Science in Defiance of the Tsar: The Women of the 1860s
Sofia Kovalevskaia became the first woman in Europe to obtain her doctorate in mathematics—but only after leaving Russia for Germany.
Antarctica Unveiled: From Accidents to Airborne Labs
Twentieth-century surveys revealed the landscape beneath the Antarctic ice using radio echo-sounding, a technique that emerged largely by accident.
Rosemary: The Herb of Ritual and Remembrance
From ancient Egypt to today, the scent of rosemary has promised comfort, joy, and even immortality.
String Theory Is Not Dead
Out of the limelight, theoretical physicists seek the math that can explain the universe’s particles and forces.
Tapping Cultural Values Against Domestic Violence
Southeast Asian Americans navigated evolving cultural norms while building grassroots organizations to combat violence against women.
A Blind Beetle Named Hitler?
The case for changing offensive names of animals and plants, and how it can be done
Moho-A-Go-Go: Journey to the Far Edge of the Center of the Earth
The “Moho,” short for the Mohorovičić discontinuity, is a long way down.
The Great American Turkey
The turkey was semi-domesticated and kept in pens in the American Southwest some 2,000 years ago—but not for the reason you think.
The Anatomists of Ancient Alexandria
Cultural forces under the Ptolemaic dynasty briefly allowed scholars like Herophilus to practice dissection—and possibly vivisection—on human subjects.