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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.

Lessons Learned

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INBOX

FROM THE WEB

THE LATEST NEWS AND NOTES • GLACIAL GADGET • THE SCIENCE OF DECAF COFFEE • BACKYARD ANT DISCOVERY ONLINE SHOPPING ADDICTION • MUSIC’S ORIGINS • HAIL ALLEY • REVIEWS

Plumbing the Depths • RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED A WIRELESS DEVICE CALLED CRYOEGG TO PEEK INTO MELTING GLACIERS. THEY HOPE THE EGGLIKE GADGET WILL SOMEDAY REVEAL THE SECRETS BEHIND FUTURE SEA-LEVEL RISE.

DISSECTING DECAF • REMOVING CAFFEINE FROM COFFEE IS COMPLICATED, BUT THE PROCESS HASN’T CHANGED MUCH IN THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS.

A NEW ANT IN TOWN • BIOLOGIST JACK LONGINO DISCOVERED A NEW SPECIES RIGHT IN HIS OWN BACKYARD.

IN HIS OWN WORDS …

WHY IS ONLINE SHOPPING SO ADDICTIVE? • CAN’T STOP GOING ONLINE AND BUYING STUFF YOU DON’T NEED? THE URGE TO SPLURGE IS A CONSTANT TEMPTATION FOR MANY, AND COVID-19 STRESS HAS ONLY FUELED ONLINE SHOPPING ADDICTION.

Where Did Music Come From? • DID HUMANS EVOLVE TO SING AND DANCE, OR DID WE INVENT OUR MUSICAL PASTIMES? SCIENTISTS ARE STILL DEBATING THE ORIGIN OF THIS UNIVERSAL BEHAVIOR.

Welcome to ‘Hail Alley’ • A FEW UNLUCKY FACTORS MAKE SOME WESTERN STATES MORE PRONE TO PELTING ICE. RESEARCHERS ARE COLLECTING DATA TO BETTER PREDICT WHEN THESE DAMAGING STORMS WILL FALL.

WHAT WE’RE READING

More Pages to Turn

TUNE IN

Slim to None • GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERIES CAN OFTEN LEAD TO DRAMATIC WEIGHT LOSS. FOR ONE PATIENT, THOUGH, THERE WERE SOME UNEXPECTED COMPLICATIONS.

Cinema Amnesia • BRAIN SCIENTISTS EXPLAIN WHY MANY OF US FORGET KEY PLOTLINES, OR EVEN THE ENDINGS, OF MOVIES OR BOOKS WE LOVED.

HOW TO REMEMBER BETTER

MYSTERIES AT THE EDGE OF MEDICINE • MILLIONS OF AMERICANS SUFFER FROM AILMENTS WITHOUT A NAME. THAT’S WHERE THE UNDIAGNOSED DISEASES NETWORK COMES IN.

SEE THE LOCATIONS →

MEET THE DOCTORS →

ANGELA MOON / AGE: 46

ELIZABETH NAGORNIAK / AGE: 6

LAURA AMMANN / AGE: 35

EMMA BROADBENT / AGE: 5

COVID LESSONS • As the pandemic mounted a blitzkrieg around the world, killing thousands every day and turning us all into shut-ins, the entire health care system faced a trial by virus. The stakes were inhumanly high, but doctors, researchers and crisis planners stepped up, advancing the field of public health along the way. Here’s how the most important takeaways from COVID-19 are shoring up our collective defenses and preparing the medical world for the next rogue pathogen.

MASKS WORK. REALLY.

IMMUNE SYSTEM MAPPING

VACCINE PRODUCTION SPEED

ADDRESSING RACIAL DISPARITY

MEDICINE FROM HOME

THE FUTURE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY? • Q+A Psychologist Alex Belser says psychedelic medicine could herald a mental health renaissance. He’s on the forefront of a boom in research and experimental treatments.

HOW PSYCHEDELIC-ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY WORKS

WHEN VIRUSES HEAL • AFTER MORE THAN A CENTURY OF RISKY TRIALS AND MEDICAL ADVANCES, A VIRAL CURE FOR CANCER COULD BE ON THE HORIZON.

STEM CELLS IN SPACE • How do cells turn cancerous? Researchers are taking to the skies to find out.

Blood Work • AFTER A DECADE OF PLANNING, ONE LAB HAS CREATED A DEVICE THAT MIGHT MAKE A COMMON PROCEDURE SAFER AND SIMPLER.

The Anthropocene’s Ancient Origins • HUMANS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES HIJACKED EARTH. SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATE WHEN THE TAKEOVER BEGAN.

TAJ MAHAL: THE CORRODING BEAUTY