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.

Stories of Fire

Discover

Explore With Discover • FROM STARS IN THE SKY TO ANIMALS IN THE WILD, HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR SEEING THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD AROUND YOU.

THE LATEST NEWS AND NOTES • DUMPSTER-DIVING DOMESTICATION • THE TRICK TO DEEPER SLEEP EARTH FROM ANOTHER EON • FINDING MAGNETIC FIELDS FROM AFAR

THE NEXT HOUSEHOLD PET? • RACCOONS APPEAR TO BE ADAPTING TO LIFE ALONGSIDE HUMANS, SLOWLY STEPPING TOWARD DOMESTICATION.

Curious Creatures

Fit for the City

DEEP DREAMS • IMMERSIVE DREAMING MAY BE TIED TO DEEPER, MORE RESTORATIVE SLEEP, SHAPING OUR SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF OUR TIME AT REST.

HINTS OF THE HADEAN • RESEARCHERS HAVE DISCOVERED AND DATED THE OLDEST ROCKS ON THE PLANET, WHICH COULD HELP REVEAL HOW LIFE ON EARTH FIRST BEGAN.

FARAWAY FIELDS • RESEARCHERS HAVE MEASURED WIND SPEEDS ON FARAWAY PLANETS, REVEALING THE PRESENCE OF MAGNETIC FIELDS — A FEATURE THAT NOT ALL WORLDS HAVE.

The Land of Fire and Ice • THE COMBINATION OF VOLCANOES, GLACIERS, AND WILDLIFE MAKE ICELAND A STRIKING, BUT SURPRISINGLY DELICATE, DESTINATION.

Double Trouble • A FRAZZLED HUSBAND AND WIFE ARRIVE AT A HOSPITAL, BOTH SUFFERING FROM THE SAME BIZARRE DELUSION TRIGGERED BY THE SEEMINGLY NORMAL WORDS OF AN ANCHORMAN ON TV.

The Platypus Problem • THE DUCK-BILLED, BEAVER-TAILED CREATURE TOOK ALMOST A CENTURY TO CLASSIFY AND CONTINUES TO CONFOUND BIOLOGISTS TO THIS DAY.

THE DINOSAURS THAT DIDN’T DIE • THE AGE OF DINOSAURS CONTINUED FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS AFTER THE ASTEROID — JUST NOT HOW YOU’D EXPECT.

FLIGHTLESS BIRDS: WHY GIVE UP YOUR GREATEST SUPERPOWER?

THE CRACKS IN COSMOLOGY • Our best understanding of the universe may be in crisis.

IS RANDOMNESS REAL? • DESPITE HUMANS’ INABILITY TO ACT TRULY RANDOMLY, RANDOMNESS CAN BE A POWERFUL TOOL IN COMPUTING AND MATHEMATICS, AND THE QUEST FOR IT REACHES EVEN INTO THE QUANTUM WORLD.

Historical Friction • FRICTION, THE FORCE THAT RESISTS MOTION BETWEEN TWO OBJECTS IN CONTACT, HAS BEEN AT THE CENTER OF HUMANITY’S GREATEST INNOVATIONS, HELPING CIVILIZATIONS EVOLVE INTO WELL-OILED MACHINES.

THE ODD COUPLE OF CONSCIOUSNESS • Philip Goff and Keith Frankish don’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to consciousness, but their debates on the matter are helping bridge the gap between philosophy and the public.

Seeing Red • HUMANS HAVE WIELDED RED OCHRE FOR PRACTICAL AND RITUAL PURPOSES FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS, REFLECTING A PROFOUND AFFINITY FOR THE COLOR CRIMSON.

Unintended Consequences • WHEN NATIVE ANIMALS ADAPT TO INVASIVE PLANTS, EFFORTS TO ERADICATE THOSE WEEDS CAN CREATE NEW CONSERVATION PROBLEMS.

Chasing Constellations • ASTRONOMY HAS SHAPED CULTURE IN NORTHERN KENYA FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. TRACING ITS LEGACY TODAY REVEALS HOW DEEPLY STARGAZING STILL CAPTIVATES US.

ASTRONOMY RESEARCH IN AFRICA

Small World • TO ANSWER SOME OF SCIENCE’S BIGGEST QUESTIONS, RESEARCHERS START WITH THE SMALLEST CLUES: TINY ORGANISMS, MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURES, AND TRACES OF LIFE MOSTLY INVISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE.

DEEP IN REFLECTION