Scientists are working to bring back a woolly mammoth-like species to roam the Earth’s tundra. A study published last year, however, complicates these efforts. Researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm found that woolly mammoths lost nearly 100 genes as they evolved.Evolving Mammoth GenesLove Dalén, professor in evolutionary genomics at Stockholm University, explained that such alterations to genes can change pathways, which affect key traits.“From an evolutionary perspectiv ...read more
Some dinosaurs feasted on smaller lizards, eggs or even early mammals. Others hunted other dinosaurs as prey, or scavenged the remains of dead animals. Most dinosaurs, though, ate plants. Research suggests more than 180 dinosaurs preferred a plant-based diet, but it’s quite hard to put a precise number on it, says Paul Barrett, a paleontology researcher at the Natural History Museum in London.“There's a little bit of a gray area because some of the dinosaurs that we think mainly ate plants m ...read more
A firefighter watches as the Bobcat Fire burns in Juniper Hills, California, in 2020. (Credit: Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock)[embedded content]The Thomas Fire, which ranks as one of the largest wildfires in California history, was a sign of things to come. Sparked by power lines, the conflagration burned some 281,800 acres in December 2017, a month that normally lies outside of wildfire season.“There’s a new normal,” says Michael Gollner, head of the Berkeley Fire Research Lab.He points to clima ...read more
When Sir Patrick Moore, the late president of the British Astronomical Association, would step outside on a cold, clear night, he’d look up at the sky and take up his usual vigil.“I look at Orion before anything else,” he wrote of the constellation, “to make sure that Betelgeuse is still there in its familiar guise!”Betelgeuse, located on the huntsman’s shoulder, takes its name from an Arabic term that means the “giant’s shoulder,” and the unpredictable supergiant star has alwa ...read more
Social scientists have noticed an interesting trend in the last few decades. Groupthink is blamed when something goes wrong, whether it’s a military failure, technological disaster or even an advertising campaign in poor taste.Some social scientists say groupthink is also used to explain everyday healthcare and corporate management failures.If groupthink is so bad, why do humans do it so much?What is Groupthink?Groupthink occurs when people go along with a group’s irrational ideas. The m ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
