Discover

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.

Cursed With Curiosity

Discover

INBOX

THE LATEST NEWS AND NOTES • FUZZY BLACK HOLES • CHATTERBOX PLANTS • THE CATS AUTHORING RESEARCH PAPERS WHEN YOUR TASTE BUDS GROW UP • WHY MINDS WANDER • PROFILE OF A GREEN CHEMIST

Solving the Black Hole Paradox • SOME PHYSICISTS THINK THAT WE NEED TO SERIOUSLY UPDATE HOW WE THINK OF BLACK HOLES. A THEORY THAT SUGGESTS THEY MAY ACTUALLY RESEMBLE GIANT “FUZZBALLS” WOULD DO JUST THAT.

Is Plant Communication Real? • NEW RESEARCH IS UPENDING BELIEFS ABOUT HOW PLANTS TALK WITH OTHER LIVING THINGS — AND EACH OTHER.

From Cats to Chatbots: Non-Humans Are Authoring Scientific Papers • RESEARCHERS HAVE LONG PRACTICED HONORARY AUTHORSHIP, BUT THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS MAKING IT EVEN EASIER.

Why Our Sense of Taste Changes As We Get Older • WE CRAVE SALTY OR SWEET AS CHILDREN, BUT OUR SENSE OF TASTE BECOMES MORE COMPLEX OVER TIME. HERE’S THE SCIENCE BEHIND OUR EVER-EVOLVING TASTE BUDS.

A WANDERING MIND IS PART OF OUR EVOLUTION • THE HUMAN TENDENCY TO BROOD MAY HAVE ONCE BEEN THE KEY TO OUR SURVIVAL. LEARN THE EVOLUTION AND PSYCHOLOGY OF THE WANDERING MIND.

Paul Anastas, the Father of Green Chemistry • THE PIONEERING SCIENTIST IS REDESIGNING CHEMICAL PROCESSES FOR HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY.

A Penny for Your Thoughts • THIS 20-YEAR-OLD COLLEGE STUDENT DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO COME TO THE HOSPITAL. BUT WHEN HIS FRIENDS CONVINCED HIM TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM, HIS ERRATIC BEHAVIOR WAS ONLY THE FIRST SIGN THAT SOMETHING WAS AMISS.

Moth to a Flame • YEARS AFTER A MASSIVE WILDFIRE DESTROYED ITS HOME, THE FATE OF A CRITICALLY ENDANGERED MOTH MAY STILL BE IN JEOPARDY.

ANSWERS IN THE ASHES • Wildland fire investigators sift through the charred remains of devastation as they search for evidence with profound consequences.

THE NOSE KNOWS

TUTANKHAMUN’S TREASURES • The artifacts from Tut’s tomb have been recorded and repaired — and poked, prodded and photographed — since their discovery over a century ago. Today, scientists are still digging through their secrets.

A MULTI-PHARAOH MASK • OVER 100 YEARS ago, a British archaeologist stood on the cliffs of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, around 3 miles northwest of Luxor. Since antiquity, 61 of the site’s ancient tombs had been identified and exhumed. Experts assumed that they’d exhausted the area, leaving nothing left to unearth.

TUT RESURRECTED • The opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb — and the announcement of its treasures through sensationalized news stories and striking photos — gave the pharaoh another chance to rule.

AN OTHERWORLDLY WEAPON • FOR THOUSANDS of years, a dagger sat dormant and dusty in the depths of Tutankhamun’s tomb. With a golden grip dripping in gemstones and an iron blade forged from an ancient meteorite, the weapon would remain magnificent throughout its time in the darkness and would mystify researchers for decades following its discovery.

ANCIENT LOST AND FOUND • WHEN HOWARD Carter and his team removed the first item, a small painted box, from Tutankhamun’s tomb in December 1922, they had only scratched the surface of the treasures contained within. Thousands of artifacts — from shimmering statues to sandals — were carried from its interior to be cataloged, conserved, swathed in packing paper and sent to the Egyptian Museum.

SCIENCE SLEUTH • ELISABETH BIK IS ON A MISSION TO EXPOSE SCIENTIFIC FRAUD IN PUBLISHED RESEARCH — AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE WATCHING.

OTHER TYPES OF RESEARCH FRAUD • Bik is a whiz at finding...