The Dramatic Waves That Sink Ships
Rogue waves are becoming larger and more dangerous. But even long-term studies have not made these waves any easier to predict or avoid.
Why Is It So Much Hotter in the City?
On a sunny day, a city can be several degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside. Could better building materials make cities absorb less heat?
Salamanders Crossing: This Way to the Vernal Pool!
They may look like random puddles, but some states are building million-dollar tunnels to direct wildlife to these seasonal refuges.
How Women Helped to Develop the First Spacesuit
NASA recently cancelled an all-female spacewalk, citing a lack of spacesuits. Ironically, women played a key role in creating the very first spacesuits.
What Is a Quantum Computer?
Researchers claim to have turned back time inside a quantum computer. Meanwhile, most of us are still trying to wrap our minds around what that even means.
How Medical Researchers Used to Party
There’s always been some fuzziness in our distinctions between medicine and recreational drugs. Just look at nitrous oxide.
This Island Is Closed for Maintenance
The Faroe Islands owe their untouched nature to their remote location and stormy climate. And to a weekend closure.
How Scientific Is Forensic Science?
We like to think that physical evidence is a foolproof way to lock in a conviction. The problem is that forensic science isn't exactly a science.
Kuiper Belt Objects Are as Mysterious as They Are Distant
Recently the New Horizons spacecraft made the first flyby of a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) in the extreme outer solar system. What do we know about KBOs?
How to Avoid a Meteor
It isn’t likely that Earth will be hit by a large meteor, but if it were, the results would be catastrophic.