Science: What Geeks are talking about from Discover Magazine

Here is the latest Scientific News from Discover Magazine.

Echidnas Are Too Cool to Be Bothered by Fires
If you can’t stand the heat, you’re not an echidna, as the saying (almost) goes. These egg-laying mammals are unusual for several reasons. One of those reasons, it turns out, is that their ability to lower their body temperatures makes them largely indifferent to their homes burning down around them. The short-beaked echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus, is one of four living species of echidna. Like the platypus, echidnas are Australian mammals that lay eggs instead of bearing live young. The

A Frigid Surprise at Venus’ Poles
Thanks to a thick layer of cloud cover trapping in heat, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, with temperatures boiling over at 850 degrees Fahrenheit (454 C). But in a study published last week in Nature Physics, the European Space Agency found something surprising at the planet’s poles: temperatures more frigid than anywhere on Earth. Even though ESA lost contact with the Venus Express probe two years ago after it ran out of fuel, the agency is still working through the data it

Nifty Gloves Convert Sign Language Into Spoken Words
Two sophomores at the University of Washington have been recognized for an invention that could break down communication barriers for the deaf. Their invention, the SignAloud, is a pair of sensor-filled gloves that interpret the hand movements American Sign Language users use to communicate, and converts them into speech or text that the rest of us can understand. The two students, Navid Azodi and Thomas Pryor, designed the gloves inside the CoMotion MakerSpace, a collaborative worksho

Offices Are Rife With Skin and Nose Bacteria
Most of us spend a whopping 90 percent of our time indoors, which is the sort of statistic makes you want to spend your lunch break outside — especially when you consider the microbes that share your workspace. Scientists are increasingly interested in the ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other micro-organisms that share those artificial environments with us. That’s why John Chase of Biota Technology and his colleagues sampled the microbial communities in offices in Flagstaff, San Diego

Could Molecular fMRI Revolutionise Neuroscience?
In a new paper called Molecular fMRI, MIT researchers Benjamin B. Bartelle, Ali Barandov, and Alan Jasanoff discuss technological advances that could provide neuroscientists with new tools for mapping the brain. Currently, one of the leading methods of measuring brain activity is functional MRI (fMRI). However, as Bartelle et al. note, it has its limitations: Because brain activity mapping with fMRI depends on neurovascular coupling, resolution at the level of single cells is out of reach.

Levitating Rocket Sled Breaks World Speed Record
A levitating rocket sled at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico recently broke the world speed record for maglev tracks, clocking in at 633 mph. The rocket sled, which is basically a rocket bolted to a small platform, achieved such high speeds thanks to supercooled magnets that hold the sled about an inch off of the rails, allowing it to hover in midair. With only wind resistance holding it back, the sled and its rocket booster surpassed the previous record — set earlier this year by th

With Cyclone Fantala, the Indian Ocean experiences its strongest storm on record
It’s now the Indian Ocean’s turn. After record setting cyclones in the Northeast Pacific (Hurricane Patricia, Oct. 2015), and the Southwest Pacific (Tropical Cyclone Winston, Feb. 2016), the Indian Ocean has now experienced its strongest storm on record. Say hello to Cyclone Fantala, as seen in the satellite image above. Fantala’s wind speeds reached an estimated 170 miles per hour on April 18, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Modern, reliable records of storm strength

How the Brain Senses a Smile
When you see a great big smile, you know that someone is happy. Pretty simple, right? Such an inference is less a product of deductive reasoning and more like an instinctual reaction — we just know what certain facial expressions mean, we don’t have to think about it. And researchers from Ohio State University say they’ve pinpointed the region of the brain that goes to work whenever we are confronted with raised eyebrows, wrinkled noses, taut lips and other facial contortions. Located in

Attacking DNA to Save Snakebitten Limbs
The moment the a viper’s venom enters the body, its enzymatic components set about their nefarious work. Metalloproteases begin the assault by mowing down structurally essential components of blood vessels and tissues, weakening walls and making holes that leech fluid. Capillaries hemmorrhage and the area swells while the proteases keep at their attack, taking out skeletal muscle through mechanisms poorly understood. Phospholipases join in, with their sights set on cell membranes. Some cut a

Scientists Find Link Between Genes and Virginity
In a new study, a team of scientists from the United Kingdom, Iceland and the United States claims to have isolated a set of 38 genes that they say play a role in determining the age at which people lose their virginities. The study builds on previous research that established a link between genetics and loss of virginity. This most recent study highlights the link between genetic factors influencing the onset of puberty and losing your virginity, as well as genes responsible for personal

After 17 Years, Billions of Cicadas Are Ready to Emerge
Summer is going to be a little noisier this year on the East Coast. Once the soil temperatures rise sufficiently, billions of cicadas are expected to emerge after spending 17 years underground. The soon-to-emerge cicadas were born in 1999 and spent the years feasting on secretions from plant roots. After toiling in the dirt for close to two decades, the cicadas will climb a tree, shed their nymphal shell, and proceed to get dirty — in the figurative sense. Locations That Will Be Abuzz T

Were Dinosaurs Doomed Before the Asteroid?
The age of the dinosaurs was growing stale long before that infamous impact. A new study claims that dinosaurs were doomed to extinction before a city-sized space rock abruptly ended their reign some 66 million years ago. The analysis, published online Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows many species had already been dwindling for tens of millions of years. Fading Away The team’s analysis shows some of these shriveling branches on the dinosaur tree of l

Funny scientific article titles… take 2!
A while back we wrote an article for Slate about the funny (and sometimes inappropriate) titles scientists give their papers. Since then, our readers have flooded our email with more examples, many of which were from their own papers. Here are a few of our favorite fun, clever, and just plain odd paper titles… enjoy! Female morphology, web design, and the potential for multiple mating in Nephila clavipes: do fat-bottomed girls make the spider world go round? Super-mesenteric-vein-exp

A thunderstorm blowing its top, as seen from space
When I saw this sweet piece of eye candy, produced recently by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, I felt it was time to come out of blogging hibernation. Over the past couple of weeks, my day job as a journalism professor at the University of Colorado has held me back from posting regularly here at ImaGeo. But thanks in part to this image, I’m back. I hope you find it to be as spectacular as I do. You’re looking at a thunderstorm as photographed by an unnamed astronau

Spoof Papers And The Ethics of Academic Publishing
A Sokal-style hoax philosophy paper has triggered much debate over academic standards in the field. The intentionally nonsensical spoof article, signed by ‘Benedetta Tripodi’ but really the work of Philippe Huneman and Anouk Barberousse, was accepted and published by the journal Badiou Studies (“a multi-lingual, peer-reviewed journal”) which is devoted to the work of French philosopher Alain Badiou. It’s since been retracted. Cue hand-wringing. I don’t know much about Badiou but this cas

Stuttering Mice Could Reveal New Clues About the Speech Disorder
For those who stutter, a simple conversation can be a frustrating experience. The mechanism that underlies stammering is unclear, although a telltale genetic mutation was recently pinpointed as the culprit. How this mutation causes fits and starts in speech is unknown, but researchers from Washington University say they have taken an important step toward building a genetic understanding of stuttering. The Stammering Gene The researchers worked with a mutation in a gene that is known to

The Hidden Messages in a Laugh
From hearty belly laughs to polite chuckles, laughter underpins our more enjoyable social interactions. And just like body language and facial expressions, laughter, too, is a physical reaction that’s loaded with subtext. There are many ways to laugh out loud — some giggles are more heartfelt than others — and discerning the difference is a key social skill. For example, the way we laugh sounds very different when we are at a bar with friends versus a meeting at work. And, a new study sho

Mindfulness in the Military
Sprinkling “Omm” mantras between “Ooh Rah!” battle cries can pay dividends for members of the Marine Corps and other branches of the military. According to a growing body of research, regular meditation improves the wellbeing of military members — both active duty and those who have previously served. Meditation is rooted in spirituality, which affects personal wellness in its own way, but the neurological underpinnings of meditation’s other health benefits are being widely assessed by re

Drone Racing Soars on ESPN Deal
Drone racing aims to win the hearts and minds of sports fans beyond the tech crowd. The International Drone Racing Association has struck a deal with ESPN for the sports network to televise several upcoming drone racing events for the first time. The drone racers represent more colorful, souped-up versions of the multi-rotor consumer drones that have become increasingly popular in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. Drone racing pilots wear goggles that show live video from a camera

STDs Might Have Driven Us to Embrace Monogamy
Exactly why so many humans choose monogamous pair bonds over juggling multiple partners has long been a mystery to scientists. After all, having several partners at the same time should lead to more offspring — an outcome you’d think evolution would favor. Now a new study has linked the phenomenon to sexually transmitted diseases, arguing that monogamy could have evolved because it offered protection against the threat of infection. Monogamy is, of course, the norm in Western societies. B

Drink Too Much? It Depends Where You’re From
Alcohol can be a wonderful thing. It can also be a very bad thing, and the line between the two is, well, blurry. Knowing when enough is enough is something of an art, but establishing where to draw the line is made more difficult due to the myriad intoxicants at our disposal. And, as a new study shows, the official guidelines for what actually constitutes an alcoholic drink, which should presumably provide sober advice on our drinking habits, aren’t much help either. How Many Drinks in

Hunting Bats Plan Two Bugs Ahead
A flying insect that’s suddenly swallowed by a bat probably doesn’t have a lot of time to reflect on its fate. If it did, though, it might wonder how on Earth the swooping mammal managed to grab it with so little warning. The answer is that bats don’t hunt just one bug at a time. While scanning the air with echoes, they manage to plan two victims ahead. Bats aren’t blind, despite what you may have read on Twitter. But bats that hunt at night rely on sound, not vision. They send out very h

Inside Rome’s Enlightenment Library
The Casanatense Library in central Rome is a mecca for scholars of the European enlightenment, possessing nearly half a million volumes on medicine, philosophy, literature, law, math, and science. Founded in 1701 by a Dominican monastic order, the library quickly gained a reputation for its extensive collection and cosmopolitan curation. As Casanatense cultural officer Simona Perugia explains, “the people who came to study in the library needed and expected the most recent and important

A 26-Million-Year-Old Whale Song
Modern whales and dolphins navigate in the oceans using echolocation, a system that bounces sounds off objects to reveal their details and distance. These magnificent marine mammals use their distinctive, high-frequency sounds for communicating with each other and hunting prey. The development of this important sensory system was a crucial factor in the evolution of odontocetes, the group that includes toothed whales and dolphins. Now, an international team of researchers has discovered w

Prepare for an Explosion of Gravitational Wave Detections
In the time it takes you to finish your lunch break, several pairs of black holes will merge somewhere in the universe. That’s the incredible picture emerging from early insights by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory. In February, LIGO announced the first detection of gravitational waves, confirming a key prediction of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. That historic wave reached Earth at light speed on September 14, 2015, from a pair of black holes that

This Is Your Brain on LSD
The psychedelic drug LSD is known for the wild hallucinations it conjures, and its effects have been portrayed by Hollywood in movies like Easy Rider and The Big Lebowski. But actual studies of LSD and its effect on the brain have been few and far in between, due to its classification as a Schedule I drug. But a new study from researchers in the United Kingdom delves into the science of an LSD-enhanced trip using bran scans to observe 20 patients under the influence of the drug. I’m Frea

6 Perspectives of SpaceX’s Historic Launch and Boat Landing
SpaceX reached a remarkable milestone on Friday when it successfully launched and landed its Falcon 9 rocket on an autonomous barge floating in the Atlantic Ocean, the fifth time it had attempted to do so. The historic event has already generated plenty of buzz, and has been immortalized from multiple perspectives. Here are some of the best photos and videos from that game-changing accomplishment. 1. You may have seen the landing, but have you watched it in crispy 4K video? 2. H

How To Avoid Neurohype
I’ve got a new article over at the Daily Dot: Why we’re living in an era of neuroscience hype. Check it out! Here’s a few additional thoughts on the rhetorical use of neuroscience. The root cause of neurohype, as I say in the new post (and as I’ve argued before) is a philosophcial one: We seem prone to a mind-brain dualism, thinking that the mind is something soft, malleable, and mysterious, whereas the brain is a hard, biological thing open to scientific probing. Therefore, we

The Strange Rise of Neuromarketing
On Twitter, someone linked me to this: the Neuromarketing World Forum (NWF) 2016, which has just taken place in Dubai (which the conference organizers call “the Neuromarketing Capital of the World”). It was a three-day event dedicated to the application of neuroscience in the world of marketing and business. Attendees were taught about how brain science could help them understand what consumers want and how to sell to them more effectively. But where, in all this, were the neuroscientists

DNA Data Storage Moves Beyond Moore’s Law
Over the past few decades, it has become apparent that Moore’s Law has started to come apart. The 1965 observation, named after Gordon E. Moore, stated that the number of components on a chip seemed to double every year, but we are reaching the limit of silicon’s storage capabilities. To keep pushing the boundaries of computing technology, we’ll need to rethink the basic components of computers themselves. And the field of DNA storage could offer a solution to a problem growing ever more

Why Old Dads Are Bad for Albatrosses
If birds fretted about their biological clocks like humans do, it would be the dads of some species doing the worrying, not the moms. When male albatrosses have chicks later in life, those chicks grow up to fare worse. It’s because albatrosses of both sexes are such good parents to begin with. Wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) share parenting duties “quite equitably,” explains Rémi Fay, a graduate student in biology at France’s CNRS. The giant seabirds mate for life. Every other ye

Life-Saving Lessons from Hibernating Ground Squirrels
In a large walk-in freezer at the University of Minnesota, ground squirrels are quietly slumbering in the dark. As the ground thaws this spring, a new crop of animals around the northern hemisphere will emerge from a long winter’s slumber. At the same time, squirrels in Matt Andrews’ lab at the University of Minnesota will be waking up from their own hibernation. Andrews studies these hibernating squirrels, and the science may have applications for the health and well-being of astronau

What Makes a Person Creepy?
You can tell that something is wrong with Hannibal Lecter the moment he appears on screen in The Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins’ character is soft-spoken, polite and almost friendly, but there’s still something about him that makes you want to get as far away as possible — he’s a creepy person. Later in the film, we learn our instincts were spot-on. In a recent study, Francis McAndrew of Knox University attempted to pin down what makes a person “creepy,” a decidedly unscientif

Unintended Consequences: The Sinister Side of Species Protection
There’s something dark at work when it comes to certain human-animal interactions. A recent report from the Ecological Society of America admits that calling attention to plants and animals in need of special protections can actually result in “perverse consequences,” ultimately putting some species in harm’s way—even in the face of stiff penalties. Killing a bald eagle is a federal offense punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. “A subsequent conviction under the B

Words We Say to Dogs (and Other Things Scientists Learned Watching People Play with Pets)
“Who wants to generate some DATA??” are probably not words you’ve ever said while taking your dog’s leash and tennis ball from the closet. But thanks to videos of people playing with their dogs, scientists now know what words you are likely to use. They also discovered how women’s tussling and tug-of-war are different from men’s—and what the professionals do better. The scientists are Alexandra Horowitz and Julie Hecht of Barnard College’s Dog Cognition Lab. They asked members of the publ

How Humans Feel About Touching Robots’ ‘Intimate Areas’
Touching a robot’s “intimate areas” can be arousing, researchers from Stanford say. Jamy Li, a doctoral student at Stanford University asked 10 people to follow a robot’s commands as it asked them to touch 13 different parts of its body, including its hand, ear and buttocks. Li found that participants showed definite signs of arousal when asked to touch “areas of low accessibility” — a scientific way of saying “butt.” Scientists have examined the ways we appraise a robot’s appearance and

Flexible Measures Are A Problem For Science
A fascinating new site called FlexibleMeasures.com reveals the enormous variety of different ways which psychologists have devised to analyse the data from the same experimental task. The competitive reaction time task (CRTT) is widely used as a research tool to probe aggression. Participants in the task are given the chance to lash out at ‘opponents’ by subjecting them to annoying blasts of loud noise. Using the noise is interpreted as aggressive behaviour – but how exactly should