Lots of prominent men in history excelled enough in their accomplishments that posterity has acknowledged them as “Great.” This obviously includes rulers such as Alexander the Great, Peter the Great, or lesser-known kings like Alfred and Darius. But even in modern times, non-royals who have risen to prominence in their fields have been known as Great Ones — just ask hockey legend Wayne Gretzky or classic TV funnyman Jackie Gleason.Meanwhile, it seems a shame that almost no famous or powerf ...read more
People around the world eat too much sugar. When the body is unable to process sugar effectively, leading to excess glucose in the blood, this can result in diabetes. According to the World Health Organization, diabetes became the ninth leading cause of death in 2019.Humans are not the only mammals that love sugar. Fruit bats do, too, eating up to twice their body weight in sugary fruit a day. However, unlike humans, fruit bats thrive on a sugar-rich diet. They can lower their blood sugar f ...read more
When your dog wakes you up several times a night to play “toss the stuffed toy,” you may wonder why he can’t sleep at night like everyone else in the family. Maybe he has a sleep disorder. But can non-human animals even have sleep disorders?A sleep disorder is probably not the reason your dog wants to play in the middle of the night, but yes, animals can have some of the common sleep disorders humans suffer from. Understanding sleep disorders in animals might help us treat sleep disorders ...read more
Underwater surfaces can get grimy as they accumulate dirt, algae and bacteria, a process scientists call “fouling.” But furry mammals like beavers and otters that spend most of their lives wet manage to avoid getting their fur slimy. These anti-fouling abilities come, in part, from one of fur’s unique properties — that each hair can bend and flex as an animal moves.[embedded content]Fouling on boats and machinery can be a big problem, and scientists are searching for ways to prevent it. ...read more
If gorillas strike you as intimidating, try to imagine a nearly 10-foot lookalike: that dizzying stat belongs to none other than Gigantopithecus blacki. Don’t worry about running into this colossus of an ape when you’re out and about; G. blacki went extinct long ago, but for years, researchers couldn’t decipher exactly when and why it disappeared. The only concrete traces it has left come in the form of 2000 fossilized teeth and four jawbones.But new evidence has finally answered these bur ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine