Something Old, Something Pneu
Pneumatic tubes offered a leap forward in business and communications, in the office and across the city.
Why TRAPPIST-1 Is Our Favorite Alien Planetary System
The TRAPPIST-1 system is a treasure trove of possibilities and questions. Observations by JWST have just begun.
Is the COP28 Climate Deal Enough?
The agreement mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions created by burning fossil fuels and formally adopts a climate loss and damage fund.
New Zealand’s Quest to Save Its Rotund, Flightless Parrots
DNA sequencing, GPS tracking and tailored diets are slowly restoring the endangered kākāpō.
Coming Up Kudzu
Employed as a symbol of the American South or used as shorthand for unchecked growth, kudzu has demonstrated a tenacity beyond all imagination.
Cinchona: A Legacy of Extraction and Extirpation
The source of quinine, cinchona tells a story about the value placed on parts of plants and how that value can be extracted and distorted in support of empire.
Ancient Black Hole Challenges Our Understanding of the Early Universe
The Big Bang theory is not threatened, but astrophysicists have some explaining to do.
Half Past Dementia
Drawing a clock has become a standard test of cognitive impairment, but there’s no consensus on who should do it or how.
Why the Worst Weather on Earth Is in New Hampshire
A combination of factors makes the weather at New Hampshire’s Mount Washington arguably the most brutal in the world.