If you hang around on the right parts of YouTube for long enough, you may come across the web district of rat tickling. You’ll see scientists tickling rats in the lab to boost their well-being and owners tickling their pets, among other things.Now, new research has identified the parts of the brain that may be responsible for play and laughter by tickling rats in the lab, according to a study published recently in the journal Neuron. “Play is really a not-well understood behavior,” says Mi ...read more
Against the backdrop of Southeast Alaska’s glacier-capped peaks, Dana Bloch leans over the side of a small boat and scoops up a clump of orange fecal matter floating in the ocean. “It’s my best sample yet,” she says, peering at the humpback whale poop in her net. “This one’s been feeding on krill instead of fish, so it’s pretty solid.”Bloch is a fellow with the Alaska Whale Foundation and a graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She’s also the first person to s ...read more
This story was originally published in our Sept/Oct 2023 issue as "Hypnotizing the Gut?" Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.Ashley had just begun to dig into the cream-sauce pasta when it occurred — that familiar, urgent need to find the bathroom. She was dining at a friend’s house, with many other guests. “I need to get out of here,” the teenager thought as she started to sweat.To avoid unwanted questions, Ashley devised an excuse to leave and rushed out of ...read more
This story was originally published in our Sept/Oct 2023 issue as "Embracing the Darkness." Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.Night falls in the Black Rock Forest in Cornwall, New York. I walk the path to the reservoir without a flashlight. Even though a new moon shines brightly, the trees shroud the forest floor. I tread lightly to avoid falling off the trail into the brook, where bullfrogs croak and peepers peep. In the shadowy woods, a pair of eyes twinkles between ...read more
The House subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs met in July 2023 to discuss affairs so foreign that they may not even be of this world. During the meeting, several military officers testified that unidentified anomalous phenomena – the government’s name for UFOs – pose a threat to national security.Their testimony may have raised eyebrows in the chamber, but there’s still no public physical evidence of extraterrestrial life. In fact, most UFO sightings ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine