The largest river dolphin fossil has been found — thousands of miles from its nearest living relative, reports an international group of paleontologists in Science Advances.The team, led by University of Zurich (UZH) paleontologists, located the fossil in the Peruvian Amazon. It measures nearly 12 feet long and dates back about 16 million years. The new freshwater species, named Pebanista yacuruna, is linked to the rare contemporary South Asian river dolphin Platanista and the saltwater relati ...read more
For most animals, sex is an egg-meets-sperm affair that requires both a male and a female. Aptly, this is called sexual reproduction. However, some species have the remarkable ability to reproduce asexually without male fertilization.Swiss naturalist Charles Bonnet discovered this process, known as parthenogenesis (a Greek term that translates to “virgin origin”), was discovered by the Swiss naturalist Charles Bonnet in the mid 1700s. It was long considered peculiar to plants, insects, and o ...read more
Doctors may someday be able to use bodily fluids to noninvasively detect breast cancer in patients earlier than is possible now.Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S. and is currently one of the leading causes of cancer deaths. Earlier diagnosis and treatment lead to better prognoses for breast cancer patients. But mammograms have proved to be less effective for those under age 40, as their breast tissue is denser and screening and biopsies can be unpleasant ...read more
COVID-19 taught most people that the line between tolerable and toxic stress – defined as persistent demands that lead to disease – varies widely. But some people will age faster and die younger from toxic stressors than others.So how much stress is too much, and what can you do about it?I’m a psychiatrist specializing in psychosomatic medicine, which is the study and treatment of people who have physical and mental illnesses. My research is focused on people who have psychological conditi ...read more
It's hard to keep up with the latest fads and wellness crazes. But a new online trend —mewing — is sweeping social media and attracting a lot of attention. More than just a new slang term, "mewing" describes a quick-fix method for facial reconstruction, meant to make an individual's jawline look tighter and more sculpted, among other benefits. The phenomenon has surged on social media platforms like TikTok, where influencers post how-to videos that attract hundreds of millions of views. Yet ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine