Category: 9. Sci/Tech

Venture too close to the hydrothermal vents dotted around Yellowstone National Park and you will be met by a powerful stench reminiscent of rotten eggs. These calderas are a (literal) hotbed of noxious gasses like hydrogen sulfide and carbon…

Amid the 872-day siege of Leningrad in the early 1940s, nine people died…

Reindeers may not have noses that glow red in the night, but they do have a marvelous body part that changes color in winter darkness.

In 2013, scientists discovered that reindeer eyes change hues with the seasons, reflecting the color of the…

At the whole genome level, canines and wolves are clearly separated. However, when the research team constructed phylogenetic trees for each of the 1,582 genes, they found that not a single gene supported the monophyly of dogs. Further…

We like to think we’re straightforward about information — that we want answers when they’re useful and avoid them when they’re not. In reality, our relationship with knowledge is far messier, shaped as much by emotion as by…

Every cell in an animal’s body carries the same DNA. Yet that single genetic blueprint somehow produces neurons that fire, muscles that contract, and tissues with entirely different jobs. How identical genomes give rise to such variety remains…

Your mind is usually busy — replaying conversations, planning dinner, worrying about tomorrow, narrating the present. But every so often, that activity seems to stop. There’s no thought to follow and no image to latch onto. For a brief…

Most people recognize the risks of secondhand smoke. The haze, the smell, the immediate irritation – it is an exposure that feels obvious and temporary. But new research suggests the real danger may linger long after a cigarette is…