Genetic variants inherited from Neanderthals make modern-day people more likely to suffer pain when poked with a stick, geneticists have found.The Neanderthal variants involve three small changes to the SCN9A gene, which provides instructions for building highly important sodium channels in certain nerve cells. These protein structures permit sodium ions to flow into the cell, readying it to fire and communicate with other nerve cells.In this case, the variants seem to lower the threshold at whi ...read more
As a child in the 1890s, Ruth Benedict lived in a society that made her life challenging. A lack of understanding about hearing loss meant adults accused her of not complying with directions. And limited opportunities for women made it difficult for her widowed mother to earn a living wage.These challenges prompted Benedict to consider how society was structured to benefit people who fit certain traits and disenfranchise those outside the norm. She became one of the most influential anthropolo ...read more
No one is born with the ability to ride a skateboard, surf or even stand on their tiptoes. Unlike other mammals, human beings have no balance at birth – virtually no capacity to walk or even stand. Before that can happen, their vision, hearing, muscles, bones and brain must develop. This takes months, and for some activities, even years.Infants typically begin rolling over when they’re 6 months old. They generally start to crawl by 9 months, and stand around a year old. By 18 months old, mo ...read more
The recent announcement of the discovery of a dog-fox hybrid, the so-called “dogxim,” was strange and adorable and a little otherworldly. But scientists warn that such crossbreeds are generally evidence of nature going awry under pressures created by humans.As agriculture and other forms of human development encroach on natural areas, wild and domesticated animals (not to mention people and their automobiles) are frequently coming into close contact with each other.In the case of dogxim, the ...read more
People have been asking why space is dark despite being filled with stars for so long that this question has a special name – Olbers’ paradox.Astronomers estimate that there are about 200 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. And many of those stars are as bright or even brighter than our sun. So, why isn’t space filled with dazzling light?I am an astronomer who studies stars and planets – including those outside our solar system – and their motion in space. The study ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine