Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i Discover

LIFE FROM SPACE? • THE VALUE OF A SPECIES • THE SEARCH FOR ANTIMATTER BATTERY SCIENCE • OZONE HOLE STATUS • FISH FANCLUB • DOG YAWNS • REVIEWS SUPER SUNFLOWERS Deep within these resilient desert beauties, supergenes help generate growth in the harshest environments. They might sound like something out of the Marvel universe, but supergenes are large clusters of DNA that have been found in some plants, butterflies, birds and ants. In prairie sunflowers, they influence seed size, bloom timing and other environmental adaptations. Writing in Nature last July, one team identified 37 supergene blocks in wild sunflowers, such as those that help prairie sunflowers weather blazing temperatures and last weeks without water. If that’s not impressive enough, prairie sunflowers can thrive in most states in the continental U.S.,…

In 1996, Discover reported on a new experiment that would probe the far universe for signs of antimatter. These particles are theoretically identical in behavior to the ones we know, but with opposing electrical charges, among other differences. Physicists’ theories about the Big Bang say there should have been equal amounts of matter and antimatter created during the event. But we live in a universe full of matter, with little antimatter in sight. There are different explanations for this, including that all of the antimatter might just be too far away to see. The search for distant antistars and antigalaxies was the focus of our April 1996 article, “The Antimatter Mission,” which chronicled the genesis of an experiment called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). The experiment set out to measure cosmic…

Sharp teeth and pointy snouts plaster the walls and bookshelves of Solomon David’s office at Nicholls State University, nested among the bayous of southern Louisiana. It’s like walking into a gar museum — perhaps he only such in the world. The prehistoric fish that adorns the walls looks like an alligator that has fins instead of feet, a long, narrow snout and armored, diamond-shaped scales. A small stuffed animal gar, custom made from a woman in the U.K. who makes scientifically accurate paleo plushies, sits behind David’s computer chair. Multiple gars from Mexico are mounted on the walls; there, gar is a regional delicacy known locally as pejelagarto — a portmanteau of the Spanish words for “fish” and “lizard.” Next to a whiteboard hangs a framed spread depicting a gar…

I love the word discombobulated. That’s partly because I came to it late. Although the term dates back to at least the 19th century, I don’t recall ever hearing it before 2016. Just trying to utter it aloud perfectly encapsulates its meaning (confused and disconcerted). I usually get about halfway through, to the bob, then lose track of what I’m saying. I don’t think I have ever pronounced discombobulated the same precise way twice. And I always feel a slight sense of relief when I reach the ed without screwing it up, without showing my inner discombobulation. Most words have no apparent connection to what they signify. As the linguist Steven Pinker puts it, we call a dog “dog” because everyone else does. And that’s how it has to be.…

Some scientists wish to uncover truths of the natural universe — to learn the properties of distant stars, or deep-sea creatures, or the interior of our cells. Others seek solutions, hoping to better our lives or undo the damage we’ve done to our environment. The list of motivations runs long, depending on who you talk to. But most people don’t know any scientists personally. In 2017, about 4 out of 5 Americans polled couldn’t name a single living scientist, according to Research America. Of those who could, top answers were Stephen Hawking (27 percent), who died in 2018; Neil deGrasse Tyson (19 percent), who last published research in 2008; and Bill Nye (5 percent), who quit his job as an engineer in 1986. Yet 1.5 million-plus Americans are currently working…

IN 2018, $580 billion was spent on science research and development (R&D) in the U.S., compared to $548 million in 2017. The total includes the categories of experimental development and basic and applied research. The vast majority of development funding (85 percent, or $314 billion in 2018) came from businesses. Much of that work is proprietary for products, goods and processes. A total of $211.5 billion went toward basic and applied research. From that total, businesses contributed about 43 percent; federal money funded 38 percent; and state governments, nonprofits and higher education institutions invested 19 percent. U.S. R&D Funding by Source and Category, 2018 Source: Congressional Research Service/congress.gov…

For West Virginia, a big surprise was tucked inside this winter’s $900 billion COVID-19 federal stimulus bill: New River Gorge became the 63rd U.S. national park, and the first national park in the state. The river, or “The New” in local vernacular, is already a haven for outdoor enthusiasts — ideal for hiking, fishing, rafting, rock climbing and camping — and attracts nearly 1 million annual visitors. The river is believed to be one of the oldest in North America. For centuries, it played a key role for Indigenous tribes, though, according to legend, some called it the “river of death.” Later, the waterway supported the coalmining industry, which became a backbone of the West Virginia economy in the late 1800s. That mining history includes a controversial method still used…

Lithium-ion batteries: They’re in almost every phone and laptop, they’re powering zero-emission transportation, and they’re making it easier to transition to wind and solar energy. Let’s demystify how these ubiquitous black boxes store energy — and why they can’t last forever. Every battery has two core parts, an oxide electrode and a graphite electrode. The two electrodes are arranged in symmetrical, layered crystals. You can think of each as a Jenga tower whose stability comes from crisscrossing blocks. Rather than wood blocks, every other layer in the graphite electrode tower would be graphite; in the oxide electrode tower, it would be metal oxide. The remaining blocks would be ions of a soft metal called lithium, one of earth’s most widespread elements. In a lithium-ion battery, these ions move between the…

If you ever find yourself yawning during a long Zoom video call, you may soon see yawns spread to the other faces on your screen. Your pet under the desk may even join in. Yawns are contagious, even between dogs and humans, as Discover reported in 2008 and again in 2012. At the time, empathy — the ability to put yourself in another’s shoes — was one of scientists’ most probable explanations, since dogs have been selectively bred to be our companions over millennia. But emerging evidence suggests this reasoning is wrong. To get a better glimpse inside your dog’s mind, researchers examined whether canine contagious yawning follows the same behavioral patterns that empathetic yawning does in humans. For instance, people are both more empathetic toward and likely to contagiously…

Imagine a universe rife with cosmic catastrophes: Jupiter ejecting a comet into space that would later become the planet Venus. The comet whizzing past Earth and changing its rotation. The resulting chaos on Earth causing natural disasters of biblical proportions — literally — like the parting of the Red Sea. In the mid-1900s, Immanuel Velikovsky, a psychiatrist and author, claimed that he could prove these radical ideas. Velikovsky laid out his case in Worlds in Collision, a 1950 bestseller. But the book wasn’t billed as creative fiction or a fanciful hypothesis based on anecdotal accounts of the past; rather, Velikovsky presented these interplanetary theories, and others, as factual. Many scientists didn’t buy it. “That this is a remarkable story no one — proponents and opponents alike — will disagree,” Carl…

We tend to assume that deliberately telling lies is some sort of pernicious aberration unique to liars. Perhaps it’s the result of a mental defect or, more likely, some sort of moral failing. It is not — everything living lies, including you. Before you dismiss the thought, consider this: Human deception and evasion are no different than the animal equivalent of camouflage, spots and stripes. Charm is our very own version of frilly fins and peacock feathers. And the effort to deceive is an evolutionary arms race as old as organic life. Take the blue morpho butterfly, for example; it’s the one with beautiful, iridescent, sky-blue wings. First lie: That dazzling blue color isn’t actually there. It’s just an optical illusion, created by blue light selectively reflected off of millions…

Extinctions of species occurred long before humans arrived on Earth. By that definition, it’s a natural process. But today, extinctions are increasing rapidly — and very often linked to human activities. Take the Bramble Cay melomys, a small rodent on a remote island uninhabited by humans. In 2016, it became the first mammal to be erased from the planet due to climate change. Some conservationists mourned, but others questioned whether every extinction is something to worry about. In the face of tough decisions about human lifestyles and the climate crisis, a split among scientists is surfacing. Losing one species may not change life as we know it, so perhaps our limited conservation resources should focus on preserving the biodiversity in those systems where it benefits humans. Sometimes, such as when…

Almost 40 years ago, scientists found a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Ozone molecules absorb UV radiation, acting as a sunscreen for life on Earth. Certain substances — especially chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), once emitted by refrigerators and air conditioners — destroy ozone molecules in our atmosphere. That’s why, in 1987, the United Nations established the Montreal Protocol to regulate CFCs. Did the treaty fix the ozone hole? Yes and no. Concentrations of CFCs in the atmosphere have significantly declined. But they’re not gone for good. Stephen Montzka, a research chemist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says they’ve detected levels of CFCs in the atmosphere that indicate possible unauthorized industrial production. These could delay the ozone layer’s recovery, but they don’t mean game over. “The enhanced levels of…

The stately woman in the buttoned-up nightgown looked on as Iris, my second-year resident, related the history. “Ms. Baker is a 60-year-old in good health,” she began. “Only takes a blood pressure pill. Early this morning, the room suddenly started spinning and she retched once. Denies headache, neck pain, arm or leg weakness or vision change. Says her face feels tingly on the left. On the physical exam, she drifted to the left when I had her walk.” “Any tingling or numbness on the right arm or leg?” I asked. “I didn’t ask,” Iris replied. “Could be a Wallenberg,” I said. She pursed her lips. “The actor?” “Ha. Wallenberg, not Wahlberg. It’s a type of stroke. Lateral medullary infarct.” A stroke is caused by blockage or rupture of a blood…

1 Is this info peer-reviewed? All papers are not created equal, even if they run in a bona fide journal. Sometimes you can find preprint papers that haven’t been fully vetted. Letters from experts or editors also appear in journals. Examine the language at the top and bottom of papers to understand what you’re looking at. 2 Who did the study? On any scientific paper, you’ll find a list of authors and their institutional affiliation. Look for trusted universities and institutes. Take note if the researchers work for a for-profit industry or a nonprofit with a policy agenda. This information is typically right underneath the author names at the top of a paper, sometimes hidden in a drop-down menu. If it’s not there, it might be tucked at the end…

C COVID-19 isn’t the only thing that spread like wildfire in 2020 — so did the conspiracy theories about it. Misleading claims that the virus was a political hoax or that the vaccines harbor microchips to allow the government to surveil its citizens blazed across social media. By December, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had banned COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on their platforms. But this flare-up of falsehoods wasn’t just harmless noise. A survey by the Pew Research Center last November found that 21 percent of U.S. adults don’t plan on getting vaccinated, and remain “pretty certain” that more information won’t change their mind. It’s troubling to think that simply debunking these claims — essentially, exposing them as untrue — is not enough to shift some people’s perceptions. But what if there…