Why Did Earth Nearly Lose Its Atmosphere During the Hadean Era 4 Billion Years Ago? — Here’s What Models Suggest

Why Did Earth Nearly Lose Its Atmosphere During the Hadean Era 4 Billion Years Ago — Here’s What Models Suggest

The planet Earth that we often take for granted in today’s world wasn’t always this life-supporting ball of rock. Around 4 billion years ago, the air and atmosphere were nothing like the air we breathe in now. In fact, some models and research suggest that Earth may have even lost most of its early atmosphere … Read more

Why Do We Feel the Need to Collect So Many Things? — Here’s How the Urge to Accumulate May Have Helped Our Ancestors Survive

Why Do We Feel the Need to Collect So Many Things — Here's How the Urge to Accumulate May Have Helped Our Ancestors Survive

A lot of people love to collect things, whether it is books, toys, or even expensive items like luxury cars and watches. There are also others who don’t even categorize themselves as collectors, but still subconsciously keep extra food, tools, and cash. This strong urge to accumulate resources is common for a reason. It is … Read more

Why Do We Remember Rare and Dramatic Events More Than Common Ones? — Here’s How the Availability Heuristic Once Kept Our Ancestors Alive

Why Do We Remember Rare and Dramatic Events More Than Common Ones — Here’s What Scientists Learned About the Availability Heuristic

Think about a recent event that you have lived or heard about. Chances are, dramatic and rare events may have popped up faster in your head than the common ones that we experience every single day. For most people, this would be the case too. Our minds just could easily remember the rare phenomenon better … Read more

Why the First Piece of Information We Hear Influences All Our Future Decisions? — Here’s What Researchers Discovered About the Anchoring Effect in Early Humans

Why the First Piece of Information We Hear Influences All Our Future Decisions — Here's What Researchers Discovered About the Anchoring Effect

Have you ever heard the price of an item for the first time, and then compared the prices of other items to it, even though they may not be the same products? Or have you ever heard from a friend that a specific movie was bad, and while watching it, you notice more of the … Read more

Why Do We Believe Information That Confirms What We Already Think? — Here’s How Evolution Shaped Confirmation Bias for Survival

Why Do We Believe Information That Confirms What We Already Think — Here’s What Scientists Found About Confirmation Bias

Have you ever caught yourself agreeing with certain information, and then noticing more of that in your life? For example, if you heard that drivers of a specific car brand are bad drivers and you agree with it, you might find yourself noticing more of those behaviors that support this belief. Like if one cuts … Read more

Why Did 75% of Marine Life Vanish During the Late Devonian Extinction 375–360 Million Years Ago? — Here’s What Researchers Found

Why Did 75% of Marine Life Vanish During the Late Devonian Extinction 375–360 Million Years Ago 2

The Devonian Period, more than 375 million years ago, was often referred to as the age of fishes just because of how diverse and rich the ecosystems are underwater and in the world’s oceans. There were large coral reefs that were home to different species, like armored fish and sponge-like sea creatures. But near the … Read more

Why Did Insects Grow So Huge Around 300 Million Years Ago — And What Made Them Shrink Again?

Why Did Insects Grow So Huge Around 300 Million Years Ago — And What Made Them Shrink Again

Imagine a dragonfly with a wider wingspan than your shoulders, flying around, buzzing through a swampy forest. That was the world back then, around 300 million years ago, when insects, bugs, and other arthropods were gigantic. It is a period on Earth that occurred even before the arrival and domination of the dinosaurs, called the … Read more

How Much Did Homo sapiens Contribute to the Extinction of the Neanderthals Around 40,000 Years Ago? — Here’s What Scientists Suggest

How Much Did Homo sapiens Contribute to the Extinction of the Neanderthals Around 40,000 Years Ago — Here’s What Scientists Suggest

Neanderthals are an archaic human that is part of the genus Homo, like Homo sapiens. They inhabited Europe and some parts of Asia, even before the modern human species migrated there. They are believed to have physically stronger bodies and a larger brain than us. However, around 40,000 years ago, their species completely disappeared. It … Read more