most common element on our planet, making up much of Earth’s core and some of its crust.As minerals go, humans — indeed, most living things — can’t make it themselves and don’t need very much of it. But without even that little bit, we’d all be dead. That’s the irony of iron.What Is Iron?How hemoglobin works. (Credit: Designua/Shutterstock)Iron is one of several essential nutrients (meaning we have to get it from the ...read more
Heaps of dinosaurs had feathers. But only a handful developed those feathers for flight. In fact, determining which feathered dinos flew and which feathered dinos didn’t has historically posed a problem for paleontologists. A new study, however, suggests that the problem isn’t as tricky as previously thought.In the study, published in PNAS, a pair of paleontologists present an assortment of traits that they say all feathers built for flight share. Based on the feathers of the only surviving ...read more
The tombs at Tuna el-Gebel are ornate. Dating back to the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt, one chamber in the massive necropolis offers a curious glimpse into ancient Egyptian belief. Square windows, framed with ornate script, open into vaults holding mummified remains — but not from any human. Inside, the treated cadavers of long-dead baboons sit up in these niches, animals once thought to have a rare connection with Egyptian deities. A pair of stone steps sits underneath the windows, wh ...read more
In The History of the Kings of Britain, medieval chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth tells the story of how a shooting star foretold the death of Ambrosius and the coming of King Arthur. Long ago, shooting stars were commonly thought to be omens, prophecies, or messages from the gods. Today, we know shooting stars aren’t really omens; they’re not even stars. They’re meteors. Why Do Meteors Glow?When seen from Earth, a meteor looks like a star zooming across the sky in a blaze of white, so itâ ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine