bottom half of a venus flytrap

Plant of the Month: Venus Flytrap

The carnivorous plant, native to the Carolinas, has beguiled botanists and members of the public alike since the eighteenth century.
A hand holding coarse dry ice pellets

Dry Ice Will Help Keep COVID-19 Vaccines Cold

A brief history of dry ice, aka solid carbon dioxide, shows why some coronavirus vaccines will benefit from its use.
Yellow Jacobins

Our Long-Running Love Affair with Pigeons

Through crazes of pigeon-fancying, these birds have been reshaped into a dizzying variety of forms.
geothermal basin in Yellowstone NP, Wyoming.

How Yellowstone Extremophile Bacteria Helped With Covid-19 Testing

The heat-resistant enzyme from Thermus aquaticus is used in PCR testing to detect pathogens.
A healthcare worker reassures a patient during a home visit

COVID-19 Causes Some Patients’ Immune Systems to Attack Their Own Bodies

Severe infection is linked with autoantibody production.
Usnea antarctica

The Unsung Heroine of Lichenology

Elke Mackenzie’s moments of self-citation illuminate the hopes of someone who, against ease and tradition, did not wish to separate her identity from her research.
A man swinging a woman on roller skates, Savoy Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois

The History Behind the Roller Skating Trend

Since its invention in 1743, roller skating has been tied to Black social movements.
Tremolite asbestos from the Aure Valley, French Pyrenees

When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

File under: “don’t try this at home.”
Coronavirus

A Science Reader for COVID-19

Covering concepts from spillover to virus mutation, this collection of free-to-access readings provides scientific context around the COVID-19 pandemic.
A nurse applies a vaccine in Caracas, Venezuela in March, 2020

How Will a Coronavirus Vaccine Work?

Four different ways researchers use the virus's own structure to train our immune systems to exterminate it.