By itself, Dirofilaria immitis looks about as threatening as a strand of limp spaghetti. In fact, it looks a lot like a strand of limp spaghetti. But in their hundreds, when these unassuming little roundworms grow to adulthood, they can cause serious and often fatal problems for your pet. And the worst part is, you might not see the signs until it’s too late.We’re talking, of course, about heartworms, a devastating parasite that infects about 1 in every 100 dogs. Here’s what you need to kn ...read more
Sharks are the stars of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, starting July 23rd. They’re also critical members of our ocean ecosystems.But many of the more than 500 species of shark are endangered today as they face increasing threats from humans. Help scientists learn more about sharks, their behaviors, populations and environments, by sharing your pictures or observations from the wild, or verifying images online.Cheers!
The SciStarter TeamImage credit: Project SIARCWatch underwater videos of s ...read more
Volcanic eruptions can be incredibly destructive natural disasters, covering whole cities with lava, noxious gases and ash. Plus, the seismic activity that produces them can also cause other natural disasters — earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis — that bring about further devastation.Pompeii may be the best-known ancient city to be ruined by a volcano, in part due to the exceptional preservation of the remains there. But it wasn’t the only one; and some were even larger and more central to ...read more
Female killer whales can live up to 90 years in the wild, including 22 years after they go through menopause. That’s almost as many years as human hunter-gatherers, who lived for an average of 26 years post-menopause.Aging female orcas remain an important part of their pods, but why not make them more important? Why would evolution select for such a long period in which the animals cannot pass on their genetic material? That’s the question a new study some 50 years in the making attempts to ...read more
As long as there has been life on Earth, there has been extinction. In fact, nearly every life form that has called Earth home has gone extinct.“Of the 50 billion or so species that have [lived] during our planet’s 4.5 billion year history, more than 99 percent have disappeared,” says Jessica Whiteside, a planetary paleontologist at University of Southampton.In particular, mass extinction events have shaped the course of evolution and Earth itself. This refers to relatively short spans of ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
