Cloves: The Spice that Enriched Empires
Behind one humble spice lies a complex history of empires and profit, commodities and globalization.
Snowball Earth
How scientists discovered that unique Scottish rocks record when Earth was first encased in ice.
Raccoons in the Laboratory
The lab rat is now a symbol of science, but psychologists once believed that raccoons presented unique potential in the study of animal intelligence.
HMS Challenger and the History of Science at Sea
Sailing ships were once used as scientific instruments themselves, but in the 1800s, ships like the Challenger were transformed into floating laboratories.
Astronomers Have Warned against Colonial Practices in the Space Industry
A philosopher of science explains how the industry could explore other planets without exploiting them.
Tree of Peace, Spark of War
The white pines of New England may have done more than any leaf of tea to kick off the American Revolution.
How Sports Shaped Glacier Science
The heroic masculinity that governed early glacial science had its roots in nineteenth-century British sporting culture.
Finding Caves on the Moon Is Great. On Mars? Even Better.
The recent discovery of a large cave on the Moon highlights the importance of caves not just for future space explorers but astrobiology as well.
When French Citrus Colonized Algeria
The citrus industry in Algeria honed French imperial apparatuses and provided a means for France to define and shape the behavior of its colonial subjects.