The Home Science Labs of English Noblewomen
In the eighteenth century, elite women with a scientific bent often turned to distilling medicines, a craft that helped them participate in experimentation.
The Carrington Event of 1859 Disrupted Telegraph Lines. A “Miyake Event” Would Be Far Worse
We don't know what causes Miyake events, but these great surges of energy can help us understand the past—while posing a threat to our future.
EV Cars: Can We Electrify Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?
The transition to personal electric vehicles in the United States is a cornerstone of the plan to decarbonize transportation. But will it work?
The Sanitary Commission’s Other Agenda
The US Sanitary Commission is credited with saving lives during the Civil War, but its leadership hoped it would be remembered for advancing racialized science.
Cochabamba People’s Agreement: Annotated
In April 2010, representatives from 140 countries gathered in Bolivia to outline an explicitly anti-capitalist, decolonial agenda for the sake of the planet.
“Ghostly” Neutrinos Help Us See Our Milky Way as Never Before
As Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery...consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
The Social-Ecological Nature of Wildfire
How do we meet the challenge of increasingly devastating wildfires?
The Question of Geophagy: Why Eat Dirt?
Scientists have three theories about why people and animals eat dirt.
Game, Saw, Conquered: Nationalism in Indonesian Video Games
Whether in cutscenes or gameplay, multi-player video games can help rewrite history or encourage an investment in national sovereignty.
We Might Have Accidentally Killed the Only Life We Ever Found on Mars Nearly 50 Years Ago
In one experiment, the Viking landers added water to Martian soil samples. That might have been a very bad idea.