One of the great achievements of modern science was the human genome project to map the sequence of genes in human DNA. The project produced unprecedented insight into the function of genes, their role in human health and the nature of life itself.And yet the human genome project was just the beginning. Armed with the sequence of genes in DNA, life scientists now want to know how the extraordinarily rich complexity of life emerges from this code. Closely linked and just as puzzling is how small ...read more
A 200-million-year-old piece of fossilized poop has provided some of the earliest evidence yet that modern-day parasites plagued the age of the dinosaurs.A Thai-French joint paleological survey recovered the “coprolite” in 2010 while working at an archaeological site in the central part of Thailand. The dropping was smooth, gray, cylindrical and curved slightly to one side – a simple object, but a potential “treasure trove,” according to a statement.What Did the Coprolite Contain?Later ...read more
After a retired speech-language pathologist had a stroke, he struggled to articulate his thoughts, even though he knew what he wanted to say. His wife didn't understand the source of his difficulties until a clinician showed her a video that explained what her husband wished he could tell her: His stroke caused apraxia.Apraxia is a term used to describe a list of neurological disorders that impact speech, movement or gestures. Clinicians have observed apraxia for centuries, but they still don ...read more
Half a billion years ago, in the earliest days of animal life, there were few undersea predators. A strange shrimp-like creature that grew up to 6 feet in length and wielded twin claws served as top predator. Meanwhile, small chaetognath worms snapped at prey with a mouth that bristled with spines.But these sparse ranks have just gotten a little less sparse.A new fossil discovery has confirmed that a much more familiar predator, a type of jellyfish, also stalked the oceans more than 500 million ...read more
Living on the same planet that we evolved on, it can be easy to take things for granted. We have an abundance of fuel and fresh water, plants and animals for food, and an atmosphere with plenty of oxygen.Yet we also have plans to send people off-world. In the coming decades, humans will set out to explore our solar system in greater detail than ever before; we have plans to erect a base on the moon through NASA’s Artemis mission, and even send the first people to Mars.Is There Oxygen in Space? ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine