Sir Humphry Davy

When Scientists Perform Experiments on Themselves

More than one self-experiment has resulted in a Nobel Prize. Against all odds, and sometimes in spite of the damage they cause, these crazy gambits pay off.
NSF early star rendering

The Earliest Stars

Astronomers who noticed a slight blip in space's background radiation got an insight not just into the early stars but into the age and nature of the early universe.
Charles Knowlton portrait

Charles Knowlton, the Father of American Birth Control

Decades after Charles Knowlton died, his book would be credited with the reversal of population growth in England and the popularization of contraception in the United States. 
Leave Britney Alone

How YouTube Has Changed Our Concept of Celebrity

When YouTube entered the scene in 2005, it made sharing amateur entertainment both instantaneous and global.
Graphic of computer rendered waves above an aerial map of a city

It’s Time to Plug Into the Internet of Water

Scientists are "digitizing" water to better manage the precious resource. What does that mean and how is it helping?
Newspaper boxes

To Save Congress, Restore Local News

Since Donald Trump was elected, national news stories dominate our attention and our social media feeds—at the expense of local news.
online personality quizzes

What Do Personality Quizzes Really Tell You?

Do personality quizzes help solidify one's sense of self? Or is there something limiting in having one's identity summed up so neatly?
Stephen Hawking RIP

Remembering Stephen Hawking and Future Science

An original essay about the science of the future by the late theoretical physicist.
Hantavirus particles

Solving a Medical Mystery With Oral Traditions

In 1993, Navajo elders provided a key piece of information to CDC scientists and climatologists to help combat a deadly mystery disease.
yoga class being led by instructor

How America Embraced Yoga

More than a century ago, a blend of exotic stereotypes, trendy health advice, and new ideas about religion and gender built the foundations of the American yoga movement.