Ada Yonath

Six Women in Science You Should Know

Six female scientists—historical and contemporary—who don’t have much name recognition but who have done important, interesting work.
Gypsum crystals of the Naica cave.

Exploring Mexico’s Otherworldly Cave of Crystals

The Cave of Crystals is a massive cavern, filled with gigantic gypsum crystals, larger than any crystals ever before seen on Earth.
A woman looking out of a window

Why Does Menopause Exist?

What is the point of menopause? Evolutionarily speaking, why do female humans go through menopause and then live for many more decades?
Marshmallows

What’s So Bad About Instant Gratification?

The internet is making us impatient. But is that actually such a bad thing? Our tech columnist takes a look.
Ocean currents map

Could Climate Change Alter the Ocean’s Currents?

What do currents do anyway? What would happen if they stopped?
Hope Diamond

The Secrets of Diamonds

Diamonds are sparkly. Diamonds are expensive. But diamonds are more than bling—they tell us a lot about the earth, itself.
JSTOR Daily Mixtape

A Very JSTOR Daily Mixtape

Academics and musicians have a lot in common. The JSTOR Daily playlist combines songs and scholarship.
A panda chewing on a stalk of bamboo

Why Do Pandas Have Thumbs?

Some panda species have strange thumb-like appendages, but their thumbs evolved for strikingly different reasons.
Bioluminescent ocean

The Glowing Mystery of Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence, an animal's ability to create and use light, exists exclusively in the lower branches of the tree of life.
red knee tarantula

Fear and Your Brain

Researchers at Cambridge studied how peoples' brains respond to fear.