Margaret S. Collins, Pioneering Black Entomologist
She was the first African American woman to earn a PhD in entomology as well as an activist for freedom in the Civil Rights Movement.
Dating Apps Are Intensifying Online Partisanship
Some social scientists argue that dating and mating patterns may be the real drivers of polarization.
Darwin in Love
Charles Darwin, who of all people should have known better, married his first cousin. Did his love for Emma color his later works?
Ditch the Smartphone and Smell the Roses This Valentine’s Day
Digital detox services may be just as important for your health as a chemical detoxification
The Myth of the Noble Racehorse
Despite all the whips and spurs involved, nineteenth-century Americans believed racehorses loved a little manly competition.
A Brief History of the Calorie
The measure of thermal energy expended by exercise was adapted from the study of explosives and engines.
Are Insects Capable of Moral Behavior?
Some 19th-century naturalists believed that bugs could think and should therefore definitely know that biting is out of line.
Plant of the Month: The Sensitive Plant
This plant’s animal-like behavior and alleged love-provoking abilities have sparked the imagination of everyone from early modern yogis to today’s scientists.
How Safe Is BPA-Free Plastic?
With BPA gone from many plastic products, researchers are concerned about other environmental chemicals, which might cause reproductive harm.
Puffins Seen Using Tools, Breaking Dumb-Puffin Stereotypes
Reputed to be a less intelligent bird species, puffins have been observed scratching themselves with sticks.