The fact that freshwater whales actually exist on our planet deserves far more fanfare — especially considering how their populations are declining.Many species of river dolphins, specifically, live in waterways spanning multiple continents and countries around the globe. Their unique habitats correlate with strange attributes and extraordinary behaviors not found in marine dolphins and other cetaceans.But, as the world's major rivers change under human development, river dolphins seem to be p ...read more
If you feel like something is wrong — say, your stomach or your leg is hurting — you can typically explain to others what’s going on. Maybe you tell a doctor what your symptoms are and what your pain level is, while adding other information to aid the practitioner’s understanding.But cats can’t tell us how they’re feeling.Whatever their ailment, what are some signs that might help us understand our feline friends better and to know if something is wrong? Read on to learn what to look ...read more
Scientists have long thought the humble sea sponge, an animal that feeds by filtering water through itself, forms the oldest group of animals on earth. But a new study claims that the comb jelly phylum is in fact older and carries genetic material from distant, non-animal ancestors.Comb jellies, which look like miniature jellyfishes, use rows of cilia hairs to swim through the ocean and catch prey with tentacles that release a sticky, mucous-like substance. Like other animals, they meet the stan ...read more
A new 3D model of the Titanic, produced using 700,000 images shot by submersibles, reveals the 111-year-old shipwreck to be in a battered condition. Such landmarks as the grand staircase, now lie in complete ruins, while “rusticles” formed by iron-eating bacteria cover the surface.The clock is ticking for the sunken ocean liner, once thought to be “unsinkable,” as experts say it has mere decades before it succumbs completely to the ocean floor.To accelerate research, the new model provid ...read more
We're hearing a lot about microplastics — those teeny pieces of plastic that have become so ubiquitous in our water, air and soil that they can now be found in human blood. These minuscule pieces of plastic are the product of broken-down waste because plastic does not biodegrade like other materials. Plastics make up a bulk of our packaging, toys, cars, toiletries and building materials; the list goes on and on.What's more, plastics are made up of numerous toxins and chemicals that, when brok ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
