If you’ve walked past the penguin exhibit at the zoo, then you’ve likely caught a whiff of their unpleasant-smelling poo. The smell has perhaps made you want to cover your nose and, despite a penguin’s cuteness, want to walk away. Humans aren’t the only ones repelled by penguin poo, however. To krill, tiny shrimp-like creatures, the smell of penguin poo triggers evasive maneuvers, probably because they know that penguins are on their way to eat them. After putting it to the test, a rese ...read more
Medieval alchemists sought to literally turn non-valuable substances into gold. Now some scientists have discovered a figurative equivalent method to transform sewage sludge into food for animals and fuel for automobiles, according to research published in Nature Water.Sewage sludge — the thick, organic, and, yes, smelly wastewater treatment byproduct— represents a massive and costly problem. The world’s cities produce over 100 million tons of the stinky substance. It often clogs treatment ...read more
As temperatures continue to rise, so too will cases of Lyme disease and other tick-born illnesses. Therefore a search to stop its spread and treat its symptoms has picked up some urgency — and now offers a glimmer of hope.Warmer weather give nasty little vectors like the deer ticks that carry the disease a longer time period to spread it. The ticks carry the disease from their "reservoir" of small woodland mammals into human hosts by biting them. Although it is most prevalent in wooded areas, ...read more
When athletes line up at the start of a race, the crowd often hushes in anticipation until the quiet is broken by the crack of a starter pistol. The discharge sounds like a real gunshot, yet most people aren’t filled with fear. Instead, the race begins, the fans cheer, and the blast is forgotten. To not react negatively to a starter pistol, the brain has to recognize the blast as harmless and then shut down any fearful reactions. But how does the brain know when to ignore a starter pistol but ...read more
Researchers are starting to reveal the science of red sprites. No, not the supernatural spirits that flit through fairytales, but the bursts of rare red lightning that flicker and flash through the middle-upper atmosphere. Teasing out the timing of over 90 red sprites and tying over 60 of them to specific strokes of parent lightning, the research reveals that one of South Asia’s largest shows of sprite fireworks arose within a cluster of thunderstorms above the Himalayas in 2022. Its appearanc ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine