http://discovermagazine.com/rss/master-feeds/allAll DISCOVERmagazine.com content, from blog posts to magazine features to photo galleries and video.http://backend.userland.com/rssWed, 19 Jun 2013 17:19:59 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/?p=2338 Update: See the end of the post for clarifications and new information from the communications coordinator for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. With record-breaking temperatures across Alaska showing no signs of abating, wildfires like the ones seen in the image above from NASA's Terra satellite may well be a common sight coming weeks. Here’s a snippet from the National Weather Service forecast discussion for the Fairbanks area: …REGARDLESS OF WHICH MODEL IS FOLLOWED...ALL Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:19:59 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/?p=2338http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/files/2013/06/Alaska-fires3-1024x631.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/files/2013/06/Alaska-fires3-1024x631.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1674 Evil masterminds of the world: Don’t you just hate it when you’re trying to deliver your ultimatum via hologram and the display is all wobbly and blurry and not at all intimidating? Take heart. Science is coming to your rescue. A new method for creating holograms significantly improves image clarity and puts the technology in the price range of would-be megalomaniacs with even modest budgets. For the rest of us, the technology holds promise for glasses-free three-dimensional televisionWed, 19 Jun 2013 17:10:45 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1674http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/WhiteHologram1.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/WhiteHologram1.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1669 Hundreds of millions of years ago, a single mega-continent on the Earth broke up and began to drift apart. The pieces spread out across the surface of the globe, eventually settling in their current positions as continents and creating oceans in between. Now scientists have observed the first indication that this movement may be shifting into reverse, setting the United States and Europe on an eventual collision course. Such an expansion and contraction of the Earth's crust is directed byWed, 19 Jun 2013 15:55:46 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1669http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/tectonic-plate-movement.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/tectonic-plate-movement.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/?p=386 According to pop psychology, one of the best tools for achieving a goal is monitoring one's progress towards that goal. But what if your goal is to become emotionally close to another person? Can obsessing about how close you feel towards someone interfere with your ability to actually feel close? To test this idea, these scientists had first year undergraduate psychology students talk to each other, and had some of them rate how close they felt every five minutes. It turns out that checkingWed, 19 Jun 2013 15:00:35 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/?p=386http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/files/2013/06/6474952633_d8e379ff3a-300x199.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/files/2013/06/6474952633_d8e379ff3a-300x199.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/collideascape/?p=11572There is much to recommend this article in the New Republic by Nate Cohn, starting with the sub-headline: Grappling with climate change nuance in a toxic political environment It is an ungrateful task to interrogate the complexities of climate change (which extend to the policy side of the equation) so props to Cohn for taking it on. That he does so with an even tone and lucid writing makes the piece all the more impressive. This milieu is reliably explored by Andy Revkin at Dot Earth, whicWed, 19 Jun 2013 13:05:25 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/collideascape/?p=11572http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/?p=3066 Recently, Kara Moses asked Guardian readers: "Should we wait for conclusive scientific studies before becoming concerned about an issue?" Her personal answer was no; that special interest groups should perform and publicize their own findings. "I believe they should be given a voice," she concluded, "not dismissed out of hand for lacking the scientific rigour demanded by professional scientists." Quick to support her was Treehugger writer Chris Tackett. "The point here is that scientific Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:00:25 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/?p=3066http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/files/2013/06/road-289x300.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/files/2013/06/road-289x300.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/fire-in-the-mind/?p=531The effect of environmental contaminants on cancer should be a scientific issue, not a political one. But it is probably too late for that. Industry exploits the uncertainties (for a good account of the phenomenon see Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway's book Merchants of Doubt), but so do personal injury and mass-tort lawyers looking for the deepest pockets when they represent plaintiffs with cancer. Environmental organizations have their own agendas, and that was the problem with the Mother JoneWed, 19 Jun 2013 07:27:16 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/fire-in-the-mind/?p=531http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/?p=2339I was out in the prairie northeast of Denver today with researchers from the National Severe Storms Laboratory using a drone aircraft to observe developing thunderstorms when we got the news: A tornado had touched at Denver International Airport, about 50 miles to the south of us. Interestingly, we got the news from Twitter — and that's where this awesome picture of the twister, which touched down briefly and harmed no one, turned up shortly thereafter: https://twitter.com/7Marshall/statusWed, 19 Jun 2013 02:36:00 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/?p=2339http://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/02-study-overturns-belief-that-molars-mean-the-end-of-nursing-for-chimpsScientists overturn the long-held belief that young chimpanzees wean once their back teeth start coming in.Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/02-study-overturns-belief-that-molars-mean-the-end-of-nursing-for-chimpshttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/3BC7170D4F604A39B23F307FFD37B8B4.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/3BC7170D4F604A39B23F307FFD37B8B4.jpg?mw=500http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/?p=3021 According to many biologists, you don't really know your research inside and out until you've tasted what you study (there is, quite literally, a badge of honor for it). I've known biologists who have chugged shots of plankton, taken bites from agar plates, and some have even drank water that's a billion years old to attain the dubious honor. You'd be surprised* just how many times I've gotten into conversations about my research and my study organisms only to be interrupted by "that's greatTue, 18 Jun 2013 20:57:04 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/?p=3021http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/files/2013/06/IMG_2960-e1371586244687-260x300.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/files/2013/06/IMG_2960-e1371586244687-260x300.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/collideascape/?p=11562In this space, I've frequently shown how GMO fear mongering plays out in the media. The latest frightful example aired Monday on CNN. It was a piece about the mysterious genetically modified (GM) wheat recently found in an Oregon farm field. First, some quick background: In the early to mid-2000s, Monsanto field tested GM wheat in 16 states. But as NPR reported, "the country's wheat growers told the company that they did not want it."  So Monsanto never sought to commercialize the crop and stTue, 18 Jun 2013 18:17:07 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/collideascape/?p=11562http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/?p=4063Brainwashed, by Sally Satel and Scott O Lilienfeld. Basic Books. I wanted to dislike this book. You see, I was suspicious of the fact that one of the authors is a resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an organization whose political values I oppose, and, insofar as it's an organization with political values, has little  business going near science. Then, when I found that the book cites me (with fellow neurobloggers Mind Hacks and Neurocritic) in the AcknowlTue, 18 Jun 2013 17:59:12 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/?p=4063http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/files/2013/06/brainwashed_book.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/files/2013/06/brainwashed_book.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=21594Kevin Zelnio recently made me aware of this fascinating piece in The New York Times, For Its Latest Beer, a Craft Brewer Chooses an Unlikely Pairing: Archaeology. Here's the catchiest aspect: a microbrewery is attempting to recreate the taste of ancient Sumerian beer! Why? Though it's purportedly educational, obviously it's also the "cool" factor which is at the root of this enterprise. The brewery doesn't aim to sell this. I say why not! A few years ago Paul Boom wrote the book How Pleasure Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:11:21 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=21594http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/files/2013/06/250px-Gudea_of_Lagash_Girsu-200x300.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/files/2013/06/250px-Gudea_of_Lagash_Girsu-200x300.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3148By Madeline Bodin With thousands of newly-hatched 17-year cicadas blanketing the Eastern U.S., residents would be forgiven for not noticing a less conspicuous absence: birds. Bird surveys have repeatedly shown a mysterious trend of a population downtick in areas of cicada emergence. It's the exact opposite of what might be expected---crows, blue jays and cardinals are among the species affected, and they feed on insects. And it's fascinated ornithologist Walter Koenig for years. “Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:05:57 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3148http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/cicadas.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/cicadas.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/?p=375 There are numerous studies that investigate how drinking alcohol affects our brains. However, most of these studies take place in laboratories and medical settings that have almost nothing in common with the bars and parties where most of us drink. This raises the question of how applicable the results are to drinking in more typical settings. So, these scientists tried to measure brain activity while socializing and drinking in a more "normal" setting. To do this, they devised special electTue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:48 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/?p=375http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/files/2013/06/pone.0044676.g001.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/files/2013/06/pone.0044676.g001.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=21584Over ten years ago I began writing on the internet about sundry things. Mostly science. But sometimes policy, politics, and history. I still do so on occasion veer away from science (see some of the books I've reviewed and read to get a sampling of my interests). After the travesty of Iraq I vowed that I would never take for granted that those who speak with authority truly have the grounds to speak with such authority. This is one reason I occasionally post factual corrections about presuppositTue, 18 Jun 2013 08:18:01 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=21584http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/files/2013/06/Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/files/2013/06/Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/?p=2241 At the end of a long journey back from Cambodia last week, I had my face glued to the window as the plane passed low over Colorado's Front Range on its way to a landing in Denver. The scenery is always spectacular, but I was also looking for something specific, and I found it: dust on snow. A lot of it. Check out the picture above and you'll see it: beige coloring on what would otherwise be bright white snowpack. This isn't just a curiosity. The relatively dark color of dust causes Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:23:49 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/?p=2241http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/files/2013/06/Dust-on-Front-Range-Snow-1.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/files/2013/06/Dust-on-Front-Range-Snow-1.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1641 When living in a foreign country, immigrants often find comfort in seeing things and people from home. But new research suggests that such familiar surroundings can also decrease one's ability to speak the language of that foreign country. Putting Language to the Test Researchers conducted a series of experiments with Chinese immigrants now attending a university in the United States. Chinese participants had simulated conversations in English with both Chinese and Caucasian classmates. WhilMon, 17 Jun 2013 19:00:34 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1641http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/pistachio1.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/pistachio1.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/?p=366 It's easy to see that our feelings change our facial expressions. But can your facial expression change how you feel? Previous studies have suggested that this is the case, and that getting botox might actually make you happier because your resting facial expression is more pleasant. This study explores whether the frown-like face you make in bright sunlight can make you more aggressive. Turns out, it does--but fortunately, this effect can be prevented by wearing sunglasses. Sun-induced fMon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:16 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/?p=366http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/files/2013/06/meme-274x300.pnghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/files/2013/06/meme-274x300.pnghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=21573In my earlier post on Prince William's mtDNA lineage, and its possible Indian provenance, I didn't address the issue of genetic privacy in much detail. The discussion is relevant in this case because BritainsDNA inferred his lineage by looking at distant relatives. Assuming that the biological pedigree we have for William is correct, he must share the mtDNA of his relatives who descend in an unbroken line from a common female ancestor. A concern about the breach of privacy emerged almost immeMon, 17 Jun 2013 08:21:02 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/?p=21573http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/files/2013/06/220px-Prince_William_of_Wales_RAF.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/files/2013/06/220px-Prince_William_of_Wales_RAF.jpg