Roller coaster in Atlantic City

What Makes Your Roller Coaster Go? Physics!

The physics behind the fun: roller coasters provide so many examples of basic principles that they are a staple of physics lessons. 
Mercury against a black sky

Where in the Solar System is Vulcan?

A hypothetical Planet Vulcan was the best explanation for strange astrological phenomena—until Einstein, that is. 
Black and white drawings of Neanderthals and other early men

Neanderthals Were Smarter Than You Think

Neanderthals, suggest recent studies, had complex societies and even some culture.
An updated periodic chart divided into a cube bookcase

What’s in a Name (Of An Element)?

Chemists recently announced the names of four newly discovered elements. Naming elements is serious business, and not without controversy.
Close-up of mitochondria

Who Needs Mitochondria Anyway?

Mitochondria was once thought to be an integral part of all complex organisms. Then this organism was discovered.
SpaceX rocket

The Commercialization of Space

Policymakers and scientists have been thinking about the details of the commercialization of space for decades.
From left to right: W. Nernst, A. Einstein, M. Planck, R.A. Millikan and von Laue at a dinner given by von Laue

Who was Max Planck?

Max Planck was a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. 
Hannibal's Famous Crossing of the Alps

Tracing General Hannibal’s Path Across The Alps. In Poop.

A new study traces Hannibal's path across the Alps by examining preserved horse poop.
Olduvai Gorge

The Prehistoric Secrets of Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai Gorge continues to reveal details about the lives of the hominids, some of them our ancestors, from more than a million years ago.
Four images from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced color global view of Pluto. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nh-pluto-in-false-color.jpg NASA

Planet or Not, Pluto is Amazing

Pluto might not be a planet, but the results of the New Horizons mission flyby tell it is still a pretty cool place. And cold!