A man uses a futuristic touchscreen interface

How Early Adopters Take Charge of Their Tech

Being an early adopter isn't about how quickly you snap up the latest smartphone. We can all be early adopters in the more meaningful sense of tech mastery.
Close-up of a pink octopus in the sea with a starfish

The Strange Genetic Trick of the Cephalopods

What makes cephalapods like octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish so intelligent? The answer might be in the way they can edit their own RNA as they go.
Empty hospital corridor with closed doors at the end

The Ongoing Practice of Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation seems totally foreign to the U.S., but versions of the long-outlawed surgery have seen a recent resurgence.
Heads quarters

The Statistics of Coin Tosses for Theater Geeks

At the beginning of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a coin toss lands as heads 92 times in a row, the odds of which are a mere 1 in 5 octillion.
Audubon Bald Eagle

The Early Audubon Society Helped Bridge the Gap between Men and Women Conservationists

The man who formed the first Audubon Society was educated by Audubon's widow and found a way to unite men and women in the conservation movement.
Tasmanian Tigers

Is The Tasmanian Tiger Really Extinct?

A team of researchers is making one last attempt to find a living Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, 30 years after its official disappearance.
Beached whales engraving

Why Do Whales Strand Themselves?

In huge pods, small groups, or as individuals, whales routinely find themselves aground or stuck in shallow water. But why do strandings happen?
Amazon Deforestation

A Resurgence of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon increased sharply in 2016. The government must take steps to protect the world’s largest rain forest.
insect in amber

Should We Worry About Ancient Pathogens Being Revived?

Accidental exposure to bacteria trapped inside a crystal is unlikely. Frozen ancient pathogens, however, are another matter.
A row of empty office cubicles.

“Deaths of Despair”: What’s Really Killing Americans

Why a large swath of middle-aged, middle-class white Americans, especially those with lower levels of education, are dying more "deaths of despair."