Adding a Spark of Humor to Science Communication May Build Trust

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

There’s nothing like a well-timed joke to set the mood. Jokes can help ease tension in a conversation, make people feel more comfortable and engaged, and can even make you seem more trustworthy. Humor is something comedians and politicians alike have been using to connect with and captivate their audiences.However, this technique has not often been used by scientists and science communicators for fear that the audience will not take the scientific information seriously, leading some to have a ...read more

New Molecule Competes with Ozempic, Showing Fewer Side Effects

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Obesity rates have more than doubled in adults and quadrupled in adolescents since 1990, making it a leading cause of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, neurological disorders, chronic respiratory diseases, and digestive disorders. This growing global health crisis calls for effective obesity treatments to reduce the burden on healthcare systems.Semaglutide, the weekly injectable drug better known by its brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, was initially ...read more

Into the Unknown: How Similar Is Deep Sea and Space Exploration?

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Both the deep sea and space are difficult to reach and even more difficult to explore. You can’t breathe the air, temperatures are extreme, gravity varies, and atmospheric pressure makes survival impossible without protective vehicles. It’s part of the reason that these remote terrains are largely left unexplored. Only around 5 percent of the universe and 26 percent of the ocean floor have been visited.  Both deep sea travel and deep space travel come with a lot of risks and a lot of prepa ...read more

The Massive Megalodon May Have Been Even Longer and Sleeker

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

We’re gonna need a bigger shark size estimate. Researchers had based some informed guesses about just how massive the megalodon — a prehistoric giant fish that hunted the oceans 13 million years to 15 million years ago — was by comparing existing fossils of the extinct species to bones of the present-day great white shark.Formally called Otodus megalodon, the prehistoric predator is known not just for its size but for its distinctive serrated teeth. Because the much smaller modern-day grea ...read more

How Antarctica’s Only Native Insect Survives the Extreme Cold

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Across the South Pole’s frozen expanse, there lives only one purely terrestrial animal: a tiny insect called the Antarctic midge. This flightless creature, just 0.2 inches long, has eked out an existence in one of the world’s most unforgiving climates for some 30 million years, since its home continent split off from South America.Researchers have studied these midges for decades, documenting their impressive resistance to extreme conditions. But it was never clear how they endured the frigi ...read more

Page 49 of 2,207« First...102030...4748495051...607080...Last »