Venus photographed in ultraviolet light by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (Pioneer 12) spacecraft, Feb. 26, 1979.

Could Venus’s Hell Climate Predict Earth’s Future?

The answer will require a probe that can withstand the planet's heat and atmospheric pressure to send back good data.
Fuchsia

Plant of the Month: Fuchsia

Too popular for its own good? The career of a flower so powerfully beautiful, fashion would inevitably declare it over.
Swimming beaver (Castor fiber)

A Comeback for Beavers?

As two researchers found out, rewilding a species can be done in different ways, sometimes with different outcomes.
Family photo with Heinrich and Sophia Schliemann, 1871

Giving Overdue Credit to Early Archaeologists’ Wives

These women labored alongside their famous husbands to produce world-renowned research.
Vegetables cooking in a pan on a stove

What to Do about Indoor Air Pollution

Even for those stuck at home during the pandemic, quarantine can pose dangers to health. But it's not all dire!
Lodge-pole pines c. 1857

Good News for the Lodgepole Pine!

The long-lived species' survivor genes are dispersed from the Yukon to southern California, meaning that it has a good chance of weathering climate change.
Test tubes

The Invention of the Test Tube

Chemists learned to blow their own glass vessels in the nineteenth century. It definitely beat using wine glasses.
Volunteer collecting garbage from park

The Problem with Unpaid Conservation Work

In the fight against climate change, many underfunded conservation groups depend on volunteers.
Photograph: Icicles hang off the  State Highway 195 sign on February 18, 2021 in Killeen, Texas.

Source: Joe Raedle/Getty

Extreme Cold and Public Opinion on Climate Change

To some, the idea that the Earth is warming seems incompatible with how they experience cold weather events.
Karate chop

The Physics of Karate

A human hand has the power to split wooden planks and demolish concrete blocks. A trio of physicists investigated why this feat doesn't shatter our bones.