Mechanical Turk

Amazon’s Mechanical Turk has Reinvented Research

Online services like Amazon's "Mechanical Turk" have ushered in a golden age in survey research. But is it ethical for researchers to use them?
herd of mammoths

What Really Happened to the Megafauna

Could humans be responsible for the extinction of megafauna like giant sloths and mastodons?
psychedelics

The Pscience of Psychedelics

Researchers found that Psilocybin and other hallucinogens may prove helpful in their ability to quiet a portion of the brain connected to depression.
3d printing biological

3D Printing Body Parts

3D printing has evolved far beyond printing out a simple item using plastic. For example, scientists Jody Connell and colleagues described an innovative use of the technology to create three-dimensional bacteria cultures.
Early Spider Orchid (Ophrys sphegodes)

Bees’ and Orchids’ Pseudo-Romance Broken by Climate Change

Rising temperatures are upsetting the bee-orchid pollinating schedule, threatening to snuff out the flower.
Public health

A Different Kind of Public Health Message

Researchers have found that Americans experience radically different health outcomes depending on their race and socioeconomic status.
Two ichtyosauruses swimming in the ocean

These Lizard-Dolphin Creatures Ruled the Seas for 150 Million Years

Ichthyosaurs gave birth to live offspring, had huge eyes and lived all over the world.
Venezuela Tepui Highlands

Venezuela’s Mysterious Tepuis

Many species on the tepui summits are found nowhere else. How did those species get there?
Antebellum sex education

Who Gets To Speak Publicly About Sex?

Frederick Hollick's case involved not only his controversial sex-positive arguments, but also the question of who should be privy to medical knowledge about sex.
Illustration: a flower and leaf of the Franklinia alatamaha by William Bartram (1782)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklinia#/media/File:William_Bartram01.jpg

America’s Mysterious Lost Tree

Extinct in the wild, the Franklinia tree is still cultivated in botanical gardens, private homes, parks, even cemeteries. It's also got an interesting Revolutionary-era backstory.