It’s easy to forget that humans are primates, but indeed we are. Taxonomic classification puts humans in the order Primates (apes, monkeys, and lemurs) and in the family Hominidae (great apes), which, in addition to humans, includes chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. Humans are different from other primates in several ways, our facility with spoken and written language being one of the most obvious.But another obvious difference is that somewhere along the evolutionary path, human ...read more
In 2025, Saturn’s spectacular rings will disappear. But it won’t be too long before they come back into sight in all their splendor. Their disappearance, after all, is all a matter of perspective.A combination of thin rings, Saturn’s tilt, and Earth’s own orbital movements will make the rings disappear from our perspective. Saturn’s rings will be nearly edge on for the whole year, but we will see them totally edge on in March and November, says Jonti Horner, astrobiologist and astronom ...read more
On a fairly regular basis, my chocolate-brown chihuahua mix will get territorial about some limbless, chewed-up toy that no one else wants. She’ll prowl around with the toy in her mouth, hackles raised, while growling to warn that the headless elf from last Christmas is all hers. The rest of us will ignore her, and eventually, she’ll relax. Or she’ll cool it when I inform her that she can’t come up on the couch until she stops.My little dog isn’t the only one who has territorial behav ...read more
As the year winds down, we wanted to take a look back at some of the top scientific discoveries that happened in 2024. From groundbreaking medical advances, major space exploration, and ancient genetics, here are some of the year's most exciting advancements.1. HIV Prevention Drug Lenacapavir Has Shocking Results In 2022, health organizations across the globe, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S., approved the drug lenacapavir as a treatment for HIV/AIDS. In 2024, the r ...read more
In the 1950s, an urban legend about the Atlantic Ocean surfaced. According to the lore, a mysterious area formed a triangle from Bermuda to South Florida down to Puerto Rico. Called the Bermuda Triangle, the region was supposedly where ships, planes, and people mysteriously disappeared.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Service (NOAA) says there are scientific explanations for disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, and the area doesn’t have any more disappearances than other well-traveled r ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine