Thanks to modern technology (and based on skull remains), we can now reconstruct a likely approximation of the faces of our ancient Neanderthal ancestors. When we look at those faces, we see beings that resemble us in many ways, but with more robust features, larger noses, and forward-projected midfaces, especially compared to our narrower, more delicate features.The exact mechanisms behind the differences in facial features between Neanderthals and modern humans are still not fully understood. ...read more
Prozac’s approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1988 heralded the dawn of a new age in treating depression since it focused on serotonin, a brain chemical that, when in short supply, contributes to depression. It was more targeted and had fewer and generally less harsh side effects than the classic treatments— tricyclics and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Since then, a total of seven selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that essentially help the neurotra ...read more
Life looked different after an asteroid crashed into the planet around 66 million years ago. The dinosaurs died out, the arboreal mammals declined, and the terrestrial mammals thrived. The traditional story that’s told is that the asteroid decimated the dinosaurs and that the decimation of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to trade the treetops for the ground. But what if that traditional story is wrong? What if the mammalian transformation from arboreal to terrestrial was already underway at the ...read more
While volcanoes have brought profound changes to landscapes here on Earth, volcanic activity on other planets and moons has followed a different path. It's easy to imagine space volcanoes as even more ferocious and devastating versions of the ones scattered across Earth, but in reality, most of them have fallen into dormancy.Volcanic features have been observed on our fellow rocky planets, Venus and Mars, but they largely appear to be inactive right now. Some scientists, however, have suggested ...read more
In January 2025, researchers on the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) had to divert their plans after an iceberg roughly the size of Chicago broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf, a floating glacier that had been attached to the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet.As the iceberg broke away, it exposed an area of seabed previously unseen by humans. There, they found it teeming with a variety of sea life. An Iceberg the Size of the Windy CityThe iceberg, named A-84 by the U.S. National Ice ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine