Discover Magazine will amaze you, enlighten you, and open your eyes to the awe and wonder of science and technology. Discover reveals secrets, solves mysteries, and debunks old myths. Discover shares new findings and shows you what makes our universe tick.
TAKING ON THE STRANGE
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THE LATEST NEWS AND NOTES • THE SCIENCE OF SWEAT • LUNAR LUNGS • THE BRIGHTEST BIRDS • TENDING TO SEAGRASS ARTIFICIAL APPETITES • LEARNING TO DECODE THE BRAIN’S LIGHT • STONE STATUE FACTORIES
DROPPING THE DROPLET • RESEARCHERS HAVE STARTED TO REVEAL HOW SWEAT EMERGES FROM THE SKIN, A PROCESS THAT HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN HEALTH, TEXTILES, AND TECHNOLOGY.
PICK YOUR POISON • DUST IS BAD FOR YOU. BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT LUNAR DEBRIS IS MUCH LESS HARMFUL — AND MUCH LESS TOXIC — THAN THE DEBRIS IN CITIES ON EARTH.
BIRDS-OF-BIOFLUORESCENCE • RESEARCHERS SAY THAT THE FLASHIEST BIRDS ARE ALSO THE BRIGHTEST, EMITTING LIGHT FROM THEIR SKIN AND FEATHERS TO ENHANCE THEIR MATING DISPLAYS.
MANAGING THE MEADOWS • MEET SALWASIREN QATARENSIS, AN ANCIENT SEA COW SPECIES THAT TENDED TO THE SEAGRASS IN THE ARABIAN GULF AROUND 21 MILLION YEARS AGO.
THE FUTURE OF SEAGRASS
AN ACQUIRED TASTE • MARINE FUNGI CAN EAT PLASTIC POLLUTION. COULD THEY BE CONDITIONED TO HELP CLEAN OUR OCEANS?
YOUR BRAIN’S SECRET SHINE • A FAINT GLOW SHINES THROUGH YOUR SKULL, AND IT MIGHT GIVE AWAY WHAT’S HAPPENING INSIDE YOUR HEAD.
MAKING MOAI • INDIVIDUAL CLANS CARVED THE ICONIC STONE STATUES OF RAPA NUI, MAKING THEIR CONSTRUCTION A FAMILY AFFAIR.
America’s Wonderland • YELLOWSTONE IS THE ONLY PARK IN AMERICA WHERE YOU CAN WATCH BISON ROAM, HEAR GEYSERS ERUPT, AND WALK ALONG ANCIENT ROCKS ALL IN ONE WEEKEND. IT’S ALSO THE PERFECT PLACE TO SEE SCIENCE UP CLOSE.
PROTECTING THE PARK’S WILDLIFE
YELLOWSTONE’S INDIGENOUS ROOTS
Confusion Reigns • AFTER COLLAPSING AT WORK, A BUSINESSMAN WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL, SPOUTING GIBBERISH. ALL SIGNS POINTED TO A STROKE — EXCEPT ONE.
A Forecasting First • A JESUIT PRIEST IN HAVANA, CUBA, MADE WHAT WAS LIKELY THE WORLD’S FIRST PUBLICLY ISSUED HURRICANE FORECAST AROUND 150 YEARS AGO, LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE STORM TRACKING.
A Species Cut Short • HOMO FLORESIENSIS, A SMALL HOBBIT-SIZED HUMAN, THRIVED ON THE ISLAND OF FLORES. THEN, THE SPECIES VANISHED.
Starting Small
An Early Human Hotspot
Modern Tools and Modern Humans
THE EVOUTION OF EVOLUTION • EVOLUTIONARY THEORY WASN’T ESTABLISHED ALL AT ONCE. INSTEAD, IT TOOK DECADES TO DEVELOP AND CONTINUES TO EVOLVE TO THIS DAY.
THE MONK WHO RESCUED DARWIN’S THEORY
NOT JUST A FOOTNOTE
What the Nose Knows • New research reveals the importance of olfaction to human health, and offers hope for those with dysfunctional sniffers.
BRAINLESS • Lifeforms without brains are giving humanity a lesson in what it means to learn.
WHAT BRAINLESS ORGANISMS CAN TEACH US
On the Defensive • IN 1994, THE WORLD WATCHED AS A BARRAGE OF COMET FRAGMENTS CRASHED INTO JUPITER. SINCE THEN, EFFORTS TO PROTECT EARTH FROM COSMIC IMPACTS HAVE GAINED TREMENDOUS MOMENTUM.
No Escape • NOTHING IN SPACE HAS AN APPETITE QUITE LIKE A BLACK HOLE, BUT HERE ON EARTH, SCIENTISTS ARE JUST AS HUNGRY TO BRING THESE INVISIBLE OBJECTS TO LIGHT.
World Pain • WHY CONCERN FOR THE STATE OF THE WORLD CAN MAKE US SAD — AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.
SNAPSHOTS
UNDERSEA PANACEAS