Edward Drinker Cope

The Bizarre Theories of the American School of Evolution

The paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope condemned women's suffrage and Black Americans through an evolutionary lens.
geothermal basin in Yellowstone NP, Wyoming.

How Yellowstone Extremophile Bacteria Helped With Covid-19 Testing

The heat-resistant enzyme from Thermus aquaticus is used in PCR testing to detect pathogens.
Illustration: A rose

Source: Getty

Smelly Science, Long Lives, and Queen Calafia

Well-researched stories from NPR, Aeon, and other publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
Atlantic horseshoe crab (Polyphemus occidentalis) illustration from Zoology of New york (1842 - 1844) by James Ellsworth De Kay (1792-1851).

The Horseshoe Crab: Same as It Ever Was?

The seemingly static appearance of these ancient-looking arthropods presents a challenge for scientists who want to study their evolutionary history.
Illustration: An arithmetic class at a school in London, England. Published in the Illustrated London News, October 3, 1891

Source: Getty

Why Would Parents Oppose Compulsory Education?

In Victorian England, reformers thought all children should go to school. That didn't sit well with everyone—and not just kids.
Parody English heavy metal band, Spinal Tap

The Mockumentary: A Very Real History

What's the appeal of humor masquerading as seriousness? An entire movie genre stands ready to shed light on that question.
From a 1703 atlas of the world

Bringing France Back into American History

The current arrangement of nation-states in North America has made the role of the French in colonial history seem less important.
An illustration of sunspots from between 1885 and 1890

Do Sunspots Explain Global Recession, War, or Famine?

Maybe it's something about the number eleven?
George Padmore, ca. 1950

Black Americans in the Popular Front against Fascism

The era of anti-fascist struggle was a crucial moment for Black radicals of all stripes.
Babies from the City Maternity Hospital being held by the nurses and doctors who had delivered them.

How Scientists Became Advocates for Birth Control

The fight to gain scientists' support for the birth control movement proved a turning point in contraceptive science—and led to a research revolution.