We know that asteroids can do a lot of damage. One barreled into the Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago and caused the demise of 70 percent of all life on Earth, including the dinosaurs. Within moments the six-mile-wide chunk of rock, known as the Chicxulub impactor, caused tsunamis so large that the Great Plains were overwhelmed with water. Giant shock waves reverberated across the planet, clouding the sky with volcanic eruptions and shaking the ground with endless earthquakes. What's wors ...read more
Sepsis is a severe inflammatory response to infection. Infections of the lungs (such as pneumonia), bladder, digestive system or kidney are common precipitating factors. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 1.7 million adults develop sepsis each year in the United States — which equates to a diagnosis every 20 seconds. It is the most common cause of death in hospitals, with one in three hospital patients dying due to sepsis. Let’s take a look at this serious health c ...read more
The theory of evolution, worked out in the nineteenth century by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, with many tweaks since, is one of the most well-supported theories in science. Evidence from a wide range of disciplines backs up the basics of the theory. Or, as paleontologist and historian of science Stephen Jay Gould put it in an essay in the May 1981 print issue of this magazine, the theory of evolution is “one of the best documented, most compelling and exciting concepts in all of ...read more
Saqqara, the sprawling burial complex to the south of Cairo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site layered with thousands of years of Egyptian history. Not only does it have more than a dozen pyramids, it boasts numerous other tombs, courts and halls – and archaeologists keep discovering more. In May 2023, government officials announced the unearthing of two new tombs and two facilities once used for embalming.Ancient Egypt and MummificationThe new embalming facilities date to about 2,400 years ago ...read more
The adaptable pterosaur – the first flying vertebrate – lived in dark, polar conditions in what is now Australia, according to a new paper. The research identified two pterosaur bones more than 30 years after their initial discovery.The bones date to 107 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period, when Australia formed a large southern landmass with Antarctica, New Zealand and South America. At that time, the Australian state of Victoria – where volunteers first found the fossils in t ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
