Imagine an ancient mammal that looks like a blend of a pig and an anteater but is more closely related to horses and rhinos. This is the tapir, a fascinating creator that has roamed Earth for tens of millions of years. With their strange prehensile snouts, sturdy bodies, and curious behaviors, tapirs have long intrigued scientists and nature enthusiasts alike. Here, we’ll explore what makes tapirs so unique, their habitats, their diets, and the critical conservation efforts needed to protect t ...read more
Every year, the Plastic Free July campaign asks us to refuse single-use plastic. The idea is that making a small change in our daily lives will collectively make a big difference. And hopefully, better behaviour will stick and become a habit.The intent is good, but consumers shouldn’t have to bear full responsibility for plastic pollution. Individual sacrifices – particularly temporary ones – won’t make a significant difference.Governments, manufacturers and retailers need to get serious ...read more
Hurricane Beryl was the latest Atlantic storm to rapidly intensify, growing quickly from a tropical storm into the strongest June hurricane on record in the Atlantic. It hit the Grenadine Islands with 150 mph winds and a destructive storm surge on July 1, 2024, then continued to intensify into the basin’s earliest Category 5 storm on record.The damage Beryl caused, particularly on Carriacou and Petite Martinique, was extensive, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told a news briefing. “In ...read more
Civilizations rise and fall, and sometimes, they fall on top of each other. Part of the reason that civilizations are born is their location, and over time, that location largely remains the same even though the city it hosts changes.These archeological sites are layered on top of each other, telling the story of one society, its rise, and then the next that came in its place. 1. Pompeii(Credit: Ivo Antonie de Rooij/Shutterstock) Pompeii is well known as a city that was decimated by the eruptio ...read more
Picture an amphibian over 6 feet long, with a suction-cup mouth containing 4-inch fangs in a 2-foot-long skull that holds a ring of smaller, but equally sharp teeth. Such a creature dominated the waters 40 million years before dinosaurs usurped it as a top predator and comes from a lineage once thought to be extinct millions of years before its aquatic reign. This creature, Gaiasia jennyae — which could aptly be named “salamander from hell” — is described in a new report in Nature.“Gai ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine