pharmaceutical advertising

Should Drug Makers Advertise?

Drug advertising is a longstanding issue in the U.S, tangled with patients’ rights to make their own decisions, doctors’ professional status, and the ethics of profiting from powerful drugs.
Peter Rabbit Beatrix Potter

The Other Side of Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter's biography covers a lot more than just cute bunnies getting into trouble in mean old Mr. McGregor's farm. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Teenagers texting

What Parkland Tells us About Teens and Social Media

While America’s parents have been wringing their hands over online safety, kids have steadily taken to social media, smartphones, and other digitally-enabled technologies to seek and promote their physical safety.
Horsepower

Why We Still Use “Horsepower”

Horses were omnipresent in the West until only a few generations ago, but then they were replaced by machines and disappeared from our streets as well as our consciousness.
Coffee beans biodiversity

The Connections Between Coffee and Biodiversity

A new study from the Western Ghats suggests that coffee cultivation does not interfere with bird biodiversity, regardless of what type of bean is grown.
Astrolabe

The San Zeno Astrolabe Tracked Time by the Stars

The astrolabe was a revolutionary tool for calculating celestial positions and local time. The device's design dates back to Islamic antiquity.
Artificial snow Switzerland

The Real Problem with Artificial Snow

As the climate changes, snowfall in many areas has decreased. As natural snow is replaced with artificial snow, what is the environmental impact?
Husk Power Systems

Running On Rice Husks—How One Entrepreneur Brought Electricity to His Village

In the rural Indian province of Bihar, Husk Power Systems is converting leftover rice husks into biofuel. Now they're building mini-power plants around the country, and expanding into Tanzania.
dental surgery ether painting

19th Century Anesthesia and the Politics of Pain

Many doctors embraced anesthesia, but critics in the medical community protested its use, giving rise to what's known as the “ether controversy.”
Illustration of Bombardier Beetle (Pheropsophus) excreting a mixture of hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide at speed from opening in abdomen

Bombardier Beetles Are Terrifying Nightmare Insects

In a world full of wild insect defenses, bombardier beetles stand out for the violent chemical reaction they employ to deter enemies.