One unsuspecting February morning in 1976, a 7.5 scale earthquake shook the Central American country of Guatemala. Originating from the Motagua Fault, the meeting point of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates, the earthquake killed around 23,000 people and injured many more. The damage to buildings was also devastating, with tens of thousands of brightly painted adobe houses reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds.Ironically, one of the few places in Guatemala that wasn’t leveled ...read more
According to legend, Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be a national symbol of the fledgling United States. That actually isn’t true.However, Ben apparently did have a high opinion of the bird. According to the Franklin Institute, when comparing it to the bald eagle, Franklin considered the turkey more courageous and wrote that it was “… a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America …. “Franklin was right to admire the turkey, although even the great s ...read more
Theropods – the family of dinosaurs that included the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex and the smaller Allosaurus – had the largest and most sophisticated brains of any such dinosaur group. But scientists aren’t sure how they used these advanced faculties, whether for hunting or tracking down the next corpse to scavenge.A 2011 study found that if you set loose a group of scavenging T. rex’s in an environment comparable to the Serengeti in Africa, they would struggle to survive. But a new st ...read more
Cats are mysterious creatures. There’s a lot we don’t understand about them. Why do they sleep on our heads? Why do they almost always land on their feet? Why do they love boxes so much? One cat mystery, however, may have been solved. A team of European researchers say they’ve found an answer to the question — how do cats purr — that has vexed science, and owners, for decades.How Do Cats Purr?Cats have an amazing vocal range, from high-pitched yowls and screeches to deep, resonant pu ...read more
Mars looms large in the scientific imagination, as well as in fiction. Of all the worlds of the solar system, it’s the only one Earth-like enough for exploration with Earth-like tools: Its atmosphere is thin and transparent, its surface is dry and cold, and it’s close enough for regular study. From telescope eyepieces, we’ve probed the Red Planet for centuries. And over the past 50 years, we’ve even sent instruments for a closer look.However, in geological terms, that’s just a sliver o ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine