Both the deep sea and space are difficult to reach and even more difficult to explore. You can’t breathe the air, temperatures are extreme, gravity varies, and atmospheric pressure makes survival impossible without protective vehicles. It’s part of the reason that these remote terrains are largely left unexplored. Only around 5 percent of the universe and 26 percent of the ocean floor have been visited. Both deep sea travel and deep space travel come with a lot of risks and a lot of prepa ...read more
We’re gonna need a bigger shark size estimate. Researchers had based some informed guesses about just how massive the megalodon — a prehistoric giant fish that hunted the oceans 13 million years to 15 million years ago — was by comparing existing fossils of the extinct species to bones of the present-day great white shark.Formally called Otodus megalodon, the prehistoric predator is known not just for its size but for its distinctive serrated teeth. Because the much smaller modern-day grea ...read more
Across the South Pole’s frozen expanse, there lives only one purely terrestrial animal: a tiny insect called the Antarctic midge. This flightless creature, just 0.2 inches long, has eked out an existence in one of the world’s most unforgiving climates for some 30 million years, since its home continent split off from South America.Researchers have studied these midges for decades, documenting their impressive resistance to extreme conditions. But it was never clear how they endured the frigi ...read more
Stonehenge sits near the top of Britain’s most iconic landmarks, but a lesser-known precursor to this ancient site may be responsible for its lasting impact as an archaeological titan. The Flagstones site, a circular enclosure in Dorset, England, now predates Stonehenge according to new research, suggesting that it could possibly be the oldest structure of its kind in the country. The study, recently published in Antiquity, has established that the circular enclosure of Flagstones was constru ...read more
Microplastics. They’re in the soil; they’re in the ocean; and they’re even in the air, poised to invade our respiratory systems and to harm our health. But how, exactly, do they make their way into the atmosphere?Some studies have suggested that these tiny pieces of plastic — at most around 5 millimeters across — take to the air from the ocean. Ocean spray shoots them into the atmosphere, these studies say, positioning these minuscule pollutants to enter our bodies when we breathe. But ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine