Why Suicide Was a Sin in Medieval Europe
Although there were historical and scriptural precedents for honorable suicide, Christian theology saw it much differently.
How the Gender Binary Limits Archaeological Study
One case study demonstrates how contemporary assumptions about gender in ancient societies risk obscuring the larger picture.
How Three Women Led the Fight against Pertussis
As whooping cough killed thousands of kids annually, a trio of public health workers were deeply involved in the production and distribution of a vaccine.
Erasing Women from Science? There’s a Name for That
Countless women scientists have have been shunted to the footnotes, with credit for their work going to male colleagues. This is called the Matilda Effect.
Could Venus’s Hell Climate Predict Earth’s Future?
The answer will require a probe that can withstand the planet's heat and atmospheric pressure to send back good data.
How Mary Fields Became “Stagecoach Mary”
Born enslaved, she made her way to Montana and eventually became the first Black woman to deliver mail on a "star route."
How Early Sci-Fi Authors Imagined Climate Change
A century before the modern “cli-fi” genre, many authors envisioned unsettling worlds shaped by man-made climate chaos.
Plant of the Month: Fuchsia
Too popular for its own good? The career of a flower so powerfully beautiful, fashion would inevitably declare it over.
A Comeback for Beavers?
As two researchers found out, rewilding a species can be done in different ways, sometimes with different outcomes.
Mary Beard and the Beginning of Women’s History
She was one half of a powerhouse academic couple and an influential historian in her own right. But she's still often overlooked.