How to Be the Fattest Bear
Gaining enough weight to survive a winter of hibernation is actually very hard work.
When America Incarcerated “Promiscuous” Women
From WWI to the 1950s, the "American Plan" rounded up sexually-active women and quarantined them, supposedly to protect soldiers from venereal disease.
Can Re-Clamming Our Harbors Keep Superstorms at Bay?
Hurricanes like Sandy destroy coastlines. Clams and oysters help keep them together.
Asteroids Are Windows to the Past
Japan’s space agency has landed rovers on Asteroid Ryugu. The photos and samples from the mission will reveal a lot about asteroids.
The Great Seaweed Invasion
In the Caribbean, sargassum deposits have grown to unprecedented sizes, obscuring the sand and turning nearshore waters into seething sargassum soup.
Who Chooses Not to Vaccinate Their Children?
Vaccinations have always been political. But in this day and age, why do certain subsets of well-off parents choose not to vaccinate their children?
Scientists Are Gene-Editing These Berries to Be the Next Superfood
Using CRISPR, scientists try to turn an obscure plant into the next favorite crop, groundcherries.
The Key to Environmentally-Friendly Urban Planning
Manhattan and Dubai are both bustling, crowded cities with dense populations. So do Manhattanites have smaller ecological footprints?
The Anthropology of the Office Email
Researchers learn a lot from studying office workers' email. But the question remains: do they learn more about the people, or about the medium itself?
Has the Internet Weakened Our Political Institutions?
According to our columnist, the internet has destabilized many of the informal institutions that underpin our democracy.