Curiosity, Horses and Hypochondria | Scientific American

Curiosity, Horses and Hypochondria

By Laura Helmuth

Did you develop up round horses? If not, your mother and father or grandparents or greats most likely did. Till very just lately, horses had been our important technique of transportation and labor. People have been looking horses since round 300,000 years in the past, however when did our relationship with them change from predator-prey to accomplice? New ar­­chaeological and genetic discoveries have modified the understanding of horse domestication. Fairly than a gradual course of that started round 6,000 years in the past, domestication appears to have occurred rapidly, round 4,000 years in the past, and it abruptly modified commerce routes, expertise and conquest. Archaeozoologist William T. Taylor shares his personal analysis and pulls collectively proof from burial websites, bits, genes and human historical past to indicate how horses made the trendy world.

Don’t you find it irresistible when mathematicians determine an issue after which notice nature beat them to it? In a enjoyable and fantastically illustrated story, science author Elise Cutts exhibits how three-dimensional shapes with minimal corners can match collectively to fill an area. It’s one other new perception from the sphere of tessellation, which has been on a tear just lately. (Chances are you’ll keep in mind our story within the January 2024 subject about newfound Einstein tiles, shapes that may match collectively infinitely with out repeating a sample.) The iridescent wash on our illustrations could remind you of nautilus shells, which comprise the newly outlined shapes.

The ocean has absorbed about 25 % of the carbon dioxide launched by fossil-fuel burning because the industrial revolution started. This has slowed the tempo of worldwide warming—giving us sufficient time to repair it, we hope. Scientists have speculated for many years that it may very well be attainable to extend the speed of absorption, and now marine carbon dioxide elimination efforts are starting at scale. Oceanographer Jaime B. Palter describes methods being examined or carried out now to soak up extra of the CO₂ within the ocean so it may pull extra CO₂ from our environment, with useful, elegant graphics.

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Hypochondria is a critical well being situation that’s beginning to get extra respectful, insightful and efficient remedies. The time period can check with extreme fears about getting an sickness or nervousness that some symptom is an indication of a catastrophic well being situation. Individuals affected by a brand new sort of hypochondria known as cyberchondria spend inordinate quantities of time learning medical situations on-line or visiting a number of medical doctors. Like different nervousness issues, hypochondria might be disruptive and tormenting. It could actually frustrate physicians who can’t discover a “real” situation to diagnose and deal with. Well being reporter Joanne Silberner covers the most recent findings on easy methods to diagnose and deal with hypochondria, together with recommendation for individuals who need to assist somebody with the situation.

Offshore oil rigs have change into havens for fish, shrimp, mussels, anemones, and extra, serving as synthetic reefs in in any other case open water. Within the Gulf of Mexico, they’ve allowed pink snapper and different species to broaden their ranges and populations. When it’s time to decommission an oil rig, the platform and higher a part of its assist construction might be eliminated, leaving the underside half to the fishes. California now faces a tough choice over whether or not to “rig-to-reef” a few of its getting older offshore rigs. Freelance author Asher Radziner explains the stakes, the science and the controversy.

Curiosity has been difficult to check as a result of it’s arduous to outline precisely what it’s. It’s a want to achieve data and scale back uncertainty, positive, however it’s additionally one thing scrumptious and stimulating and enjoyable. I believe all of you’d rating excessive on any curiosity scale—studying concerning the world by means of science is likely one of the finest methods to fulfill curiosity … and encourage much more of it. Scientific American Science of Well being columnist Lydia Denworth explores how curiosity influences reminiscence and studying, what mind states underlie it, and easy methods to assist younger folks develop it.