Backgammon game in progress

The Erotics of Backgammon

James E. Doan reveals the sexual innuendoes and double-entendres based on Backgammon.
Chameleon in profile perched on a branch

Move Over, Camouflage. Here Comes Artificial Chameleon Skin

Engineers have developed a new chameleon-like material that changes color with a slight movement, according to research published in the journal Optical.
Students looking for books in a school library

A Brief History of Young Adult Fiction

Before there such a thing as "YA," librarians struggled not just to define a genre, but to figure out how to get books in the hands of young readers.
Police officer directing traffic behind a Do Not Cross line

Do Police Deter Crime?

Is there a connection between larger police forces and lower crime rates?
The Daily Show
Jon Stewart
Comedy Central/Courtesy Neal Peters Collection

‘The Daily Show’ as Political Influence

Does the Daily Show really impact people's political views?

Mental Time Travel with Frohawk Two Feathers

Recent scientific studies investigate the physical potential of time travel; see how artist Frohawk Two Feathers' colonial epics do as well.
Sketched concentric circles on a textured cream background

The Solar Origins of Dendrochronology

Historian George E. Webb recounts the intertwined relationship between solar physics and dendrochronology
Young girl's hand touches and holds an old woman's wrinkled hands.

Medically Assisted Suicide, Christianity, and Confucius

The debate on medically assisted suicide often pits Christian and secular liberal values against each other.
Preserved corpse of Jeremy Bentham in a glass cabinet

No Foolin’: Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon

There is a curious display in a glass-fronted cabinet at University College London. It's Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) .