An illustration of sunspots from between 1885 and 1890

Do Sunspots Explain Global Recession, War, or Famine?

Maybe it's something about the number eleven?
Babies from the City Maternity Hospital being held by the nurses and doctors who had delivered them.

How Scientists Became Advocates for Birth Control

The fight to gain scientists' support for the birth control movement proved a turning point in contraceptive science—and led to a research revolution.
Pensive Caucasian man sitting on sofa near window

How the Internet Changed Chronic Illness

Online communities show that isolation doesn't have to define the experience of having a chronic disease.
An Ayahuasca visual

The Colonization of the Ayahuasca Experience

“If someone is from the Amazon,” says Evgenia Fotiou, an anthropologist who studies Western ayahuasca usage, “they bring some legitimacy” to an ayahuasca ritual.
Execution of Louis XVI, 1793

The Decapitation Experiments of Jean César Legallois

This French scientist conducted a series of gruesome experiments in his quest to discover the true limits of life and death.
A healthcare worker reassures a patient during a home visit

COVID-19 Causes Some Patients’ Immune Systems to Attack Their Own Bodies

Severe infection is linked with autoantibody production.
Little brown bat

What Bats Can Teach Humans About Coronavirus Immunity

Bats have a unique genetic ability to tolerate many viral infections. Can humans uncover their secrets?
A man doing the dishes at home

An Effective Treatment for Diabetes? Try an Apartment

Subsidized housing promotes the kind of stability that makes it easier for people with type 2 diabetes to maintain their health.
On the left, Heliconia tarumaensis Barreiros (with yellow bracts); on the right, Heliconia acuminata L.C. Richard (with yellow and red bracts). Dumbarton Oaks Rare Book Collection.

Plant of the Month: Heliconia

Heliconias can distinguish among pollinators like hummingbirds and respond selectively to their visits.
Birds flying past the windows of a building

Migrating Birds Face an Unexpected Danger: Glass Buildings

Research shows that building collisions take a staggering annual toll on North America's bird population.