When C. Michael Gibson of Boston saw his doctor in the spring of 2023, the blood test results were confusing. His cholesterol levels were decent — he was already taking statins to keep the “bad” cholesterol low — but the arteries delivering blood to his heart were nonetheless crammed with dangerous plaque. “It didn’t make sense,” says Gibson, himself a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. So Gibson asked his physician to check his blood for a specific kind of chole ...read more
Titanoboa has long been heralded as the largest of large snakes. Slithering through the Paleocene at an estimated 45 to 50 feet, this ancient snake appears in almost every list of large snakes, and almost always at the top. But now another ancient snake is sliding up those lists. Named Vasuki indicus, and identified in a new paper published in Scientific Reports, this new snake slunk through the Eocene at an estimated 36 to 50 feet. If accurate, these estimates establish this new snake as an equ ...read more
For people going through menopause or seeking birth control options, medications that help replace and supplement key sex hormones — known as progestogens — are an essential part of treatment. However, new research published last month suggests that these types of medications are associated with higher risk of a common type of brain tumor. Now, scientists are urging caution and pursuing further research on progestogens as a form of contraception and gynecological treatment. What Are Prog ...read more
Netflix's 3 Body Problem has been generating a lot of buzz since its premiere last month, and it's not hard to see why: The hit new series is being helmed by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with screenwriter Alexander Woo, and adapts a bestselling sci-fi book trilogy by Chinese writer Liu Cixin. Both series explore thorny theoretical ideas posed by quantum mechanics, and don't skimp on the science, either. In fact, the series namesake — the titular three-body pr ...read more
Indonesia is possibly the most volcanically-active country in the world. It is the home of 127 potentially active volcanoes and one any given day it isn't surprising to see that 5-6 of them are erupting. Now, most of these eruptions are small puffs of ash or maybe the slow extrusion of lava at the summit. However, Indonesia is also home to some of the largest explosive eruptions in the historical record and beyond. Krakatoa in 1883, Tambora in 1815 and Toba around 73,800 years ago were massive b ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine