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.

ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION

Discover

A COLOR-CHANGING CRISIS

A LONG-LOST SNOUT • THE FIRST GENETIC SEQUENCING OF THE PYGMY SEAHORSE’S GENOME HAS REVEALED HOW THE SPECIES SHORTENED ITS SNOUT.

A MAMMOTH ACHIEVEMENT • ANCIENT BACTERIAL DNA OFFERS RARE INSIGHTS INTO HOW MEGAFAUNAL MICROBES EVOLVED ALONGSIDE THEIR HOSTS.

STALLING THE SMASH • AN ANALYSIS CHALLENGES THE ESTABLISHED TIME ESTIMATE OF OUR GALAXY’S END, HINTING THAT THE ANDROMEDA-MILKY WAY COLLISION COULD HAPPEN A LOT LATER THAN EXPECTED.

THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE • WHY ARE SOME WORDS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN OTHERS? NEW RESEARCH REVEALS HOW WORDS SECURE THEIR SPOT IN THE VOCABULARY OF THE FUTURE.

VIKING ROUTES AND REST STOPS • LEARN HOW VIKINGS TRAVELED THE SEAS — AND HOW ONE RESEARCHER REVEALED WHERE THEY MAY HAVE STOPPED TO REST ON THEIR VOYAGES.

ALL IN YOUR BREATH • SUBTLE DIFFERENCES IN YOUR UNIQUE BREATHING PATTERN, OR “BREATH PRINT,” MAY OFFER INTRIGUING INSIGHTS INTO YOUR MOOD, HEALTH, AND BEHAVIOR.

Science-Minded Travel Remembering Tulum • NOW PART OF A TOURIST PARADISE, TULUM REMAINS A SYMBOL OF A ONCE VIBRANT AND POWERFUL CIVILIZATION THAT FACED A CHANGING CLIMATE.

THE MAYA COLLAPSE

Trading One Problem for Another • DESPITE RECEIVING TREATMENT FOR REFLUX AND A HERNIA, HER STOMACH ISSUES CONTINUED TO WORSEN.

RETHINKING EXTINCTION • TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS ARE RESHAPING WHAT IT MEANS FOR A SPECIES TO BE LOST.

ALL THE BARCODES IN THE WORLD • Evolutionary biologist Paul Hebert aims to identify and catalog every animal species on Earth using DNA barcoding.

Playing with the Past • THOUGH MANY ANIMALS HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM THIS WORLD, THEIR STORIES LIVE ON IN PLAYFUL MUSEUM EXHIBITS THAT LEAVE VISITORS WITH A NECESSARY LESSON FOR THE FUTURE.

Rooted in Tradition • UP AGAINST RAMPANT URBANIZATION AND POLLUTION, FARMERS IN MEXICO CITY’S WETLANDS ARE TURNING THE TIDES WITH CHINAMPAS, FLOATING FARMS THAT HAVE BEEN USED FOR CENTURIES.

Out of Space? • INCREASINGLY CROWDED ORBITS FULL OF SATELLITES AND DEBRIS POSE POTENTIAL HAZARDS FOR EARTH. OUTER SPACE COULD USE A SET OF TRAFFIC LAWS — AND A MANDATE TO ENFORCE THEM.

GARBAGE AND GREENHOUSE GASES

Pseudoscience on the Ice • DID ANCIENT HUMANS EVER OCCUPY ANTARCTICA? IT’S TIME TO POUR A BUCKET OF COLD WATER ON THE THEORIES AND MYTHS ABOUT PREHISTORIC CIVILIZATIONS LIVING ON (OR BENEATH) THE ICE.

So, When Did Humans Find Antarctica?

Coffee With My Younger Self • CAN FLEETING SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS ACTUALLY BENEFIT OUR MENTAL HEALTH? GRAB A COFFEE AND LEARN WHAT EXPERTS APPRECIATE AND CAUTION AGAINST WHEN IT COMES TO VIRAL PSYCHOLOGY HACKS.

SNAPSHOTS

THE LAND OF METEORITES • DISCOVER MAY 1997