Heaps of dinosaurs had feathers. But only a handful developed those feathers for flight. In fact, determining which feathered dinos flew and which feathered dinos didn’t has historically posed a problem for paleontologists. A new study, however, suggests that the problem isn’t as tricky as previously thought.In the study, published in PNAS, a pair of paleontologists present an assortment of traits that they say all feathers built for flight share. Based on the feathers of the only surviving ...read more
The tombs at Tuna el-Gebel are ornate. Dating back to the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt, one chamber in the massive necropolis offers a curious glimpse into ancient Egyptian belief. Square windows, framed with ornate script, open into vaults holding mummified remains — but not from any human. Inside, the treated cadavers of long-dead baboons sit up in these niches, animals once thought to have a rare connection with Egyptian deities. A pair of stone steps sits underneath the windows, wh ...read more
In The History of the Kings of Britain, medieval chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth tells the story of how a shooting star foretold the death of Ambrosius and the coming of King Arthur. Long ago, shooting stars were commonly thought to be omens, prophecies, or messages from the gods. Today, we know shooting stars aren’t really omens; they’re not even stars. They’re meteors. Why Do Meteors Glow?When seen from Earth, a meteor looks like a star zooming across the sky in a blaze of white, so itâ ...read more
Your blood serves numerous roles to maintain your health. To carry out these functions, blood contains a multitude of components, including red blood cells that transport oxygen, nutrients and hormones; white blood cells that remove waste products and support the immune system; plasma that regulates temperature; and platelets that help with clotting.Within the blood are also numerous molecules formed as byproducts of normal biochemical functions. When these molecules indicate how your cells ar ...read more
Some 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens split off from a long line of human-ish primates to become the first fully human species, with abilities and ingenuity unrivaled in Earth’s history. But back then, in terms of behavior and intelligence, those early humans wouldn’t have seemed so different from the other hominins they shared the landscape with — Neanderthals, Denisovans, Homo erectus and so on.Now picture one of these ancient people beside a 21st-century counterpart, and consider how wid ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine